To assist students, staff, faculty, and community members with written and oral work.
Objective
Increase Writing Center Impact
The WCTR will serve as a resource for the university and the community beyond the university through the Writing Center's website, presentations and workshops, and interactions with local community organizations and school districts.
The WCTR will collaborate with other departments and programs, such as Writing in the Disciplines (WID) and the English Language Institute (ELI), in an effort to be part of a comprehensive writing program for all SHSU students.
Indicator
Client Use
Each client logs into a writing center tracking database linked to the university database and also completes a tutor session form.
Criterion
Client Use
The writing center tracking database will show population demographics of writing center use. For a writing center which serves the entire university community, a 10% use is standard according to the Writing Center Research Project. The SHSU Writing Center aims to serve 15% of the total student population through one-on-one tutoring and classroom presentations.
Finding
Writing Center Serves 11-22% Of SHSU Population Each Semester
For Fall 2009, the Writing Center conducted 4963 individual tutoring sessions, serving a total of 2110 students. This represents approximately 12.5 % of the student population of SHSU. During Spring 2010, the Writing Center conducted 3826 individual sessions, serving 1656 students. This represents approximately 11% of the SHSU population.
The WCTR also conducted 61 orientations and presentations during Fall 2009, reaching approximately 1678 students. The WCTR conducted 43 orientations and presentations during Spring 2010, reaching approximately 1098 students.
By combining the numbers of students served in individual sessions with the numbers of students reached through orientations and presentations, the Writing Center served 3690 students in Fall 2009. This number represents approximately 22% of the SHSU population. The calculations for Spring 2010 indicate that the WCTR served 2754 students through both individual sessions and orientations/presentations, or approximately 18% of the SHSU student population. These percentages may be slightly inflated, as some students who attend presentations and orientations also come in for individual sessions; since we do not track SAM ID numbers for whole classrooms, we do not know how many.
The total number of individual tutoring sessions for AY 2009-2010 has risen dramatically. The WCTR saw a 25.6% increase number in sessions for Fall 2009 compared to Fall 2008, and a 12% increase in number of sessions for Spring 2010. However, the total number of students served has not increased as dramatically. This shows that more and more students who visit the WCTR are repeat users. While it remains a goal for the writing center to serve a larger number of students, it is encouraging to note that students are returning to the WCTR for multiple visits. The goal of writing centers is to teach the writer, not fix the paper; therefore, multiple visits should lead to increased learning.
The criterion of reaching 15% of SHSU students through one-on-one tutoring sessions and/or classroom orientations and presentations was met.
Indicator
Departmental And College Use
Students who have brought a class assignment for tutoring indicate the class on the tutor session report and in the writing center tracking database.
Criterion
Departmental And College Use
The Writing Center should serve students from a variety of courses in all departments. We aim to serve students from 200 different courses each semester.
Finding
The Writing Center Served Students From 402 Courses In 2009-2010
The WCTR served students from 205 separate courses in Fall 2009 and 197 courses in Spring 2010, totaling 402 courses for the academic year, which is almost exactly the goal we set of 200 courses per semester.
For the academic year, the WCTR served courses from every department on campus. The majority of these courses are W courses in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, followed by Education, Arts and Sciences, Criminal Justice and Business. The WCTR also conducted 183 sessions from ELI courses.
Indicator
Community Use
The Writing Center should serve the community outside of the University through individual tutoring sessions with non-SHSU students and through collaborations with local school districts and the Sam Houston Writing Project.
Criterion
Community Use
The Writing Center will tutor clients who are not working on material for a SHSU class, as evidenced by information on sessions reports and/or by clients not having a SAM ID. Of the total number of writing sessions per year, 3% should come from non-course-related sessions.
Finding
Community Use Of Writing Center
The WCTR conducted 212 individual sessions for students who were working on personal work (letters of application, admissions essays) or on work for non-SHSU courses. This is approximately 2.4% of the total numbers of sessions served. This falls slightly short of the goal of 3% of total sessions serving the community; however, based on the increased usage of the Writing Center by SHSU students, we will not make further efforts to engage the community.
