Teaching Strategies

Student Affairs Services

What Student Affairs Wants You to Know 

As faculty try to imagine what emergency remote teaching and learning will look like, our colleagues in student affairs are positioned to provide us necessary information to more accurately imagine our students’ experiences and make informed teaching decisions. Here are what your colleagues on campus would like you to know, as well as resources those offices will continue to provide students for the rest of the semester. For more information about pedagogical options that can help to redress some of these concerns, see the “Guiding Principles,” above. 

This resource will be updated as we receive more information. 

  • Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center: BAIC’S staff continues to offer remote support services. Students can reach out directly to the BAIC (bowmancenter@bc.edu) or their respective advisor with any questions or concerns.
  • Campus Ministry: CM is continuing to support students. Pastoral counseling and spiritual direction continue to be available by phone and videoconferencing, including to a limited number of students without preexisting appointments. Students can also find out how to get connected with a minister, discover opportunities for collective prayer, and explore media outfits that provide thoughtful, contemporary conversations about theology, spirituality, and religion at the COVID-19 Resource site.
  • Connors Family Learning Center: The CFLC is moving tutoring and academic coaching online.  Beginning on March 23, students will be able to book appointments online.  Please visit our website at www.bc.edu/connors for more information.  In addition,  student accommodations still hold after the transition online. Kathy Duggan and Ildiko Szekely can offer support to both students and faculty in meeting those accommodations.
  • Disability Services Office: Student accommodations still hold after the transition online. Rory Stein can offer support in meeting those accommodations, and the CTE is developing resources about accessibility concerns that apply to all of our supported teaching technologies.
  • Montserrat: There are students on campus who will have no or limited internet access at home, and no nearby public libraries or community centers. Montserrat students who have specific concerns can continue to reach out directly to that office.
  • Office of Health Promotion: OHP has created two resources for students on transitioning to online learning and maintaining their physical and mental health during this crisis.
  • Office of International Students and Scholars: While some international students will be going home, others will remain with the small contingent of students on campus. Many who go home will be living in different time zones, making attending synchronous sessions difficult to impossible. For those who stay on campus, feelings of anxiety and isolation may be high as they weather this crisis away from family and friends.

    OISS has put together a list of FAQs for international students who are figuring out what this transition means for them.
  • Student Outreach and Support Services: LGBTQ+ students will still have access to campus resources and support. Students can seek out those services by emailing studentsupport@bc.edu.
  • University Counseling Services: UCS will continue to operate as a resource to students and faculty over the course of the semester. Students will be able to continue with regularly scheduled appointments via phone, and the Psychological Emergency Clinician (PEC) will still be accessible 24/7 for students who are in acute distress or for faculty who need to consult about mental health concerns for a student. You can get in touch with the PEC by calling UCS during business hours (617-552-3310), or by calling BCPD (617-552-4440) or University Health Services after hours (617-552-3225). For a more complete overview of how UCS is operating, please see the summary posted on their website.

    UCS also recommends the following resources for instructors who are seeking more information about how they can support students through this distressing juncture. 

  • Women’s Center: Survivors of sexual violence may find this abrupt transition particularly disruptive and difficult. The Sexual Assault Network will continue to be active. Students can call the crisis hotline (617-552-2211) at any time to speak confidentially with an advocate, and advocates will be prepared to help students identify local resources. The Care Team will also continue to meet with students in-person for those who remain on campus and by phone or video conferencing for those who are elsewhere.