mission statement
The University Writing Center seeks to demonstrate the enduring power of written words to transform our personal lives, our professional ventures, and our political causes. The Center also seeks to dispel the myth that good writers are born, not made, and to empower all members of the university (students, staff, and faculty) to become effective wordsmiths in an ever-changing global community, where communication skills are both essential and valued.
ethics
- Instructors should feel confident that they are evaluating a student's own work; therefore, tutors will not write papers for students or assume ownership of a student's paper or ideas.
- As professionals, staff members will not comment negatively to students about instructors' teaching methods, assignments, personality, or grading policies.
- Tutors will point out any instances of plagiarism, discuss the importance of doing original work, and offer solutions to the problem, such as proper documentation of sources.
- Staff members are not aware of how papers are graded; therefore, we will avoid suggesting a grade for a paper or criticizing a grade placed on a paper.
- Staff members will honor the confidentiality of the tutoring relationship.
- Staff members will honor the professionalism and varied ability of fellow tutors, offering assistance when it is requested or when a tutor recognizes a need.
appointment policy
It is our policy not to accept papers for tutoring the hour prior to when they are due. The University Writing Center Tutors are trained to teach, not proofread, and students must be allowed time to make corrections to their papers. Tutoring sessions of less than 50 minutes reduce our opportunity to work with students in the areas of focus they may request or need. Students bringing papers shortly before they are due have historically sought revisions before knowledge. While we at the Writing Center enjoy offering suggestions and strategies for revision in a collaborative effort with the student authors, we are not in the business of writing or editing documents for our clients. Finally, our tutors recognize writing as a process, not an event, and wish to offer their clients the best possible opportunity to succeed in writing. For these reasons, we insist that ample time be allowed for both collaboration and revision before a paper or document is submitted for any formal evaluation.