Re: proofreading policy

[Alvin Maddengrider <a.madden@morehead-st.edu>]

Greetings from Kentucky,

Well, I do not have a Writing Center, but this same issue comes up all 
the time at our Learning Lab.  What we have done is have tutees sign a 
"contract" when they fill out paperwork for their first session.  

We have a sheet with information about them (address, phone number, 
etc., and permission to notify their teachers about tutoring sessions), 
Beneath the information sheet, we have a "Tutoring Contract" for them 
to sign when they come in to schedule an appointment (or during their 
first session).  (Grammarians: Please excuse all the problems in this 
message with agreement in number; no time to edit this today).

We just simply have them sign the contracts when they fill out their 
student information.  We began using this contract last fall, and it has 
solved so many problems; we have more students calling in when they 
need to miss an appointment, and we also have fewer cancellations.  Also, 
students no longer request proofreading or say, "Help me do my homework."  
The tutors really liked this idea also when I first presented it to them 
last August.  Also, students are coming to the tutoring sessions better 
prepared.

Some Writing Center-ed variation of the following may help Kate and others 
with similar problems.  Maybe a statement such as "I realize the writing 
consultants are not here to proofread my work." could be inserted. Our 
Contract reads:
TUTORING CONTRACT

"Read carefully and sign.

"As a student tutored in the Learning Lab, I agree to show up for all 
appointments on time and with my work -- assignment sheets, notes, study 
guides, textbook, syllabus, etc.  I knows tutors will not do my work for 
me, so I will make an attempt to complete any assignments I have before 
my appointment.

"If I can not show up for an appointment, I will call to cancel it.  I 
understand if I do not call or show for an appointment, I may lose my 
regular place on the schedule.  I also know cancelling an appointment 
twice in a row may also cause me to lose my regularly scheduled time. 

"Student signature ____________________    Date _____________"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Alvin Madden-Grider				Learning Specialist
a.madden@msuacad.morehead-st.edu		UPO 1217, MSU, Morehead, KY

On Tue, 13 Feb 
1996, Kate Nicole Ranft wrote:

> 
> 
> Dear any and all:
> 
> We touch on and off about ways to remind students that writing centers do
> not function as proofreading services.  Sometimes I think students think of
> our center as linguistic dry cleaners: if they could drop off their papers
> and pick them up later, they would.  Our M.O. is the gentle refusal with a
> smile.  But the occasional hostile student ruins everybody's day.  I
> sometimes wonder if our location in the basement of a large old building
> has anything to do with the "work for me" attitude that some students take.
> 
> Well, at this point, locations can't be helped.  I worry that tutors will
> become discouraged when the wealth of what they have to offer is reduced
> too often to mere proofreading skills.  We are contemplating a written
> policy to distribute to both tutors and students at the start of every
> tutoring session.  The policy would function as a contract.  Hopefully, it
> would prevent the occasional mood-ruining hostility and also clarify for
> both sides exactly what's expected of each.  We already have a sign on the
> wall regarding the ills of proofreading, but this doesn't seem to do much
> good.  Students  look at the sign (whether they actually read it is another
> matter) and then expect service.    
> 
> I wrote a rough draft of the policy, but it remains in my desk.  Something
> about it feels hostile on our side.  I don't want to discourage all the
> students (and they are many) who utilize the center in a healthful,
> growth-promoting way.  I don't want to resort to "Thou shalt not..."   Do
> any other centers use a written policy to ward off the linguistic
> laundering mentality?  If so, could you give me an idea of the approach you
> used?  Did it work?  Any other ideas?   Thanks so much for any input.
> 
> 
> Kate Ranft
> The Reading and Writing Center
> UW-Milwaukee
> 
> 
>