Student Guide to Speaking Fellows
Any Barnard professor can request to have a team of Speaking Fellows “attached” to her/his course. These Speaking Fellows run 2-3 workshops over the course of the semester, usually outside of class time. If your professor has requested Speaking Fellows for your course, s/he will tell you about this requirement on the first day of class and will include information about the program in the course syllabus.
Speaking Fellow Visit
At the beginning of the semester, one of your attached Speaking Fellows will visit your course to go over which types of workshops you will be participating in and when in the semester they will be scheduled. Preparation instructions, if any, will come at this time. When you sign up for a workshop, remember to make a note of when and where your workshop will take place, and record your Speaking Fellow's email and phone number in case you need to contact her.
Attendance Policy & Workshops
Your participation in all Speaking Fellows workshops associated with your course is mandatory. We strongly advise that you review our attendance policies (see below) at the very beginning of the semester. Please understand that because workshops are experiential and based on the group dynamic, if you are late to your workshop, you will not be allowed to participate, and may not be able to reschedule. If you have an emergency and cannot make it to your workshop last-minute, please contact your Speaking Fellow immediately.
Speaking Fellows workshops begin promptly, so please arrive on time, if not a few minutes early. Because workshops run based on the group dynamic, please understand that if you are late, you may not be allowed into the session, and rescheduling may not be possible. If you cannot participate because of lateness, you will be marked as a "No-Show," and all No-Show penalties will apply.
Before you cancel: Please understand that Speaking Fellows workshops are designed for a certain number of participants, so if you do not show up to your workshop, your Speaking Fellow cannot run the workshop normally. To ensure that the other students in your workshop can still benefit from group activities, please notify us of a cancellation as far in advance as possible so that another student can sign up in your stead.
If this workshop was arranged through one of your courses, please contact your Head Speaking Fellow immediately. Please understand that because of limited capacity and scheduling constraints, rescheduling may not be possible.
If you do not show up to your workshop or one-on-one OR cancel with less than 24 hours notice for appointments made through your attached course: Your professor will be informed that you did not attend your Speaking Fellow session(s). Bear in mind that for all attached courses, attending your Speaking Fellow session(s) is a requirement of the course. Penalties to your class grade will be applied at your professor's discretion.
Head Speaking Fellows: Your Contact
All courses with attached Speaking Fellows have a main contact person, or “Head Speaking Fellow.” Your Head Fellow can answer all administrative questions about the workshops -- when and where they will be, how to sign up, how to prepare, etc. To be put in touch with your Head Fellow, and for all questions about the program more generally, please contact the Speaking Program Office (speaking@barnard.edu; 212-854-8941).