Spring Break
Writing Center changes location, debuts several new reforms
by Rebecca Klein
News | 10/21/08
Posted online at 2:42 AM EST on 10/21/08
The Writing Center, a one-on-one tutorial service designed to help students improve their writing skills, moved this year to an office suite in the new Library Technical Services Information Commons and expanded its services to offer more help in areas such as grammar and English as a Second Language tutoring.
The Writing Center's move to its new space on the first floor of the Goldfarb Library has changed the format of its basic operations, Director of the Writing Center Ryan Wempler said.
"In the old location, all of the tutors shared one large room. In our new location, each tutor has an individual office, which enhances the one-on-one experience that the Writing Center strives to provide," Wempler said.
Rebecca Schlangel '10 explained that the new format of the center makes the services of the Writing Center more personalized. The new writing center has a common room, as well as several offices for instructors to tutor students.
"Now there's an official office [for each instructor] which is nice because before it was kind of just a central room. I think the changes are for the better because it's more private and you get more instruction," she said.
Stephen Gray '10, who used the Writing Center before the changes, said, "I thought the experience was pretty similar, except now it's more personalized."
However, the recent relocation of the Writing Center has also posed some problems. Wempler said that as part of the LTS Information Commons, "The Writing Center no longer functions as an isolated unit, but instead must coordinate some of its services with the other programs in the Information Commons."
One facet of the increased collaboration is a grammar tutorial the Writing Center provides in conjunction with the ESL program, Wempler said.
Chalk wrote in an e-mail, "We have made changes to maximize productivity in our sessions, including … grammar tutorials for those shaky on conventions. We have also launched initiatives to become more involved in various programs across campus that have a major writing component; these programs range from pre-med and the Heller School to ESL and of course, [The University Writing Seminar]."
The Writing Center also hopes to reformat its Web site to make it easier for students to sign-up for a 45-minute session.
"The new [Web site] format will be easier to navigate and will include more information about our various services. For the time being, the online sign-up system will remain the same, but we are hoping to adjust this in the future in order to collect data on the time slots that are in the highest and lowest demand in order to better serve the needs of students by creating more scheduling flexibility," Wempler said.
The Writing Center's move to its new space on the first floor of the Goldfarb Library has changed the format of its basic operations, Director of the Writing Center Ryan Wempler said.
"In the old location, all of the tutors shared one large room. In our new location, each tutor has an individual office, which enhances the one-on-one experience that the Writing Center strives to provide," Wempler said.
Rebecca Schlangel '10 explained that the new format of the center makes the services of the Writing Center more personalized. The new writing center has a common room, as well as several offices for instructors to tutor students.
"Now there's an official office [for each instructor] which is nice because before it was kind of just a central room. I think the changes are for the better because it's more private and you get more instruction," she said.
Stephen Gray '10, who used the Writing Center before the changes, said, "I thought the experience was pretty similar, except now it's more personalized."
However, the recent relocation of the Writing Center has also posed some problems. Wempler said that as part of the LTS Information Commons, "The Writing Center no longer functions as an isolated unit, but instead must coordinate some of its services with the other programs in the Information Commons."
One facet of the increased collaboration is a grammar tutorial the Writing Center provides in conjunction with the ESL program, Wempler said.
Chalk wrote in an e-mail, "We have made changes to maximize productivity in our sessions, including … grammar tutorials for those shaky on conventions. We have also launched initiatives to become more involved in various programs across campus that have a major writing component; these programs range from pre-med and the Heller School to ESL and of course, [The University Writing Seminar]."
The Writing Center also hopes to reformat its Web site to make it easier for students to sign-up for a 45-minute session.
"The new [Web site] format will be easier to navigate and will include more information about our various services. For the time being, the online sign-up system will remain the same, but we are hoping to adjust this in the future in order to collect data on the time slots that are in the highest and lowest demand in order to better serve the needs of students by creating more scheduling flexibility," Wempler said.
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