Writing Center Scholarship: a budget's influence

Hello Readers!

One of the great benefits about my current part time job is having time to do research for professional development.  Prior to accepting this position, I assumed that Writing Centers are a regular part of the University environment.  The semi-private liberal university I attended for undergraduate studies and the state-funded university I attended for graduate studies - although different in many ways - both have Writing Centers. 

I was surprised to learn that my current institution didn't have a Writing Center for a year, and prior to this absence, the Writing Center established had a weak infrastructure ( which eventually led to its collapse ).  So this semester I'm exploring the most obvious question I can think of: How can we establish and sustain a Writing Center?

I started researching and found this awesome online database rife with Writing Center Scholarship from the 1980s to 2000s: The Writing Centers Research Project.  Reading bits of the history of Writing Centers, it was amazing to recognize how I have engendered the philosophy informally through practice instead of formal training.  I was reminded about the debates on service, the articulation of mission and goals, flexibility ( with students, faculty, administrators, et al ), and more.

So far the 3 articles I read highlighted the budget's influence in establishing and sustaining a Writing Center.  Muriel Harris is right that the Writing Center is an "ideal" place that is "non-threatening, non-evaluative ... [where] we work with students more receptive to learning" (6).  But because most Writing Centers don't have many evaluative evidence, such as test scores, the higher ups can easily get rid of it, especially in times of budget cuts and "accountability."

Pamella B. Farrell summarizes how expensive Writing Centers can get; professional tutors and computers can be costly.  Nonetheless Robert W. Barnett suggests how collaboration can help establish "ourselves as a necessary and important component of a university education" while reducing costs.

In our situation, my colleagues and I are professional tutors hired on a part time basis ( the University doesn't have to give extra money to give us benefits ).  We can still pass for college-looking students, but we have our degrees ( we don't look like those threatening teachers, who abuse their power, BUT instead, we're like older siblings being at least 7 years older than the general students we work with ).  A grant is funding this endeavor so we have to show how we are constantly helping students ( to improve student retention because if students stay in college and graduate then money will roll in: during the students' stay, as alumnae, and through reputation ).

In spite of this seeming emphasis on money, we continue upholding the Writing Center's mission of helping students by collaborating with them and eventually with faculty from all disciplines: one step and group at a time.