Re: professional vs peer tutors

[Mrs Susan C Oldrieve <soldriev@baldwinw.edu>]

> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 8 Jan 1997 18:51:04 -0500
> From: Mieke Koppen Tucker <mktucker.faculty.users.main.Bishops@ubishops.ca>
> 
> A separate issue:
> 
>     At our Writing Centre to date we have only used professional
> tutors, but are now moving towards incorporating peer tutors
> (undergraduates).  There is some resistance to this step (forced by
> financial circumstances).  Have any of you gone through a similar
> transition?  Any advice would be very welcome.
> 
> Mieke


Mieke--

	Our writing center at Baldwin Wallace is staffed by three
professional full time Writing Specialists and three undergraduate peer
tutors.  We haven't had any overt resistance to employing undergraduate
peer tutors, but there is a definite preference for the Writing
Specialists (who also teach in our Composition program) and we are trying
to promote our peer tutors a bit more.  We beefed up the requirements for
applying for a peer tutor position and improved our training progam, and
then let everyone know that we had done so.  We still have most clients
requesting the Writing Specialists, though.  

	I'm interested in hearing from other centers staffed by
professional tutors.  Our writing specialists have been suffering from
many of the problems of status, salary, and marginalization that we have
heard writing directors and lab staff complaining about, and we would like
to hear from other centers staffed by professional tutors about how they
feel
about their position in the institution, their treatment by faculty and
administration, and other aspects of their professional lives.  Our
writing specialists have been at the college for 6-13 years tutoring and
teaching composition, and after that length of time, marginalization is no
longer an adventure.  Does anyone have a good story to tell or suggestions
about what we can do to improve the situation of professional tutors in
writing centers?
				
				Susan Oldrieve