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Faculty Policies and Tips

Policies

  1. Do not require students to visit the Writing Center without consulting the Director. We are happy for you to encourage students to visit the Writing Center but ask that you do not require students to visit the Writing Center without prior permission from the Writing Center Director. This policy is maintained for several reasons. First, we may not always have the ability to meet the demand when entire courses of students are required to make appointments, especially during busy times of year. Required visits can take appointment times away from other writers who more voluntarily wish to use our services. In addition, Writing Center conferences are much more productive and enjoyable—for tutors and writers—when writers come of their own volition. If you would like all of your students to experience the Writing Center, please contact the Writing Center Director at writingcenter@emory.edu. In addition to brief class visits introducing your students to the Writing Center, the Director can also work with you to develop in-class workshops with Writing Center tutors or other programming tailored to your students. 
  2. Offer extra credit for visiting the Writing Center at your discretion. We understand that offering extra credit can incentivize visits to the Writing Center. We previously had a policy against this, based on similar reasons as our policy against required visits. We find that students are more likely to visit the EWC when faculty suggest doing so, and incentivizing a first visit may lead them to pursue subsequent visits on their own. If you have any questions about offering extra credit for visits, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Writing Center Director at writingcenter@emory.edu.
  3. Provide written permission for students to discuss take-home exams with Writing Center tutors. In order to adhere to the Emory Honor Code, we ask that instructors provide written permission (on a syllabus, assignment sheet, or personal note) if they wish to allow students to receive peer feedback on take-home exams. Without this written permission, we cannot conference with students on exams.
  4. Tell groups to come as groups. If students are working on a collaborative project, ask that all members of the group come together for a shared Writing Center conference.

Tips

  1. Communicate the role of the Writing Center clearly to your students. Include a section on your syllabus about the Writing Center by using or adapting the syllabus language we provide. In addition, consider requesting a class visit (which range from 5 to 15 minutes) from one of our tutors.
  2. Give students clear, thorough, written assignment guidelines and ask them to bring those guidelines with them to their Writing Center conferences.
  3. Have students review our appointment policies for students.
  4. Encourage students to make Writing Center appointments at least three days in advance to increase their likelihood of securing an appointment. Our schedule often fills up several days in advance, and we can only take walk-ins on a very limited basis.