Guidelines for Online Chat Tutoring

As part of our comprehensive tutoring services aimed to improve academic writing, the Hunter College RWC offers students the option of enrolling in online Chat tutoring. Chat sessions are similar to onsite tutoring in that you can register for a regular weekly appointment with a tutor who will not edit or correct your paper but will work collaboratively with you to address any aspect of your writing process.

• When you register for tutoring at the RWC, you will first create a student account through http://hunter.mywconline.com and then be asked whether you prefer to meet with a tutor in person on a regular weekly basis or have an online Chat session. If you opt for Chat tutoring, you will need to access the online program by the email address and password you used to create your student account.
• To enroll in a regular weekly Chat session, you can schedule an appointment at the RWC located on the 4th floor of Thomas Hunter Hall, Room 416, for a specific day/time in the Chat tutoring program. Once you have scheduled a session, you will receive an email the day before your initial appointment reminding you of the session. Each session begins on the hour (e.g., 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, etc.); if you do not log on to your session by 10 minutes after the hour (e.g., 1:10 pm, 2:10 pm, etc.), your session will be cancelled.
• To begin or join an online Chat session, you must log into http://hunter.mywconline.com with the email and password you used to create your student account. Once you are logged in, click on your scheduled appointment—you will see your name when you scroll over the appointment time. When the appointment form opens, click on "Start or join online session."
• At the start of an online Chat session, you should use the designated Chat area to point out any concerns or issues you have about your document to the tutor. You and the tutor should also use this time to agree on how long the tutor will spend reading the document before beginning to discuss it.
• The Chat tutoring platform includes a whiteboard, where you can upload or copy/paste your work, and a Chat area, where you will interact with a tutor. Please be aware that either importing or pasting a document into the whiteboard will cause changes in formatting.
• A tutor may bold or highlight portions of a document in the whiteboard to draw your attention to a particular area in order to discuss how it may be developed. Because these changes will remain in your document, it is your responsibility to adjust the paper to accommodate the formatting and documentation style (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.) requested in your assignment.
• All the notes in the whiteboard and the conversation in the Chat area are saved, so after you end your session with your tutor, you can always log back on to that session time again click “"Start or join online session” and see your work with the tutor.

For more information, contact the RWC by phone at (212) 772-4212 or by email at rwc@hunter.cuny.edu.