Students who have questions about services at the University of 棉花糖直播 at Lafayette can use online chat to get answers. Online chat technology is available in three areas: Edith Garland Dupr茅 Library, the Academic Success Center and the IT Help Desk.
Librarians are available online, and via text message, during the library鈥檚 hours:
鈥 7:30 a.m. until midnight, Mondays through Thursdays;
鈥 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays;
鈥 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays; and
鈥 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a chat widget on the library鈥檚 main page and on its 鈥楢sk a Librarian鈥 page. We also have a dedicated phone number for text messages, which are routed through the chat service,鈥 explained Emily Deal, the University鈥檚 distance learning and virtual services librarian. The number for texting is (337) 205-7558.
鈥淪ometimes we get text messages from students who are inside the library, and that鈥檚 great. If that鈥檚 how students want to communicate with us, we鈥檙e happy to respond,鈥 she added.
The Academic Success Center provides academic support, including free tutoring, for UL Lafayette students. Its online chat service for academic questions is available from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Additional hours will also be available for tutoring. Once the semester is under way, those hours will be posted on the center鈥檚 website, studentsuccess.louisiana.edu. Students can go online via ULink and select the 鈥淭utoring鈥 tab to find a list of courses for which tutoring is available.
UL Lafayette鈥檚 Office of Information Technology also uses online chat during business hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and 7:30 to 12:30 p.m. on Fridays. David Savoie, the IT Help Desk manager, said his staff typically responds to technical questions, but also fields general questions as well. 鈥淚f someone asks about academic registration, for example, we鈥檒l direct them to the appropriate web page to help answer their question,鈥 he said. The IT Help Desk conducts about 15 to 20 chats per day.