Faculty Support

Class Visits

Your class is welcome to visit the Writing Center’s Writing Studio (which seats 24) to introduce your students to the Center. Students can come to the Writing Studio in Zahnow250, center staff can provide a brief introduction to the center at the top of your class, and instructors can take over their normal activities after questions have been answered. Center staff is also happy to come to an instructor’s classroom to present about the center. To request a class visit to the center, or a center visit to your class, please email the center’s director: wdeherde@svsu.edu

Required Visits

Required visits can be an effective way to develop student communication skills and improve learning experience (WCs and Mandatory Visits Bibliography (591KB) ). With required visits, the students in your class can receive individualized support in developing reading, writing, and speaking skills. A required visit is different from an in-class peer review. Writing Center staff are interested readers who are trained in asking questions about writing and collaborating in learning about communication challenges. Below is some information about getting the most out of required visits in the Writing Center.

Appointment Slips

Tell your students to ask their tutor to send a proof of appointment confirmation email to your SVSU email. Tutors do not send confirmation emails automatically. If a student claims they forgot to ask or their tutor forgot to send confirmation, we can verify the student's attendance upon your request. For verification, please write to the director: wdeherde@svsu.edu

Early Sign-up

Encourage your students to sign up for an appointment 2 weeks ahead of time to make sure they can get in at time that works for them. It is often effective to take a few minutes at the end of a class period to have your students book their appointments.

Set Expectations

As an instructor, you will also need to let your students know your expectations for their sessions. You may suggest some things for students to ask their tutors when they meet. You may also think about what communication learning objective you would like students to take away from their experience in the center, in other words, how you could use writing center sessions to demonstrate something about writing. For some ideas about how you can introduce required visits to your class and prime students to learn about how writing happens, please see this document: How to Talk about Writing Center Visits (136KB)

Sample Syllabus Text

You are required to attend one Writing Center session for this class (20 points). The session may concern any assignment for this class and can take place in-person or online. Please schedule your appointment two weeks ahead of time to ensure you find an appointment slot that works for you. When attending your Writing Center session, you must ask your tutor to send confirmation of your attendance to your instructor. The center is open throughout the week, and appointments can be booked directly though the center’s website.