Academic Support Services
The University of Richmond and the School of Arts & Sciences offer a number of support services to students who need assistance achieving their academic goals.
Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum
Richmond’s writing program has received national accolades for its intuitive design and uncommon results. Not only can students visit the Writing Center to receive critiques of their written work, regardless of major, but many classes are supported through the Writing Across the Curriculum program. In those cases, a faculty member has agreed to invite a writing fellow (an experienced student writer who has received special training) to sit in on the class throughout the semester, offering one-on-one help to students in the class as they complete the course’s writing assignments.
Weinstein-Jecklin Speech Center
The Speech Center, housed in the School of Arts & Sciences’ Weinstein Hall, is a resource for the entire campus community, regardless of academic discipline. Students can visit occasionally or regularly to work with trained student speech consultants on their presentation or interview skills.
Multimedia Language Laboratory
For students studying the languages, nothing helps increase proficiency like practice. At the University of Richmond’s Multimedia Language Laboratory, students have access to the latest in language learning technology, and language classes frequently incorporate visits to the MMLL as a course requirement. The lab features computers that are configured for multilingual computing, international cable television, VCRs and DVD players for video-based learning programs, audio recording and playback programs, and a screening room for watching international films. In addition, the MMLL offers placement tests to help students gauge the most appropriate language courses for them.
Language Across the Curriculum
Designed to enhance students’ language skills across the disciplines, the Languages Across the Curriculum program incorporates language learning into non-language-based courses. Students opt to add on a one-credit, pass/fail language course to non-language classes in which they are enrolled. So for example, a student taking a class in the history of Baroque art might decide to add a credit hour of French to enhance their experience studying the art of 18th-century France. Students meet with native-speaking international students and increase their language proficiency by discussing subjects relevant to the course.
University Libraries
The libraries on campus, Boatwright Memorial Library and the Parsons Music Library, offer access to more than 500,00 items—books, journals, government publications, DVDs, audio books, musical scores and recordings, and full-text electronic resources. Boatwright Library houses the business, humanities, social sciences and science collections. It also houses the Media Resource Center, which has more than 10,000 videos including popular movie titles, foreign films, music videos and documentaries and more than 1,500 fiction and non-fiction audio books.
The library staff at Boatwright is dedicated to helping students with their library and information research and students can set up personal research appointments with librarians who specialize in their topic. The Libraries’ Web page is also a useful tool for research, linking to over 150 online databases. In addition to extensive research material, Boatwright offers a large selection of current fiction and non-fiction books for recreational reading. For music needs, the Parsons Music Library has nearly 10,000 CDs covering a wide assortment of musical genres, including classical, jazz, rock, hip hop, folk and world music.