Collecting Data: What's the Point?

Anna Shapland, Central Michigan University
Benjamin Kuzava, Central Michigan University

Description

Data collected from Writing Center sessions is about more than logistics and statistics; it’s a way to reflect upon and improve our services. More importantly, the data collection process should be linked to every service the Center provides, ensuring that consultants have access to and knowledge of the full range of resources available to them. This data collection process should also be designed to comply with FERPA privacy policies, which ensure that trends can be analyzed without giving consultants access to personal writer information. This year, the Central Michigan University Writing Center is developing a new virtual system for booking appointments, gathering relevant writer information, and summarizing session trends. By making the data system more user-friendly, for both writers and consultants, we will be able to better utilize our collected information about what goes on in the Center. This knowledge can then be used to improve our consultant training processes by giving them a better understanding of what to expect from their sessions. In this presentation, we will discuss not only our efforts to improve our current method of collecting data, but also how data processes can be linked to all other areas of Writing Center practice. By analyzing data trends, we can better understand the needs of our writing community and make strides to accommodate them.

This presentation will feature a brief demo of our new appointment book system, that is currently being piloted in the Spring 2019 semester, as well as an explanation of how the collection process impacts our Center's practices.

 
Apr 5th, 2:00 PM Apr 5th, 3:00 PM

Collecting Data: What's the Point?

Alumni Boardroom

Data collected from Writing Center sessions is about more than logistics and statistics; it’s a way to reflect upon and improve our services. More importantly, the data collection process should be linked to every service the Center provides, ensuring that consultants have access to and knowledge of the full range of resources available to them. This data collection process should also be designed to comply with FERPA privacy policies, which ensure that trends can be analyzed without giving consultants access to personal writer information. This year, the Central Michigan University Writing Center is developing a new virtual system for booking appointments, gathering relevant writer information, and summarizing session trends. By making the data system more user-friendly, for both writers and consultants, we will be able to better utilize our collected information about what goes on in the Center. This knowledge can then be used to improve our consultant training processes by giving them a better understanding of what to expect from their sessions. In this presentation, we will discuss not only our efforts to improve our current method of collecting data, but also how data processes can be linked to all other areas of Writing Center practice. By analyzing data trends, we can better understand the needs of our writing community and make strides to accommodate them.

This presentation will feature a brief demo of our new appointment book system, that is currently being piloted in the Spring 2019 semester, as well as an explanation of how the collection process impacts our Center's practices.