Re: Help with Student Writing Center Awareness

["Denise M. Rogers" <dmr2899@usl.edu>]

Adon Arnett wrote:
 I
> already have a 81/2 X 11 page on the door explaining our WC's
> policies, procedures, and philosophy, but the type is about 14 pt
> and the consultants say nobody stops to read it. 

I can sympathize with you. From what my students tell me, they don't
read anything they don't have to read. We have two doors to our writing
center, one of which is locked and bears a sign that has on it a big
arrow pointing to the "real" entrance, and still, people knock on it,
push on it, and generally get frustrated with it (sometimes to the point
they complain "This place is never open!" Usually, someone peeks his or
her head out the door to the center and say "Yes, we are!" I've had
people say they didn't see the sign, or that they saw it but didn't read
it.

I'm thinking that no matter how big you make the sign, people will not
see it; their minds are on other things.



> Does anyone have suggestions regarding tactful and still
> friendly ways to go about creating awareness of these issues?  I
> don't want to scare anybody off, but I don't want them to confuse our
> overall intent, either.  I want the WC to be place students can visit in
> an effort to become better writers, not just A students on 1
> assignment.

You might have a policy sheet that students have to read before they are
tutored. We tried that at the U of A, and I think it worked pretty well.
Of course, when people read that we were a tutoring service and not a
proofreading service, folks grumbled. When it came to helping a student
with a paper that was due in a half an hour, the tutors simply said,
"Gosh, this is a tutoring center, and I'll help you as much as I can,
but we'll probably have to make some choices about what to work on. Do
you want to work on mechanics or on structure?"

I don't think there's anything wrong with being honest about what you
can do, even if some students don't like to hear that. Most of them
really know it, anyway. I don't know that I would feel too badly about
the student who walked away. In fact, that might just be his frustration
at himself talking. He might actually be better prepared next time, and
he might still show up at the writing center.

Denise