Faculty & Staff Resources: Business Communication Lab
In addition to assisting our students in becoming more confident communicators, the Business Communication Lab offers a wide variety of services to faculty and staff in the Walton College and the community. See below to learn more about how we can serve you.
Services for Faculty/Staff
We will visit your class. If you are working on a communication assignment that involves writing or oral communication (business writing or presentations, pitches, speeches, etc.), the BCL can visit your class and present on writing/communication best practices that align with your assignment.
We will help you build communication assignments. If you would like to discuss creating effective writing assignments or incorporating business writing or communication into your curriculum, the BCL can assist you.
We will help you build rubrics. We can assist you in developing a rubric for communication or writing assignments that align with business communication best practices.
We will share our resources. You can request a tutor to visit your class and briefly share our services with your students. We also provide handouts, multimedia resources, and tools for students that will help them become better communicators on our resources page. We encourage you to share these resources on research best practices, citation styles, business writing and communication, and many other professional resources, with your class.
Syllabus Statement
You can meet with a tutor at the Business Communication Lab in person or online Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM. To make an appointment, go to walton.mywconline.com
The Business Communication Lab, located in WCOB 343, is a writing and communication resource for all Walton students and students taking a Walton class. The lab has highly trained tutors ready to meet with you and assist you for any written or oral communication assignments. This includes, but is not limited to, composition papers, presentations, scholarship and/or study abroad applications, job documents, pitches, and more. If you are writing or speaking at all, tutors are prepared to meet with you at any stage of the process from brainstorming, to organization, to final drafts.
Reach out to bizcomm@walton.uark.edu. We would be happy to answer any questions for you about our services and provide additional information.
You can also follow us on Instagram @Walton_BCL.
Faculty FAQ
We assist students in sounding less like students and more like young professionals. To this end, we focus on providing students with the tools to become better, and more self-sufficient, communicators. This means we are not a “quick fix” editing service that will correct student grammar. Instead, we focus on larger writing processes and developing students’ ability to problem solve in their own work. We do this through peer tutoring. Peer tutors do not correct or write student’s papers. Instead, they guide students into improving their writing and oral communication habits. Read our full mission statement.
All kinds. Writing and communication centers are not just for students who need help or who are not getting good grades. This is a common misconception. The BCL is for everyone at all stage, regardless of their skill level. We are more than just a writing and communication center: we specialize in business communication. This means that students who may be excellent writers or presenters may not be well-versed or rehearsed in business related communication or have had the chance to practice their skills in industry. This is where we come in. We can help students with their professionalism and overall communication skills and give them a chance to practice these skills before entering the workforce.
The BCL tutors consist of undergraduate and graduate students from various disciplines and departments across the University of Arkansas campus. Tutors are trained and certified through the College Reading and Language Association. In addition, tutors are highly skilled in communication best practices and represent the BCL through workshops, presentations, research projects, and conferences. All tutors are well versed in Walton College assignments and the latest business communication research. You are welcome to stop in at any time to get acquainted with our staff and services.
No. Tutors do not comment on whether a specific assignment is worthy of an A or otherwise. Please do not send students to discuss grades on specific assignments, as they will always direct the student back to the instructor. Students often see writing centers as a quick fix to get a good grade. However, that is a misunderstanding as to what we do. The BCL works to build better communicators, and while we do this work by guiding students through the improvement of individual assignments, our goal is to improve the writer as a whole.
- Add our syllabus statement to your syllabus.
- Include the BCL website link to your BlackBoard classroom.
- Invite a BCL tutor to your classroom to talk about our services either at the beginning of the semester or when you have a writing or communication-heavy assignment.
- Bring your class on a short tour of the BCL in WCOB. Please email us first to let us know you are coming as our space is small and cannot accommodate larger groups.
- Offer extra credit for writing assignments when students visit the BCL. We can notify you each time a student of yours uses our services.
- Share our online resources with your students via email. Instructor reminders and support are the surest way for your students to use the resources available to them.
- Request a flyer to post on your office door.
When a student visits the lab, his or her tutor will ask the student if the instructor needs confirmation of his/her visit. Our scheduling system will generate email confirmation at the student’s request. You are always welcome to email the lab directly for confirmation as well.
Yes. We can work with you to revise the assignment and/or the assignment prompt to ensure the instructions are clear to the students. We can also work with you to develop a presentation and visit your class to teach writing best practices for the specified assignment.
Yes. We can work with you to develop a presentation and visit your class to teach writing best practices for the specified assignment. We can also work with you to revise the assignment and/or the assignment prompt to ensure the instructions are clear to the students.
Yes, BUT please contact us beforehand. Please be mindful that often students who are not invested do not learn well. Given the high demand for our services, our limited space, and our commitment to student success, we ask that you please connect with us before making the BCL a requirement.
No. Our services work best when we can teach students how to revise and edit their own work. We are not a proofreading or copyediting service and this is counterintuitive of our mission to build better communicators.
While having a full draft of an assignment can be helpful, it is not necessary. We can assist students at any stage of the process. If they are struggling to start, we can help them brainstorm. If they are finished, we can talk them through any potential revisions. Please encourage students to keep appointments no matter how far along they are in their work.
Anyone is welcome to use our website resources. We welcome interdisciplinary collaboration and connection with the university and community. Please reach out to us via email if you are not Walton faculty/staff and would like to connect at bizcomm@walton.uark.edu