Indicator
Orientations And Presentations To W-Classes
Records of all WCTR orientations and presentations are kept each year.
Criterion
Orientations And Presentations To W-Classes
The WCTR will conduct 100 orientations and in-class presentations per academic year, reaching over 2000 students.
Finding
The WCTR Conducted 104 Orientations And Presentations
The WCTR also conducted 61 orientations and presentations during Fall 2009, reaching approximately 1678 students. The WCTR conducted 43 orientations and presentations during Spring 2010, reaching approximately 1098 students. This meets our goal of conducting 100 orientations and presentations.
Action
Continue To Reach Students Across The University
The Writing Center will continue its efforts to assist students across the university through on-on-one tutoring and in-class or in-center presentations and workshops. The director will increase communication with faculty and seek marketing strategies to build student/faculty awareness of services offered by the Writing Center.
A criterion for 2010-2011 will be to reach 16% of SHSU students through one-on-one tutoring and 25% through both one-on-one tutoring and in-class presentations.
Action
Expand Writing Center Advisory Committee
At present, the Writing Center informally solicits input from a small group of faculty. While the advice and suggestions are valuable, the Writing Center should formally create an advisory board that includes faculty members from all colleges. The goals of this advisory board will be to improve communication between the Writing Center and faculty and to offer recommendations for future Writing Center projects. Faculty and staff will be invited to be part of this advisory board in early September.
Action
Increase WCTR Presence In W-Courses
The Writing Center will continue to work with the Writing in the Disciplines initiative to increase Writing Center visibility and presence in writing intensive courses. One immediate action will be the construction of a joint webpage for both the Writing Center and the Writing in the Disciplines initiative. The director of the Writing in the Disciplines initiative and the Writing Center director will also collaborate on beginning-of-semester newsletters that will be distributed to all department chairs and W-course faculty.
An objective for next year will be to increase the number of courses served from two colleges, the College of Criminal Justice and the College of Business, by 10% from the previous year.
Another objective will be to increase the number of orientations/workshops conducted at the University Center by 10% from the previous year.
Action
Start Pilot Program For Synchronous Online Tutoring
The Writing Center will pilot synchronous online tutoring starting Fall 2010. The director has met with DELTA to discuss using eCollege and eLuminate to serve as the platform for online tutoring, but until this can be put in place, we will try to utilize Skype. The program will only be available to students who are not on campus for classes and will replace our current asynchronous online tutoring, which in very time/labor intensive. Once in place, online tutoring should enable us to serve many more online and University Center students. A goal for next year will be to conduct at least 100 synchronous online tutoring sessions.
Goal
Knowledge And Skills
To help all clients become better writers and to develop more confidence in their writing abilities.
Objective
Increase Client Knowledge Of Writing Principles And Skills
The WCTR will provide services that facilitate the growth and confidence of all levels of writers by promoting techniques of effective writing and teaching basic writing skills. The WCTR will maintain and enhance the quality of SHSU's composition program and developmental writing program.
Indicator
Client Survey Of Learned Skills
A survey of clients' perceptions of the skills they have learned by using the Writing Center's services.
Criterion
Client Learning
A representative sample of clients will complete a writing center evaluation form each semester to indicate student learning of writing skills and principles. Of the clients surveyed, 90% will indicate that they can apply principles learned in the tutoring session, and that the tutoring session has improved their writing skills.
Finding
WCTR Tutorials Deemed Beneficial
At the end of each semester, 400-500 students were surveyed at the conclusion of individual writing center sessions. Survey questions were designed to gather information on basic satisfaction of services, student perceptions of learning outcomes, students' satisfaction with individual tutors, etc. For the purpose of this indicator, we looked at student responses to the following questions, which speak to students' perception of learning:
1. I left the session with a plan for my writing. 2. I can apply the principles learned in this session to future writing situations. 3. I can now identify and correct my writing errors more easily. 4. The Writing Center has helped me improve my writing skills. 5. Visiting the Writing Center has helped improve my grades.
Students were given the opportunity to respond "strongly agree," "agree," "neutral," "disagree," or "strongly disagree." Our goal was for 90% of students to respond with "strongly agree" or "agree."
