Academic Advising

Each student is assigned a faculty advisor. First-year and transfer students are assigned to a specifically designated advisor who will assist in matters of academic transition. Following the first semester, each student selects an advisor whose academic specialty corresponds with the student’s area of academic interest.

Whitworth faculty members help students meet the following goals through academic advising:

• clarification of life and career goals
• creation of suitable educational plans, including selection of courses and other educational experiences
• interpretation of institutional requirements
• an increase in each student's awareness of educational resources available, including referral to and use of institutional and community support resources
• development of student's decision-making skills
• evaluation of student's progress toward educational goals
• reinforcement of student's self-direction

Students are required to meet with their advisors prior to registering for classes each term. Advisors are available to meet during the semester, as well, to discuss the goals listed above. Faculty advising is a much-valued program, and supporting students' development and academic progress is an institutional priority.

The advisor is the primary link between each student’s academic program and other resources of the university. As such, they play an important role in students' personal and academic development. Students are encouraged to discuss educational objectives as well as personal goals and concerns with their advisors. While Whitworth makes every effort to assist students through the academic advising system, students are expected to monitor their own academic progress, to know the graduation requirements pertinent to their programs, to be cognizant of their grade-point averages, to make appropriate course selections, to be aware of their final exam schedules, and to add/drop courses as needed to meet their educational goals. Advice and information are also available to each student from both the academic affairs office and the registrar’s office.

Library

Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library, at the heart of the campus, serves students, faculty and staff with information resources and related services that support learning, teaching, scholarship and intellectual, professional and spiritual development.

The building is home to library collections and services as well as Information Systems, Instructional Technology & Media Services, and the Composition Commons. It houses three general-purpose computer labs – two PC and one Mac – and multiple computer stations throughout. Wireless access is provided for laptops and mobile devices. Study rooms on both floors can be reserved for individual or group work at Book a Study Room.

The library’s physical collections include books, academic journals and consumer magazines, CDs and DVDs. The Whitworth Archives, ­an extensive collection of original documents, record Whitworth's history and aspects of the history of Protestantism in the Pacific Northwest. Along with its physical collection, the library subscribes to a vast array of digital information resources and participates in national and regional networks of lending libraries. Students and faculty have round-the-clock, on- and off-campus access to digital holdings through the library website.

Whitworth librarians help students find, evaluate and use the wealth of information that’s accessible freely on the web or within our physical and digital collections. Librarians connect with students through classroom instruction, consultation appointments and reference services in-person or via phone or web chat. The librarians also support faculty in their research and the selection of subject area materials.

Visit the library’s homepage to search the collections, contact a librarian, view hours, check your account or start your next research project using one of the Research Guides.

Instructional Resources

Whitworth Instructional Resources provides operation and support services for the Blackboard learning management system, campus and U-District computer labs, classroom technology, dance facilities, auditorium facilities, instructional technology, instructional design and media services. The Blackboard learning management system provides students with web-based access to course materials, learning activities and academic resources. Three library computer labs, multiple library computer stations, two Hawthorne Hall computer labs, and satellite computer labs located in several departments around campus and in the U-District provide more than 400 computers for students. Classrooms are equipped with computers and projection equipment, providing faculty and students with access to network resources and the internet. The department provides audiovisual resources for students, faculty and staff, including access to video and audio viewing/listening stations, academic audio and video duplication services, and instructional technology support and production. The university provides the opportunity for all on-campus residents to connect their personal computers to the campus network from their rooms. Wireless access to the network is also available to students, faculty and staff across the campus. Off-campus students may also connect to the university network via VPN access.

Student Success Center

The Whitworth Student Success Center is located in the Hixson Union Building 242 on the second floor. The staff comprises the director of student success, the assistant director of student success, a program coordinator for student success, and roughly a dozen student success coaches. The coaches are current Whitworth students who are trained to support their peers in an academic and holistic coaching model. Success coaches provide individualized academic support through effective instruction in study skills and time management. Additionally, the Student Success staff and coaches connect students to resources on campus such as tutoring, the counseling center, financial aid and more. To learn more, visit www.whitworth.edu/studentsuccess or email studentsuccess@whitworth.edu to set up an appointment. Success coaching is available for all of the university’s matriculated day students.

Composition Commons

Whitworth's Composition Commons offers assistance to any writer (student, staff or faculty) on any writing-related project (class assignment, poem, short fiction, cover letter, etc.) at any stage of the writing process (brainstorming, development and organization, revising and editing, etc.). The WCC is also equipped to answer questions about design and multimodal composing. The WCC staff is generally available seven days a week: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with restricted hours Friday through Sunday. Writers may view specific availability and make appointments by going online to https://whitworth.mywconline.com/ or by stopping in the library (Cowles 242). Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged. Email WCC Director Jessica Clements at jclements@whitworth.edu for more information.