Presentation/Proposal Title

A Usage Study of the Write Place at the University of Dayton

Presenter Information

Emily StainbrookFollow

Type of Presentation/Proposal

Individual Presentation or Paper

Start Date

6-4-2019 11:15 AM

End Date

6-4-2019 12:15 PM

Keywords

writing center, writing center assessment, assessment, usage study

Description

Over the last few years, Christina Klimo, the Director of the Write Place (WP) at the University of Dayton (UD), has noticed a trend in the descriptive statistics of the WP. Undergraduate students, especially those from disciplines other than English, stop visiting and utilizing the WP after their first two years. The WP was designed to be a resource for the entire student body; if a portion of the student body feels that the WP is not offering services they need, then the WP is failing its mission. Klimo and I came up with two explanations for why students from disciplines other than English stop visiting the WP: it could be a marketing problem—the WP may have difficulty informing students that it is a resource—and/or a perception problem, each requiring a different remedy. A problem with perception exists when the WP’s reality does not meet the student’s perception of the WP. The WP employs “generalist” peer tutors, who are often unfamiliar with the content and academic discourse conventions of disciplines other than their own. A student who expected a session with a specialist tutor may view the center unfavorably if s/he has an unproductive session with a generalist tutor. This problem may combine with marketing shortcomings to explain this phenomena. Because the WP does not possess data on any of these potential issues, my assessment will have to determine if any of these problems exist and to what extent they influence the answer to my research question.

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Apr 6th, 11:15 AM Apr 6th, 12:15 PM

A Usage Study of the Write Place at the University of Dayton

Alumni Boardroom

Over the last few years, Christina Klimo, the Director of the Write Place (WP) at the University of Dayton (UD), has noticed a trend in the descriptive statistics of the WP. Undergraduate students, especially those from disciplines other than English, stop visiting and utilizing the WP after their first two years. The WP was designed to be a resource for the entire student body; if a portion of the student body feels that the WP is not offering services they need, then the WP is failing its mission. Klimo and I came up with two explanations for why students from disciplines other than English stop visiting the WP: it could be a marketing problem—the WP may have difficulty informing students that it is a resource—and/or a perception problem, each requiring a different remedy. A problem with perception exists when the WP’s reality does not meet the student’s perception of the WP. The WP employs “generalist” peer tutors, who are often unfamiliar with the content and academic discourse conventions of disciplines other than their own. A student who expected a session with a specialist tutor may view the center unfavorably if s/he has an unproductive session with a generalist tutor. This problem may combine with marketing shortcomings to explain this phenomena. Because the WP does not possess data on any of these potential issues, my assessment will have to determine if any of these problems exist and to what extent they influence the answer to my research question.