The following results were recorded:
1. 98.4% of students marked "strongly agree" or "agree" to "I left the session with a plan for my writing."
2. 96.7% of students marked "strongly agree" or "agree" to "I can apply the principles learned in this session to future writing situations."
3. 93.4% of students marked "strongly agree" or "agree" to "I can now identify and correct my writing errors more easily."
4. 94.4% of students marked "strongly agree" or "agree" to "The Writing Center has helped me improve my writing skills."
5. 93.1% of students marked "strongly agree" or "agree" to "Visiting the Writing Center has helped improve my grades."
These results show that we exceeded our goal of having 90% of respondents believe that tutorials help them identify and correct their own errors, apply principles to future writing assignments, and improve their writing skills. The results also show that students believe Writing Center tutorials raise their grades.
Indicator
Analysis Of Client Skill Level
Reports from a sampling of students who use the Writing Center five or more times per semester will be analyzed to determine if the students' "skill level" has improved over the course of the semester. At the start of each semester, tutors are instructed to assess clients' skill level as "emergent," "introductory level," "average college level," "strong" or "advanced competency." There are also levels for "Emergent ESL," "Intermediate ESL," and "Advanced with ESL exceptions." Tutors participate in a norming process so all tutors have the same standards of assessment. The goal is to see if students who routinely use the Writing Center move upwards in terms of skill level.
Criterion
Frequent Use Of The Writing Center Results In Higher Writing Skill Level
50% of students sampled will increase their skill level by at least one level.
Finding
25% Of High Frequency Attendees Show Upward Movement In Overall Skill Level
169 students visited the WCTR five or more times during the spring semester. Of these 169 students, 42 showed an increase in overall skill level by at least one level, i.e. "emergent" to "introductory," or "average" to "strong." According to this indicator, 25% of high-frequency users increased their overall skill as writers over the course of the semester, as observed by WCTR tutors.
Notably, many of the students who made the most gains were students who were first assessed as "Emergent ESL" or "Intermediate ESL" and then progressed to the non-ESL levels of writing.
This measurement may need to be adjusted for the next academic year to prevent some discrepancies in the levels given to the students. Tutors were normed at the beginning of the year, but regular reminders and norming would hopefully show more uniformity of designated levels and reduce the margin of error.
This objective and criterion will be continued for 2010-2011, with the criterion of having 30% of high frequency users showing at least one level of growth.
Indicator
Assessment Of English 164/165 Essays
Portfolios gathered as part of the English Department's assessment of the composition program will undergo holistic scoring. After the essays are scored, the portfolios will be used by the Writing Center to determine the percentage of passing/failing papers by students who did/did not use the Writing Center in their writing process.
Criterion
Correlation Between Higher Holistic Scoring On Composition And Writing Center Visits
Portfolios collected at the end of 164/165 courses will be holistically scored by a panel of scorers. Portfolios showing evidence of Writing Center visits will receive higher percentages of pass/high pass than those portfolios that do not show evidence of Writing Center visits.
Finding
No Correlation Between WCTR Visits And Higher 164/165 Essays; Strong Correlation Between WCTR Visits And 164/165 Grades
Essays that were collected and holistically scored by the English department were then analyzed based on the number of Writing Center visits during the Spring 2010 semester. The data show no significant association or relationship between number of Writing Center visits and lower/higher scores on the holistic grading for either 164 or 165. This was surprising and somewhat disappointing. However, a statistically significant finding does show a strong correlation between number of writing center visits and the students' final grades in either 164 or 165. While it is understood that grades are not an accurate measurement of student learning outcomes, it is heartening to see that more writing center visits are associated with higher grades. It is also understood that students who tend to receive higher grades may be more likely to take advantage of student support centers (i.e. the Writing Center), and that the Writing Center is not the only variable in these students' higher grades.
