This pandemic might have brought us to a lot of personal realizations, one of them being how heavily we rely on the physical campus structure to facilitate our education. A big benefit of being on campus is access to learning and health resources. However, a lot of us find ourselves with mostly online classes and unable to return to London for the school term. So what happens now that you can’t physically be on campus? The good news is that a lot of the resources we access on campus are now being provided online. To make everyone’s life a tad easier, we have prepared a list of helpful links for services that you can now access online:
The Library
Not to be that dramatic bibliophile, but a library is the best part of any campus. A lot of us find ourselves without an ideal study space and unsure about how to access research material. In September, Weldon Library will be open to students who need to access books, study spaces, and printing services. All visitors would be expected to comply with the social distancing guidelines. In case you are not in London or simply need books or readings from the library, you can either utilize the digital delivery system or use no-contact pick up. Under digital delivery you can use the library search tool, Omni, to request portions of materials in PDF forms as permitted under existing copyright laws. You can simply log into Omni and request ‘Digitization’ and you will be sent an email detailing how you can access the material. However, if you really need the paperback version of your resource, you can choose no-contact pickup. You can place your request via Omni and you will receive an email for when your items are available for pick-up at the library. When picking up the materials, social distancing measures will be in place. You can read more about the process here.
Research
Understandably, research is a huge part of academic writing. Now that we cannot conveniently traverse the library and browse the bookshelves, we might have to resort to online resources for our research. The library has posted helpful tips for both instructors and students for finding research material online. It includes advice on how to search for scholarly articles online, how to limit your search to online resources on Omni, and alternative strategies for finding obscure print materials. You can also contact the library help desk for virtual research assistance.
The Bookstore
While the bookstore is scheduled to open on August 31st with safety measures in place, they strongly recommend getting course materials delivered online. Log in to Student Services to view your personalized textbook list. You can then purchase an eBook of your text if available, or you’ll have the option to purchase the physical copy at the bookstore or elsewhere and have it delivered. If you are getting your books elsewhere, please make sure to get the same edition as listed in your syllabus unless your instructor states otherwise.
Writing Support
The Writing Support Center is currently not meeting with students in person, however, students can submit their work for review and feedback directly to Online Writing Assistance. The Writing Support Center does not edit your work but they provide valuable feedback on how to improve your writing. Incoming undergraduate students can also access short modules prepared by the Writing Support Center to acquaint them with university-level writing.
Plagiarism and Citing
All your course syllabi would have already drilled this into your head, and yet, here we are saying this again: Plagiarism is a serious scholastic offence. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional. Thus, citing your references correctly becomes an important part of academic writing. The library has made cheat sheets available for the various citation styles. They also have a citation management software that can help you track your citations and automatically format your bibliographies and in-text citations. You can use these to verify your citations. You can also use the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue for information on citations for different styles and different reference material.
Mental Health Resources
Student health services continue to provide mental health assistance through telephone counselling. Health and Wellness provides free and confidential counselling to help students cope with the stress of academic and social life. They have a crisis contact line and a resource guide tending to the various issues students might experience. As students, we often fail to prioritize our health, especially our mental health. Now that we are more socially isolated, a lot of us might find our mental health deteriorating. Please remember to keep in touch with your loved ones and to seek professional help if you find yourself struggling. We should also make sure to look for signs of concern amongst friends and look out for each other in these trying times.
We hope this resource list makes learning and getting help a bit easier in a time where everything seems to be shrouded in obscurity. Just because we are away from campus doesn’t mean our education and well-being should suffer. It might take a bit of extra effort to reach out, but if it helps you get better in any way, it will be worth it in the end.