LARC Practices, Policies, and Expectations

This section of our online handbook applies to all LARC student staff: Student Ambassadors, Social Media Coordinators, Tutorial Program & Writing Center Tutors (including MESA members), and Supplemental Instruction Leaders, as well as the Advisors for each of the programs.

Mission Statement

The Learning and Academic Resource Center (LARC) is a multi-program, academic support hub that houses the Writing Center, Subject-Specific Tutoring, and Supplemental Instruction (SI). In the LARC, we believe in communication, collaboration, adaptation, creativity, inclusivity, growth, support, patience, approachability, and play. These values drive our unified mission, which is to cultivate and facilitate learning opportunities for all members of the Sonoma State University community, provide academic and pedagogical resources for faculty and staff, and to develop future leaders.

LARC Staff Expectations

In order to support the mission and values of the LARC, LARC student employees are expected to:

Be Punctual, Reliable, and Responsible

• Show up on time for your tutoring shift and sessions, whether they are in person or online. This includes showing up on time for shifts at the front desk. You are required to attend staff meetings every semester as part of your position. You will be paid for the time you spend in these meetings.
• If you are going to be late for a scheduled tutoring shift or SI session, please contact LARC’s main phone number and speak to the desk person (don’t leave a message), AND email your direct supervisor.
  • If you are going to be late to the desk, please use GroupMe to inform Admin and other desk staff.
• SI Sessions: You are expected to wait 30 minutes for any session where students do not attend. You can bill for those 30-minutes.
• Writing Center and Tutorial Program tutors:
  • Plan on being present and available for your entire tutoring shift, whether you have an appointment or not.
  • When requesting coverage for a shift (both in advance or last minute) follow the coverage procedures as explained here: Contact both Gillian Estes (esteg@sonoma.edu) AND your program supervisor (Tutorial Program: Molly Mande, mandem@sonoma.edu; Writing Center: Sakina Bryant, sakina.bryant@sonoma.edu) If you are running late for a scheduled shift, even by just a few minutes, you must call the front desk at 707-664-4401.

Office Communication

• Our primary way to communicate with staff is through Canvas courses for each program and email, so it is imperative that you check Canvas and email.
• You are responsible for reading and responding in a timely manner to emails from the administrative staff.

Office Etiquette

• Please treat the reception area as a welcoming area. If you are sitting in this space, please be aware that your first priority is helping students and representing the LARC. In most cases, only Student Ambassador should be behind the desk, or in the desk area.
• Be professional, polite, and attentive. Remember to conduct yourself respectfully and courteously.
• Even if you are not a Student Ambassador, make an effort to acknowledge and greet people when they enter the LARC.
• When someone needs your assistance, stop what you’re working on and give them your full attention (including eye contact).
• Be aware of the volume and nature of conversations when working and when “hanging out” in LARC.

Be A Representative of the LARC and a Model Student

We expect you to represent yourself as an ambassador of the LARC by maintaining SSU student conduct standards in, and out, of classes, and to the rest of the SSU Community.

• Attire: Please remember that we work in a professional environment, and you are expected to dress appropriately, and be neat and clean. Shoes must be worn, for safety reasons, when working on campus. The most important consideration here is the comfort and feeling of welcome that you are creating for the students that you are working with.
• Academic Status: You must have earned a B or higher to serve as the SI Leader or Tutor for that course. Peer educators are generally required to maintain above a 3.0 GPA.

Complete Administrative Work in a Timely Manner

Payroll and Timesheets:

• The official pay period for student employees generally begins on the 1st of each month and ends on the last day of the month. Student employee paychecks are usually available on the 15th day of the month following the end of the pay period. Please see “How Do I Get Paid?” below for details on picking up/getting your paycheck.
• It is your responsibility to log your hours in the Google timesheet provided to you at the beginning of employment. You should be logging your hours on a weekly basis to avoid forgetting. Payroll is submitted through your personal Google timesheet and through the SSU MyHR button in PeopleSoft. Payroll is due at the end of each month and you will receive several reminders through Canvas and email. You must also log your hours completely and accurately. Please see Payroll Policies & Procedures on the LARC Student Staff Administrative Tasks page for more details.
• Student employees may work up to 20 hours in their position. If you are concurrently appointed in more than one student job; you are limited to working an average of 20 hours per week during the semester in all the jobs combined.

Client Report Forms (All Tutors):

• Client Report Forms are a required part of a tutor’s job and are essential for program data and assessment. These should be completed in a timely manner. For more information, please refer to the section on client report forms, as well as the WC Online Manual.

Attendance and Session Plans (SI only):

• SI Leaders are responsible for making sure the LARC admin team has access to accurate attendance data for their SI sessions. For more information on gathering attendance data, please see the section on Session Attendance.
• SI Leaders are required to submit their session plans monthly. New SI Leaders may be asked to submit session plans more frequently for their first few weeks. See Session Planning for more details.

Contribute to the Betterment and Growth of the LARC

Data Collection is very important to the LARC because it is how we show our impact. Missing and inaccurate data can affect our ability to demonstrate our value and assure continued funding.