Based on positive feedback from both 164/165 faculty and students and the increasing percentages of students who come back to the Writing Center for multiple visits, the writer of this report still believes that one-on-one tutoring improves writing skills in measurable ways, although the assessment instrument (end-of-semester 164/165 holistically scored essays) does not support this. Because it is only an end-of -semester essay, as opposed to a pre-test and post-test, it is difficult to determine if any progress was made with each individual writer. For instance, individual writers who used the Writing Center and still scored poorly on the holistic ratings may have scored even worse without the Writing Center's services. Conversely, students who scored relatively well without the Writing Center's assistance may have scored even better had they used the services. To more accurately measure student learning outcomes, we must actively pursue beginning and end-of semester measurements.
Indicator
Satisfaction Survey Of Writing Center Clients
Writing Center clients will be asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the tutorial process.
Criterion
Client Survey
The Writing Center will survey a representative sample of clients each semester. 90% of surveyed clients will be satisfied with the services offered.
Finding
97% Of Students Satisfied With WCTR Services
At the end of each semester, 400-500 students were surveyed at the conclusion of individual writing center sessions. Survey questions were designed to gather information on basic satisfaction of services, student perceptions of learning outcomes, students' satisfaction with individual tutors, etc. For the purpose of this indicator, we looked at student responses to the following questions, which speak to students' overall satisfaction of tutoring services:
1. The Writing Center and its staff provided a productive learning environment (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree); 2. My expectations for the session were: exceeded, met, not met. 3. I would recommend the tutor I worked with to other students (yes, no).
The results indicate that
1. 98% of students surveyed indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" with "The Writing Center and its staff provided a productive learning environment."
2. 97% of students surveyed indicated that their expectations for the session were "exceeded" or "met."
3. 97% of students surveyed indicated that they would recommend their tutor to other students.
This finding confirms that students are generally satisfied with the services the Writing Center provides.
Action
Refine Assessment Instruments To Determine Student Learning Outcomes
The Writing Center will continue to seek ways to successfully measure Student Learning Outcomes of students who use its services. The two new measurements used for 2009-2010 provided much information, but fell short of measuring student learning. The Writing Center director, with the assistance of IR, will refine current assessment tools and implement additional assessments for Student Learning.
Action
Continue To Monitor Student/Faculty Perceptions Of Effectiveness
The revised student satisfaction survey provided the Writing Center will valuable information regarding student satisfaction and perceived learning outcomes. This survey will be kept as a performance outcome indicator, and we will design a similar survey to be distributed to faculty each semester.
Action
Collect Beginning- And End-of-semester Data For Students Enrolled In ENG 031D
Starting Fall 2010, a sampling of students enrolled in ENG 031 Developmental Writing will be given a beginning-of-semester test/writing prompt. The same test/writing prompt will be given at the conclusion of ENG 031. Both assessments will be scored and results will be analyzed with consideration of number of WCTR tutoring sessions as an independent variable. By using pre-and post-test types of data, we hope to accurately measure student learning.
Goal
Professional And Personal Development
To provide opportunities for continued development of staff through in-house training. To encourage participation in regional, national, and international conferences. To provide opportunities for continued development of writers through workshops and readings.
Objective
Train And Support Tutors
The Writing Center will train and support its undergraduate and graduate student tutors by encouraging professional development and frequent assessment of their roles as tutors and writers.
Indicator
Tutor Training
Outline of initial tutor training and continued in-house training.
Criterion
Tutor Training
The Writing Center will keep its tutor training program certified by the College Reading and Learning Association by providing the required topics and hours of training.
Finding
Sam Houston Writing Center Is CRLA Certified Through 2014
The Sam Houston Writing Center has been certified by the College Reading and Learning Association.
Indicator
Client Survey Of Tutor Skills
Client perception of tutor's skills.
Criterion
Client Perception Of Tutor Skills
A representative sample of clients will complete a writing center evaluation form each semester to indicate that their tutor had appropriate skills. Of the clients surveyed, 90% will indicate that the tutor they worked with treated them in a professional manner, asked about their concerns, addressed their concerns in the session, and gave clear explanations.
