PAL Appointments

The only real difference is what you can speak to your Learning Peer about! During a PAL Appointment, content specific learning help is only available for those courses listed above.

We have more courses available for content specific learning help in our drop-in service, and you can check out the Course Help Schedules for the specific days/times that help is available.

As with any PAL Centre service, you can also always discuss general learning help (i.e. issues that are not content specific, like time management, study strategies, note-taking, etc.) with any of our volunteers in any of our services.

To make the most of the session, consider booking with the goal to discuss one specific topic or goal for your learning in the course. It's recommended to come prepared with at least one additional question on a topic to give yourself a chance to practice after our Learning Peers help you out.

Please do not bring any graded homework questions or problems - we do not tolerate or support academic dishonesty and you may be banned from booking future appointments.

No. To keep the service equitable to all, you will only be allowed to book one appointment at a time, with up to five total booked in a week.

You can book between 2-14 days ahead of an available appointment, and can have one appointment booked at a time.

• If you are trying to cancel at least one business day before your appointment:
  • Please log in to Western Connect, on the left side click on Dashboard, find your appointment, and click cancel.
  • If you need further support, please email learning@uwo.ca
• If you are trying to cancel within one (1) business day of your appointment:
  • Please email learning@uwo.ca ASAP and let them know you need to cancel your appointment.

Please note: after 13 cancelled appointments, you will not be able to book future PAL Appointments using Western Connect and must contact the Learning Development & Success team at learning@uwo.ca for further discussion.

Appointments (in-person or virtual) are marked no-show if you fail to attend within ten minutes after the appointment start time. 

Please note: after two missed/no-show appointments, you will not be able to book future PAL Appointments using Western Connect and must contact the Learning Development & Success team at learning@uwo.ca for further discussion.

To ensure fairness to all, the system on Western Connect is set to release appointments 2-14 days in advance, every night at midnight. You can check back the next day, or fill out our waiting list for more support. Remember, drop-ins are still available!

No. Help on assignments or graded work will not be provided during these appointments. Any attempt to encourage, entice, manipulate, or otherwise force PAL Centre Learning Peers to provide help on graded work and assignments will not be tolerated. Please see Western's policies on Scholastic Offences for more information.

The Learning Development & Success (LDS) team, in collaboration with the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Centre, collects some information before, during, and after the appointment to help the PAL Centre and LDS staff maintain and operate this service.

Information that is collected and available to PAL Centre Learning Peers is limited to:

• First Name, Last Name, Preferred Name & Pronouns
• Date & Time of Appointment
• Mode of Appointment (In-person vs. Zoom)
• Nature of your concern (as collected on the Intake Form at the time of booking)
• Course(s) you are seeking help with & course(s) that were discussed (as collected on the Intake Form at the time of booking)
• Who referred you to the service and where/if you were referred at the end of the appointment

Information that is collected and available to LDS Student Learning Specialists is limited to:

• Information listed above, which is available to PAL Centre Learning Peers
• Other information available to Western Connect administrators, including (but not limited to)
  • Your Faculty, Program, and Year of Study
  • Your UWO Student Number
  • Your UWO Student ID and email address

All information is kept confidential and is not shared with family, faculty, staff or others without your written consent. Aggregate of all or some of this information may be used for reporting or future planning purposes.

If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy, you can speak with a Student Learning Specialist on the LDS team, or further consult Western University's Privacy Office.