THE SPEAKING CENTER POLICIES
Scheduling Policies
- To ensure equal access to consulting services at The Speaking Center, individuals are limited to two (2), non-consecutive, 45-minute scheduled appointments per week.
- Appointments must be scheduled at least two (2) hours prior to the beginning of the appointment.
- Requests to move an in-person consultation online should be made as soon as possible after scheduling and no less than two (2) hours prior to the appointment.
Cancellations and No-Show Policies
- If you cannot make a scheduled appointment, please cancel it by accessing your TutorTrac account at tutoring.fau.edu. Cancellations must occur no less than two (2) hours prior to the appointment time.
- Speaking Center staff will not cancel appointments for you.
- If you cancel within two (2) hours of the appointment time or do not show up to your appointment, it will be marked as a “no-show.” No-shows impact the consultants who anticipate your session, as well as a student who could have been seen in the spot you missed.
- If you accumulate three (3) no-shows or make five (5) cancellations within one semester, your online scheduling privileges will be suspended for the remainder of the semester.
Plagiarism Policy
- Plagiarism occurs when writers claim—deliberately or inadvertently—someone else’s writing as their own. Plagiarism is a violation of academic integrity, and FAU treats it with serious consequences.
- If plagiarism is apparent, a consultant will help the speaker identify, eliminate, and/or rework the questionable text. In the event of a second incident, the instructor will be notified.
Exam Policy
- Consultants may not help students with tests, mid-terms, or final exams unless the course instructor has written on the exam paper explicit instructions that permit outside assistance.
Consultant/Consultee Expectations
- Speaking Center consultants are trained to support speakers throughout the process of preparing a speech or presentation. Although consultants can help speakers navigate this process and provide constructive feedback throughout, the work is ultimately the speaker’s responsibility.
- One consultation will not be sufficient to work through the speech-preparation process from start to finish. You should identify a specific stage to focus on and may schedule subsequent consultations to assist with later stages of the process.
- In providing feedback, consultants will help speakers identify patterns and general areas for improvement. They will not provide line edits of entire speeches or presentation scripts.
- You should bring a copy of your assignment/task, a current draft of your speech or presentation, and any additional relevant materials, such as research, notes, visual aids, etc., to your consultation.
NOTE: These policies were adapted with permission from the University Center for Excellence in Writing (UCEW) and the Center for Learning and Student Success (CLASS).