Academic Assistance

For Online Students

Online students at Patten University are never alone. People are the core of our platform; our technology exists so our faculty can serve you better.

Course Instructors - Patten’s online Instructors are accomplished subject matter experts who are committed to their students’ success. We use a version of the “flipped” classroom. This means that material that would traditionally be included in lectures is put online, which enables Instructors to spend more time with students and to make that instruction time more personalized. Patten’s online Instructors behave more like coaches or tutors than like traditional lecturers, who stand at the front of large classes and talk at students.

Within each course, collaborative learning takes place on nearly every page in the Links and Discussions area. These discussion function like the familiar discussion feeds on popular social networks. Students and instructors can post questions, share ideas, and mark one another’s answers as helpful.

For real-time academic support, students have the option to become visible in the Chat Window. In chat, you’ll always see when your Instructors are online. If your Instructor appears in your chat list, it means that he or she is available and eager to engage with you.

Student Advisors - When you enroll, you get your very own Student Advisor. Your advisor is there for you throughout your degree program, and you will form a strong relationship with him or her as a result. The Student Advisor’s job is to help you set goals, select courses for each term, and navigate the policies of the university. Your Student Advisor will not help you directly with course material (that is the Instructors’ role), but can help you identify new study strategies, work plans, and methods to improve your grades.

Your Student Advisor is easy to reach if you need anything. You can message through the platform, schedule a phone call, or chat when you see your Student Advisor online.

Peer Support - At Patten, we’ve designed our platform around student discussion. Classmates can meet, share, and clarify concepts to one another throughout the course discussion feeds. They may also contribute helpful links, videos, and activities from across the web to the course’s collection of Supplemental Resources.

Registrar - At Patten University, the Registrar’s office offers academic support related to your degree plan credits. Registrars can help you transfer classes, add and drop, and plan around life circumstances that may arise.

For Campus Students

Patten has a variety of outstanding resources available to students who want to enhance their learning, or address challenges in their coursework:

The Academic Learning Center – Faculty members tutor students to help them address academic issues and succeed with coursework and major assignments. Students receive assistance for a single assignment or tutoring throughout a specific course.

English Language Development Assistance – Formal classes and personal and computer-based tutorials support students’ success as their English language proficiency increases.

Library, Information and Research Assistance – The Patten Blumenthal Library provides on-site and digital tutorials to assist students with research for every project from specific assignments to thesis projects. The learning resources can be accessed on campus or on the Library’s integrated online catalog.

The Computer Center – This learning resource provides PC and Mac computers with internet access, word-processing and educational software applications.

Required Textbook List – Download the Required Books document for a list of all textbooks needed in our on-campus degree programs.