Welcome back students.  Although the fact of the matter is, most of you have been moving forward despite one of the most trying times in world history.  Most likely you either graduated from high school or have been taking remote classes to keep progressing towards your goals.  

Congratulations to you!  It hasn’t been easy with all the uncertainty and rapidly changing rules, but you got through it — and here you are.  You are survivors. 

Learning these days looks and feels a little different.  It’s a menagerie of masks, social distancing paw prints on the floor, plexiglass screens and other funky stuff that would have been hard to find in 2019.  

For some courses you are fully in-person or fully online in addition to the hybrid model of a little bit of both.  

Academic support services from our libraries, tutoring centers and student technology hub are more flexible these days, too.  Students have more options than ever before to help them succeed because the pandemic forced all of us to be better.   

We have some exciting new services and resources that are available to you 7-days a week — even during non-traditional hours. 

• We have expanded our weekend hours.  We will provide on-site and online services from 9 a.m. to 3  p.m. Saturday and Sunday.  Regional students have access to all online opportunities during this time as well.   

• Appointments can now be directly made with our librarians and academic engagement partners (professional tutors) through Navigate.  We continue to offer appointments through the Book-A-TechXpert, Book-A-Librarian and Book-A-Tutor links from the library home page as well. 

• Online tutoring from Madison College tutors is now available into Sunday evening.  Yup, we know about you procrastinators (like I was).  Someone will be there for you. 

• We are on chat!  You can get immediate service with us by selecting any of the following drop-downs in the chat widget on the college website:  General Information & Library, Tutoring or Student Technology Hub. 

• Need to borrow a college laptop or hot spot?  We can hook you up.  Request what you need and we will help you set it up.  By the time you leave you will have full access to everything that you need to be successful. 

• Need a PAL?  Sign up for the Personal Academic Librarian program.  You will have access to your own personal librarian who will work with you on reference, research, technology needs and more. 

• Our Student Technology Hub can answer many questions you might have about Blackboard, Navigate, Email, Account Creation, Multi-factor Authentication, Microsoft Office, etc.  You can reach us by email, chat, text, in-person or by phone.  We ALWAYS answer our phone! 

Maximize all these positive changes that have been made over the past year and a half.  It will allow you more flexibility in your learning and your life.  The Library, Student Achievement Center and our Student Technology Hub are here for you.  We can’t wait to serve you all in whatever way you choose. 

From our entire team, we wish you the very best for a safe, happy and successful semester.