THE WRITING CENTER

ACADEMIC SUPPORT CENTER

NOT JUST AN ENGLISH RESOURCE• COMMUNICATIONS

• HISTORY

• POLITICAL SCIENCE

• PSYCHOLOGY

• NURSING

• SOCIOLOGY

• PHILOSOPHY

WHO WE ARE: OUR TUTORS• ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS WITH TUTOR TRAINING

• PEER TUTORS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED COURSES TUTORED IN WITH AT LEAST A “B” AVERAGE AND ARE RECOMMENDED BY FACULTY

• COMMUNITY TUTORS WHO HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A DEGREE IN THE AREA/RELATED AREAS THEY TUTOR IN, HAVE TUTORING/TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND EXCELLENT REFERENCES

ALL TUTORS IN THE WRITING CENTER RECEIVE CONTINUOUS TRAINING IN ORDER TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF TUTORING SERVICES. TRAINING INCLUDES SUBJECTS SUCH AS WORKING WITH CLIENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES, WORKING WITH CLIENTS WHO ARE ESL, VARIOUS APPROACHES TO USING TECHNOLOGY DURING A TUTORING SESSION, AND MANY OTHER TOPICS…

WHAT WE DO

•TUTORING—DROP IN AND APPOINTMENT BASED

•HANDOUTS, STYLE GUIDES, TEXTBOOKS, AND HANDBOOKS

•WORKSHOPS—FOR FACULTY AND STUDENTS

•SEMESTER NEWSLETTER

•FREE SCHOOL SUPPLIES FOR STUDENTS-IN-NEED

•IVYPREP HELP (ACCUPLACER PREP IN WRITING AND READING)

OUR MISSION• THE FOLLOWING GUIDE THE WRITING CENTER:  

• A DESIRE TO CREATE A NON-THREATENING, COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT FOR STUDENTS,

• AN INTENTION OF DEALING WITH THE STUDENT RATHER THAN SIMPLY HER PAPER,

• A HOPE OF CONNECTING PRINCIPLES OF GOOD WRITING WITH SOCIAL ISSUES,

• A RECOGNITION OF THE NEED TO UNDERSTAND AN ASSIGNMENT IN CONTEXT,

• A PRACTICE OF ADDRESSING PRIORITIES (A HIERARCHY) IN THE WRITING PROCESS (E.G. CLARITY OVER COMMAS),

OUR MISSION CONTINUED…• A PRACTICE OF ATTENTIVELY LISTENING TO STUDENTS,

• A PRACTICE OF STARTING TO WORK WITH STUDENTS AT WHERE THEY ARE RATHER THAN WHERE THEY SHOULD BE,

• A PRACTICE OF SHOWING STUDENTS CHOICES AS WELL AS ENCOURAGING THEM TO SET GOALS,

• AN EVIDENCE OF PROFESSIONAL COURTESY TO THE FACULTY,

• A DESIRE TO PARTICIPATE IN SELF-REFLECTIVE PRACTICES THAT JOINS A NATIONAL CONVERSATION ABOUT WRITING CENTER PRACTICE.

A COLLABORATIVE WORKSITE, A PLACE OF TRUST

•A WRITING CENTER, AS A STUDENT-CENTERED COLLABORATIVE SITE, SEEKS TO ENHANCE STUDENTS’ SELF-WORTH AND CONFIDENCE BY WORKING WITHIN NON-EVALUATIVE RELATIONSHIPS OF TRUST.

RESULTS FROM THE FALL ONLINE SURVEY• “I HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE WRITING CENTER. I KNEW ONCE I ENROLLED IN MY ENGLISH CLASS

THAT I WOULD NEED HELP. THEY DEFINITELY HAVE BEEN HELPFUL AND MADE ME COMFORTABLE IN ASKING FOR HELP AND HELPING ME WITH IDEAS WHEN I AM STUCK. IT'S A PLACE WHERE I CAN GO TO BE FOCUSED.”

• “THE STUDENTS FOUND THEIR ASSISTANCE HELPFUL. IT WAS REINFORCING WHAT I WAS TEACHING.”

• “I HAD PRETTY FAST SERVICE. THEY MADE SURE THAT EVERYTHING FROM FORMATTING TO SENTENCE STRUCTURE WAS GOOD. I DON'T THINK THERE IS ANYTHING THAT CAN BE IMPROVED. THEY DO AN AMAZING JOB.”

• “I ENJOY GOING TO THE LEARNING CENTER BECAUSE I KNOW I CAN GET SOME KIND OF HELP, IT COULD BE GETTING STARTED AND FINISHING UP PAPERS.”

• “HELPFUL, VERY UNDERSTANDING, KNOWLEDGEABLE, PATIENT.”

• “HELPED ME MAKE MY IDEAS MORE FREE FLOWING AND COMPLETE.”

• “HELPED WITH MY HISTORY PAPER. GAVE ME A LOT OF CRITICAL THINKING IDEAS FOR RESEARCH.”

OUR RESULTS

• WRITING CENTER IN ITS FORMER LOCATION REPORTED 560 VISITS IN FALL 2012

• NEWLY OPENED AND RELOCATED WRITING CENTER REPORTED 941 VISITS IN FALL 2013

• 80% OF STUDENTS WHO VISITED THE WRITING CENTER EARNED A GRADE OF C OR HIGHER IN THEIR COURSE IN THE SPRING OF 2015

COME BY AND SEE US; OUR SERVICES ARE FREE TO ALL CURRENTLY ENROLLED IVY TECH STUDENTS•MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS, AND THURSDAYS:

OPEN 9:00AM-4:00PM

TUESDAYS

OPEN 12:00PM-7:00PM

CONTACT MISTY AT MSTANDAGE@IVYTECH.EDU , OFFICE 230C, AND 812-421-1421