Writing an essay in college can often be difficult. Especially those with really specific requirements. The same can be said for preparing for a quiz, a test or even a project. Sometimes assistance or guidance with students’ studies, essays and projects can be helpful. Students can find this assistance and guidance with two college programs, Writing Across the Curriculum and Reading Across the Disciplines.
WAC is a program designated to help students with their writing assignments and help them grow as a writer. RAD offers reading comprehension support to students who need help with a quiz or a test.
WAC helps with essay revisions and helps students brainstorm for a thesis. They also take into account the various requirements for writing assignments from a variety of classes and assist students in that as well.
“Ultimately, our goal is to have a student leave WAC with the confidence to work on their own. We help the writer and not just one piece of their writing,” said Janay Lovering, a WAC coordinator at American River College, in an email to the Current.
WAC provides writing support to all students, including those with little to no college writing experience. The program offers a supportive environment to students so that they can succeed with their writing assignments.
The program also offers both online and in-person workshops on a variety of writing topics, like how to start an introduction and end a conclusion properly. Another workshop offers a refresher on MLA format, which students may have forgotten about since high school.
Students can also set up an appointment to work with an instructor online with a digital white board.
The drop-in lab is a place where students come in daily to work in a quiet place on their own assignments and to ask questions whenever they are stuck. The lab is available from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday.
According to Lovering, Enrolled students have access to WAC for the entirety of the semester by signing up for either ENGWR 95, 96, 306 or 362. Students can obtain a half-unit by enrolling in any of these courses.
WAC is located in the Learning Resource Center at the ARC campus. Their office hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday through Thursday.
RAD offers support to students that need help with studying for a quiz or a test. The program works with students to find out which strategies will be most effective so that students can succeed in their other classes.
Karalee Kendall, a chemical dependency major, says that before joining RAD she felt overwhelmed with the amount of reading and note taking that she had to do.
“RAD really has been focused on what I need to help feel confident and prepared in my classes, and for that, I am grateful,” Kendall said.
RAD’s success over the years has not gone unnoticed. According to Leah Arambel, a RAD coordinator at AR, students who take the program with their other classes have a higher success rate.
Arambel has been coordinating RAD for the last 11 years and working with the program for 18. She’s seen how RAD operates and why the program is so successful.
“I would say we have had folks from community colleges across the United States inquire about how to start a similar program on their campus,” Arambel said in an email to the Current. “We have even had instructors fly in from as far as Kansas to learn more about the program.”
RAD is a half-unit and a one-unit class that has both online and in-person options.
ENGRD 315 and 316 are both half-unit classes that focus on study skills and strategies.
ENGRD 314 is a one-unit class that focuses on improving reading.
RAD is also located at the LRC. Their office hours are Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are also available via Zoom on Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Students can also find the schedule for RAD and WAC classes in eServices.
