RE: Extra-curricular consulting

["Diepenbrock, Chloe" <diepenbrock@cl.uh.edu>]

Hi Lynell,
If you're a control freak then I don't know what I would be called!  I
don't allow my tutors to work outside the center.  My theory is that if
I can't supervise it I don't want to be held accountable for it.  I tell
all of my trainees from the very beginning that they are not allowed to
tutor (as WC tutors) except in the center.  They can work for pay
(that's their business) of course.  Occasionally we have students asking
tutors for help while they are in the cafeteria or the library and every
time someone feels sympathetic and caves in it becomes a problem.  (The
next thing they know the student is following them into the bathroom
with a packet of 18 papers to "just read" in their "free time.")  
I'm not sure how to change something once it has become an established
practice though.  People get really funny when something they have come
to expect is withdrawn.  Good luck.

Chloe Diepenbrock
UHCL

> ----------
> From: 	Lynnell Edwards[SMTP:ledwards@cu-portland.edu]
> Reply To: 	wcenter@ttacs6.ttu.edu
> Sent: 	Thursday, September 03, 1998 9:27 AM
> To: 	diepenbrock@uhcl.cl.uh.edu
> Subject: 	Extra-curricular consulting
> 
> 
> colleagues:
> 
> I have a curious situation that may or may not be a problem, but I
> would
> like some responses from any of you who might have a similar
> situation.  I
> have a slight suspicion that the writing consultants in our center may
> be
> doing so much advising outside the time they spend in the center that
> it is
> actually undermining use of the Center itself.  Let me explain:
> Concordia
> is a very small campus with a small residential population.  The
> students
> who work in the writing center are well known, mostly live on campus
> and
> want to work in the writing center partially because they like and
> have been
> doing a lot of this business of helping people with their papers.  The
> problem I'm concerned about is that students have been used to going
> to them
> late at night, in the dorms, at their convenience, etc and so don't
> think
> about the effort (and foresight) that might be involved in going to
> the
> "official" writing center instead. On one hand, I'm not that
> territorial
> about "forcing" people to only get help on their papers in a certain
> room at
> a certain time, but it may be presenting some problems:
> 
> 1. protecting the tutors' own time --- they run the risk of being
> overwhelmed by requests for help at the expense of their own study
> time. 
> They are generous, hard-working souls but may not know how to say
> "no." 
> There is also no way to pay them for this kind of work.
> 
> 2.   The "official" writing center is sometimes (too often) very, very
> slow
> and it looks like we are paying tutors to "sit around".  
> 
> 3.  We have no way to track or get credit for the work the tutors (via
> their writing center training) are doing for the campus.
> 
> 
> I think given our budget and the nature of the school, we are open at
> optimal times, and, unfortunately, any move to hold "writing center"
> hours
> in the dorms would come at the cost of a further reduction of regular
> hours
> open to everyone.  Plus, I do think that if the tutors could somehow
> start
> channeling this "extra curricular" consulting they're doing late night
> into
> the regular hours, we'd be much busier.  On an institution-wide
> assessment
> we did the number one reason why people didn't use the writing center
> was,
> "I get help somewhere else."    I don't think most of this
> extra-curricular
> consulting occurs because the student was legitimately unable to ever
> use
> the center at a convenient time.  I'm still exploring creative
> solution for
> delivering our services ---- and am not ruling out putting tutors in
> the
> dorms at night (particularly on Sunday night). But, I would be really
> interested on hearing any responses to the following:
> 
> 1.  Peer tutors out there who are on this list:  How much
> "extra-curricular
> consulting" (as described above) do you do?  Do you have trouble
> saying "no"
> when you're really busy with your own work?  Do you do anything to
> encourage
> people to use your campus writing center instead?
> 
> 2.  Do any of you at small campuses percieve this as an issue at your
> school? 
> 
> 3.  Am I just being a control freak??
> 
> thanks!
> 
> Lynnell Edwards
> Concordia University, Portland OR
>