Do your students need academic help beyond what you can offer in office hours? Do you need help with accommodations and considerations? Looking for other Cornell resources to support a student about whom you are concerned?

Academic Help

Sometimes students need academic support beyond what can be provided in your office hours. Cornell has many resources to which you can refer students.

• Academic Excellence Workshops are optional, 1-credit courses designed to strengthen student learning when taken in parallel with core engineering courses.
• The Learning Strategies Center (LSC) helps students find study partners, provides programs on improving study and time management strategies, teaches supplemental courses to support student learning in certain courses, and offers one-on-one private consultations for students to troubleshoot their learning and study challenges.
• Tutors-on-Call is an Engineering Learning Initiatives (ELI) tutoring program that matches students with one-on-one peer tutors.
• Diversity Programs in Engineering supports student success through tutoring, scholarships, summer programs, and mentorship.
• The Athletic Department provides tutoring opportunities for student athletes.

Accommodations and Considerations

Students may request accommodations to support their access to a class, and academic considerations to help them through difficult situations.

• The Faculty Handbook details university policy and guidance for the kinds of accommodations that instructors are expected to provide: disability, religious observances, Title IX, varsity athletics, health, and military service.
• The Student Disability Services (SDS) Faculty Portal provides you with disability accommodation letters for students in your course. You can also download a spreadsheet from it that summarizes all the accommodations in your course.
• If you have questions about how best to implement SDS accommodations, see the SDS website for guidance on particular accommodations they grant, then contact SDS by email with specific questions.
• Academic considerations are requested on behalf of students by college advising offices. Implementation of these is at instructor discretion, as described in the advising request you receive. Consult with your department leadership and colleagues for guidance regarding considerations.
• MTEI is available to consult about best practices in implementing accommodations and considerations.

Students of Concern

There are several levels of urgency to consider when supporting students about whose wellbeing you are concerned.

• In an emergency, call 911.
• Cornell Police can be contacted at 1-607-255-1111. You can call them in a crisis situation, such as an immediate concern about a student’s welfare.
• You can refer students to Cornell Health and the many resources available from Mental Health at Cornell.
• If a student discloses a Title IX incident to you, see the Title IX website for how to proceed.
• To activate Cornell crisis support for a student, contact your college’s student services office. In Engineering, contact the Associate Dean for Student Services. In Bowers CIS, contact the Director of Student Services. You can also talk to your program’s Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) or Director of Graduate Studies (DGS).
• The Office of Student & Campus Life has information about reporting an incident or a concern, including bias and discrimination, sexual misconduct, and hazing.
• Cornell Health has tips on how to notice and respond to signs of distress, and a page with what faculty can do when they are concerned about a student. They also have a 35-minute self-paced Canvas training course titled “Notice and Respond for Staff, Faculty, and TAs”.
• Students in financial or material need may find the Cornell Access Fund, the Cornell Food Pantry, or Big Red Threads to be helpful.