Help Navigating Academic Commons

All members of the GW community are welcome to make use of Academic Commons programs and services. While the tutoring and review session programs are intended to support undergraduate students, graduate students and other members of the community can access the data consulting program and skills for academic success modules. 

All programs and services in Academic Commons are offered free of charge to currently enrolled GW students. Faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of the GW community also have free access to select programs. 

Academic Commons is located in Gelman Library. Our Ask Us Desk on the entrance floor is the central hub for general questions. Tutoring takes place in the Tutoring Center (Gelman 201), while data consultations and review sessions happen in other spaces. Please check the session details on Penji for specific locations.

Academic Commons programming operates during the following hours: Sunday Noon-8:00pm; Monday-Thursday 10:00am-8:00pm; Friday 10:00am-5:00pm. Follow updates on the Library Website for changes to the schedule due to holidays or other university/building closures. 

Academic Commons helps you succeed by providing the peer-to-peer support and resources you need to learn effectively and deepen your understanding of course material. We are here to help you build confidence, develop essential academic skills, and succeed throughout your academic journey at GW.

If you are interested in becoming a tutor, learning assistant, data consultant, peer navigator, or graduate student assistant, follow our Prospective Academic Commons Student Employees page. We typically begin the hiring process in March for the following fall and then again in October/November for the following spring (note: most hiring takes place from spring to fall). 

A tutoring session is a collaborative partnership where you and a peer tutor will actively work through course material and practice problems together. You can expect to leave the session with a deeper understanding of the content and new strategies for solving similar problems on your own.

1. The tutoring program primarily supports high-enrollment courses at the 1000-2000 level. Review the list of classes supported by tutors and learning assistants each semester.

You can schedule your tutoring appointment using your Penji account. Our GW Penji User Guide provides a step-by-step tutorial.

Tutoring sessions in Academic Commons are 50 minutes long. 

You can schedule one appointment per day. 

You can cancel your appointment in your Penji account (see the GW Penji User Guide for a step-by-step tutorial). Academic Commons requires 30 minutes notice for a cancellation. Appointments that are cancelled within less than 30 minutes are considered missed. If you miss three appointments, you will lose access to your account and will need to contact academiccommons@gwu.edu to regain access. 

If you do not see your course, please check the Academic Resource Guide, a list of campus academic support resources by subject, or contact academiccommons@gwu.edu. We also encourage you to reach out to your faculty member and/or teaching assistant during recitation/office hours for additional support. 

A review session is a guided group session led by a Learning Assistant, where you will review major course concepts and practice problems. You can expect to leave with a clearer understanding of the material and confidence in your ability to apply the concepts you have learned.

We encourage you to sign up in advance so you can receive notifications if any details about the session change (e.g. location), but no, signing up in advance is not required. Please note that some classes have embedded review sessions that do not allow the option to sign-up in advance. 

Review the list of classes supported by tutors and learning assistants each semester.

Learning assistants are upper-level students who have taken the course (or a course equivalent) and demonstrated success. They are trained at the start of each year and many attend the classes for which they support through review sessions. 

Review session duration can vary from course to course. Check your Penji account for specific information. 

There is no limit to the number of review sessions you can attend each week. 

If you do not see your course, please check the Academic Resource Guide, a list of campus academic support resources by subject, or contact academiccommons@gwu.edu. We also encourage you to contact your teaching assistant and/or faculty member during recitation/office hours for additional support. 

In a data consultation, you will work with an advanced student with a quantitative background who will provide guidance on your data-related project, from research design and statistical analysis to software use. You can expect to leave with a clearer understanding of your data and the skills necessary to move your project forward independently.

You can schedule your data consultation using your Penji account. Our GW Penji User Guide provides a step-by-step tutorial.

The purpose of a data consultation is for the consultant to provide input and guidance on the project or task. The data consultant will not complete the analysis or project for you.

Yes, data consultants are well-versed in statistical software and can provide recommendations. 

We ask that you limit communications with consultants to the time spent in the session. For questions that come up between sessions, you can contact us at academiccommons@gwu.edu and we can serve as a connection based on the time the consultant is scheduled to work next.