Writing Center: SP2011 reflection

Hello Readers,

The semester is coming to an end, and we just finished our last week ( we're not open for the Summer ).  We're coming back in the Fall, which means we did enough to make a good first semester impression.  In the beginning of the semester, I posed a question: "How do we establish a presence on campus and sustain it?"  Based on this semester's experience, I think we can establish a presence on campus and be able to sustain such a presence through constant communication.

Our supervisor told her colleagues ( first in the Humanities department then campus wide including other departments ) about us through word-of-mouth and university-emails.  These faculty members recommended us to their students.  They saw improvements in student performance, and they understood our mission so they continued recommeding us.  At least 45% of the students we've worked with returned for a second session or more ( these students obviously thought we were helpful ).

We didn't just ally ourselves with Faculty, we used the physical building to communicate our mission.  To some extent, we transformed the physical space.  We didn't get cool furnitures, but we still made the space welcoming through snacks and a minor Feng Shui.  It's difficult to tell if the grass-root level tactics we employed were successful or not.  We created two posters ( a la montage and recycled materials ), and 4 flyers ( 1 general and 3 for each "event" ). 

We went to the classrooms and to students to introduce ourselves.  Some students I tutored learned about the Writing Center and its services when they saw our class presentation in their Freshman seminar classes.  We also complied with 2 professors' request for class presentation.  Collaboration with other groups was more difficult.  The groups we tried to collaborate with were too "busy."

Communication through Media and community outreach were other ways.  Our Facebook page now has 112 friends, and it's another way to remind students about our presence and to inform them in a quick and convenient way.  We created an end-of-the-semester newsletter ( Issue #1 ), and we hosted 3 events/workshops  ( Read-In, Resume Workshop, and APA Workshop ).  Thanks to the data we gathered from student attendance, list of different courses we served, writing struggles and concerns, assignment descriptions etc., we have more ideas for possible future workshops.

On the last week, our supervisor couldn't believe that the semester was ending really fast.  Colleague N agreed and commented that part of this perception had something to do with our on-the-fly approach.  Other than our previous experience working at other writing centers ( more established ), everything was a learning process ( at least from an administrative viewpoint concerning promotional activities- getting the message out there ).  In addition to constant communication, we learned more about our students and their needs. 

For next semester, we're excited to continue to do the good we did and revise the not so good. We also look forward in collaborating with a faculty and add to her research project ( assessing student writing ), and possibly attend and or present at a conference (MAWCA).