I give you my personal cell phone number because I believe your success depends on you being able to complete your work whenever you can carve out the time to get it done. I know if you have to wait for an answer about something before you can move on, then that time could be wasted or lost.

I will make every effort to reply immediately. During the day, if you send me a text message and I do not reply within one hour, then I may be in a meeting or class, but I will get to you (but most of the time I CAN respond to your text even in these situations). If I do not respond within two hours - something is wrong.

First - are you asking a question that was covered in the syllabus or the speech handouts related to the assignment? If so, I expect you to be able to find that answer and your text will be considered a low priority.

If you can't find the answer to your question and you still have not heard from me, text me again. As much as I try to cover every question that may come up, there are always new ones and I WANT to address those asap.

I do receive a ton of texts and a ton of emails daily. In the fall, four of my classes are online, so my text/email load is double of that during the regular terms. It is entirely possible your message got lost amongst them all. This can be especially true if you forget to start your message with your name and your class info.

Also, I utilize a "Don't Text and Drive" software which holds my texts until I am out of the car. If you receive a follow-up text saying something like this, and I have not responded within the hour, then DO text me again because these appear in my "sent" box instead of my inbox because of that return message.

If you are not a texter, you can email in canvas or to my kwhite@lbwcc.edu. I check both of these regularly. Canvas emails are answered at least once each day.

If you need to speak by phone, then text me to see when we can both be available. I DO NOT answer cell phone calls if I do not recognize the number, and I do not save student numbers and names, so even if we have spoken before, I will not recognize the number.

Do I need to wait until morning to text or email? NO. I am working on my dissertation, and I am often up at the craziest times, so feel free to send me a message. If I am up and my phone is not charging away from where I am working, I will respond as soon as I see it.