For Faculty

Service Overview

Dear Faculty,

Thank you for taking an interest in the free peer-led academic support the Program Leading to University Success (PLUS) provides to students at EWU.  This includes collaborative study groups and supplemental instruction led by peer leaders (PALS), commitment-based tutoring led by peer tutors, one-to-one academic coaching sessions led by peer academic coaches, and Online Tutoring through the Western eTutoring Consortium provided by live online tutors.

Our staff supervise and employ many part-time student employees (under 19 hours a week) who work in the capacity of a PAL and/or a tutor/academic coach/online tutor.  Our student employees have specific duties and responsibilities for these positions. PLUS student employees work directly for one or more of the retention specialists, not faculty members, and are not teaching assistants (in these positions).  One of the requirements for employment is to attend quarterly training sessions certified by the College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) to learn best practices in peer-based academic support.

Faculty Recommendation Form

Our online application will ask student applicants to PLUS positions to provide the name and email address of a faculty member for the recommendation, and said faculty will receive an email request with the recommendation form link.  If the student applicant wishes to provide peer assistance for two very different subjects  (e.g., math and German) they must receive two faculty recommendations, one for each subject area. If you would prefer, you can fill out our form-fillable paper copy and email it back to plusstudent@ewu.edu.

Student Employee Hiring Process

We receive applications, interview, and hire the majority of our student employees prior to fall quarter so that we can keep them for the entire academic year (see Hiring Information here).   Student employees must be hired before the beginning of each term so that they can attend mandatory orientation for CRLA training and get their hiring paperwork completed through the Student Employment office.  We schedule study groups and assign tutors in advance of the quarter so that students can receive assistance starting Week 1 or Week 2 of the quarter and have PLUS assistance become a part of their weekly schedule.

What are the Requirements for PLUS Employment?

Students must complete our online application.  Applicants must have at least sophomore class standing, a 3.0 or higher overall GPA upon the time of application, a 3.3 or higher in each course they are interested in assisting with, and be available to attend CRLA-certified mandatory training orientation.

In providing quality peer-based academic support to EWU students we also need faculty support and feedback regarding applicants.  Student applicants must request and receive a positive faculty recommendation through our online form.  This includes faculty from EWU but also from community colleges/other institutions from across the Pacific Northwest.  With our large student transfer population, not all tutors will have taken a course at EWU that they are tutoring in.

Thank you for your support!

The PLUS Team

Faculty Recommendation Form
Setting up a Study Group
Referring Students to Tutoring
Referring Students to Academic Coaching