Finding
97-99% Of Students Favorably Perceive Tutors Skills
At the end of each semester, 400-500 students were surveyed upon the conclusion of a tutoring session. Survey questions were designed to indicate general satisfaction with WCTR services, indiviudal tutor skills, perceptions of student learning outcomes, etc. For the purposes of this criterion, we examined the following questions to determine client perception of tutor skills:
1. I was treated in a professional and courteous manner. 2. My tutor asked what my concerns were. 3. My tutor addressed my concerns. 4. My tutor gave me clear explanations.
Students surveyed could respond to these questions by indicating "strongly agree," "agree," "neutral," "disagree," or "strongly disagree."
After calculating the responses, we learned that
99% of students indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" to the statement "I was treated in a professional and courteous manner."
97% of students indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" to the statement "My tutor asked what my concerns were."
99% of students indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" to the statement "My tutor addressed my concerns."
97.6% of students indicated "strongly agree" or "agree" to the statement "My tutor gave clear explanations."
These responses show that students have a clear confidence in the tutors with whom they work.
Indicator
Tutor Certification
An accounting of the number of tutors who have reached the Regular, Advanced, or Masters Level in the College Reading and Learning Association international tutor Certification program.
Criterion
Tutor Certification
The Writing Center will provide 30 hours of in-house training and additional training for tutors to reach College Reading and Learning Association certification levels. The Writing Center will keep documentation of tutors' training and tutoring hours. 10% of all tutors will reach Master level certification.
Finding
All Tutors Are Certified; 36% Of Tutors Reached Masters Level
Through ongoing training, 8 of 22 tutors have met the requirements to be certified at the Masters Level at the end of the Spring 2010 semester. Of these 8 tutors, only three will be returning for Fall 2010. Additional training for new tutors and tutors who have not met the Masters requirements will be necessary each fall.
A goal for 2010-2011 will be for 50% of all tutors to move from Basic to Advanced or Advanced to Masters Certification status by the end of the academic year. Because tutors may only increase one level per year, this objective will include all tutors, not just those who are able to meet Masters certification.
Indicator
Identify Conference Participation
An accounting of the number of conferences attended and papers presented at regional, national, and international conferences
Criterion
Conference Participation
At least 60% of tutors will present research at professional conferences and will attend other conference presentations.
During the 2009-2010 academic year, 18 of 26 (70%) tutors attended and presented at our regional Writing Center conference in Lake Charles, LA. Moreover, two graduate students also presented a poster at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Symposium.
Action
Continue To Improve Tutor Training
The Writing Center will continue to build and perfect its tutor training workshops and ongoing training. The training schedule was revised for 2009-2010 and will be further refined for 2010-2011. Some additions to our training program will include, but will be not limited to: bi-monthly study/reading groups for tutoring to meet and discuss current articles on Writing Center research and practices; online-based practice tutorials offered through the University of Wisconsin's Writing Center; Blackboard based training modules designed by current tutors.
Since the Writing Center is certified by the International Tutor Certification Program through the College Reading and Learning Association, the director of the Writing Center will offer to collaborate on tutor training with other Student Success Centers, such as the Reading Center and the Math Center. While some training must be discipline specific, much of the Writing Center's tutor training would be valuable for tutors in all disciplines. By combining efforts, we will be able to help smaller centers on campus and also expand our training program.
Action
Refine Assessment Of Tutor Training
The Writing Center will work to better track and assess tutor training. Tutors engaged in workshops or independent training should be given post-training tests which measure learning outcomes. The Writing Center director will design and provide assessment at the end of each workshop/training module.
Action
Improve Student Perception/Confidence In Identifying And Self-Correcting Mistakes
Training for 2010-2011 will emphasize having students self-identify and correct errors in their own writings. For 2009-2010, 93% of students surveyed felt the WCTR helped them identify and correct mistakes. A criterion for next year will be for 96% of students surveyed to mark "agree" or "strongly agree" on this survey item.
Action
Increase Research And Publication Output For 2010-2011
Based on our findings, the Writing Center tutors consistently meet the criterion of presenting at conferences. To increase the role of research in the WCTR, tutors will be encouraged to research Writing Center-related topics and publish their findings. A realistic expectation for 2010-2011 will be for 3 tutors to publish papers in journals, newsletters, or conference papers.