• Attendance Sheets (SI)
• Client Report Forms (Tutorial/WC)
• End of semester Surveys (All)

Feedback:

• Provide reflective feedback, when asked, about the LARC’s procedures and processes, training, and general activities. This might be in the form of surveys, staff meeting activities, or written reflections.
• Communicate your needs as they arise.

Resources and Repository:

• SI Leaders contribute to the LARChive by sharing session material and resources to contribute to the success of future peer educators.
• Writing Center tutors and Tutorial Program tutors assist with developing materials (handouts, Google slides, videos, etc) related to tutoring subjects or the LARC in general.

Recruitment:

• Be an ambassador for the LARC and identify and recruit other students who might be good candidates for student employee positions in the LARC.

Engage in Community Participation:

• Nurturing and sustaining the life of the LARC is dependent on all members of this community. We seek to hire individuals who are engaged and passionate about all aspects of tutoring and peer academic support and we look forward to your contribution.
• Students employed in the LARC are encouraged to contribute to the community through active participation in special events and creative opportunities.
• We strive to build a strong community for all our staff, with ongoing professional development opportunities and a variety of all-staff events.
• We expect that our staff members will be committed to growth as employees and will reflect upon their strengths and weaknesses and look for areas of improvement or seek support when needed. Additionally, we invite all staff members to seek opportunities for leadership development and growth by taking on additional roles in the LARC or applying for LARC leadership positions.

Take Ownership of your Development as a Professional

Working to Improve:

• Our job as admins and supervisors is to do everything we can to support the staff and the students, so open lines of communication are important, especially as they relate to missteps. Since part of our mission is to prepare future leaders, we want to create conditions where you can make mistakes and have the opportunity to grow.
• Since much of your work interacts with other LARC operations, it is important that you communicate any potential issues to your supervisor as soon as possible. This will help the admin team work with you to address any issues. It will also indicate that you are aware of the mistake and are willing to learn from it.
• In cases of ongoing actions or behaviors that conflict with the LARC values and mission, or do not meet job requirements, the student employee will receive an Administrative Write-Up report and will be asked to meet with their supervisor. In most cases, the student employee will be supported in remedying the issue and will be given a period of time to demonstrate the growth. For more information, please see the Explanation of Administrative Write-Up Process. For example, a staff member who has a pattern of ongoing late submissions of materials (such as timesheets, session plans, and client report forms). In rare cases, and if the behavior appears to be unrecoverable, the LARC retains the right to separate the employee following University policies and procedures.

Be an Advocate and Ally for Others

Confidentiality Issues (FERPA):

• Any information you may come into contact with or become aware of within the California State University is considered confidential and should not be shared outside of the office. This includes addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, grades, and any other personal information you may become aware of. Sharing this information is a violation of the Federal Family Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). If a parent, guardian, or other individual/party asks you about a tutee’s information, please refer them to Gillian Estes or Loriann Negri.
• SI Leaders should not share session attendance or participation information with the faculty. Tutors should not share confidential information available through WC Online.
• Desk staff will also have access to confidential information that should be kept private.

Tutors and SI Leaders are Mandated Reporters

• This position is considered a “mandated reporter” under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.
• Your supervisor(s) are your best resource when confronted with issues that might require reporting. They can connect you with the appropriate people and departments to proceed if you suspect someone is being abused, or is being abusive.

Practice Inclusivity and Non-Discrimination

• LARC is committed to making all students, faculty, and staff who work in or come to LARC feel welcome in the physical or virtual environment. Some ways that we can do this include:
  • Use someone’s preferred name and pronouns
  • Listen actively and use welcoming body language
  • Center student agency, voice, and experience, and practice compassion
  • Aspire to be accommodating and non-judgmental
• Advocate for all students, including those in protected categories
• Be open to learning and growing in awareness of our own biases (implicit and explicit); understanding of racial and other inequalities, and cultural awareness and sensitivity.
• Read and adhere to SSU’s policy of non-discrimination and be able to advise others on the process for redress if they share that they are being discriminated against.

SSU's Policy on Non-Discrimination

“Sonoma State University and its auxiliary organizations . . .  support an environment free of unlawful discrimination in any of the University’s programs or activities of education and employment. Accordingly, discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including sexual harassment and sexual assault), sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, age, disability, medical condition and covered veteran status is prohibited.” This policy is conducted in accordance with several state and federal statutes. The “Protected Categories

“Employee responsibilities include: conducting themselves in the workplace, on the campus, or at any University-sponsored off-campus activity (including travel) in a manner that ensures that their actions do not discriminate against and/or harass any other individual; cooperating in, and honoring the confidentiality of, fact-finding and/or complaint investigations.” [excerpts from CSU’s Non-Discrimination Policy]

The aim of this policy is to create a friendly and welcoming work environment for all. [Discrimination Complaint Procedures]

LARC embraces and upholds the SSU statement of diversity and “strives to create a climate in which the desire to build trust among people is widely shared, and opportunities for enhancing diversity and a sense of community are encouraged and supported. We stand committed to fostering and sustaining a pluralistic, inclusive environment that empowers all members of the campus community to achieve their highest potential without fear of prejudice or discrimination.”

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