The College of Western Idaho (CWI) Writing Center broke all of its previous records this semester by conducting 2,400 writing consultations with students. That marks a 23 percent increase over the spring 2014 semester. The Writing Center continues to grow as more and more students find this amazing resource.
“It’s not just the number of students using our services that is significant, it’s the fact that we see many of these students returning each semester,” says Writing Center Coordinator Rick Coonrod. “They come in for help with an English essay, and then come back for help on a lab report or a psychology research paper. They see how useful the service is and keep coming back.”
The Writing Center has enjoyed incredible growth throughout the last few years, from 1,224 total consultations in fall of 2012 to nearly twice that number two years later. During that time, services have expanded to include an extensive series of writing workshops, real-time online consultations through webcam, a refinement of the email tutoring service, and the development of 65 instructional handouts on writing topics.
Much of this growth can be attributed to the cross-disciplinary focus in the Writing Center. Tutors come from disciplines across the curriculum and many specialize in specific types of writing including English as a Second Language, English, biology, accounting, psychology, history, medical writing, and more. Because of this diverse experience, student writers can get help with any piece of writing for any course.
In the future, Coonrod says he will look to develop further real-time online consultation services and online workshops. He also wants to see the development of made-to-order, in-class writing workshops, which instructors could request for their classrooms.
For more information on Writing Center services, visit cwi.edu/writingcenter.