Shared by Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier on Oct 24, 2007. Last Updated on Oct 24, 2007.

Principal Investigator(s): Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier

For More Information: wkraglun@stfx.ca

Keywords: Academic writing, Assessment, First-year writing, Second language , Writing center, first-year transition program, Academic probation course

Permission to Cite: Please contact the Principal Investigator(s)

Abstract/Summary: This study discusses how 13 small undergraduate university writing centres from across Canada defined success and how the University of Atlantic Canada’s Writing Centre (UAC) assessed its own local success. Quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry were used to gather data. The 13 writing centres from across Canada responded to a questionnaire with closed-ended and open-ended questions and ranking questions. These questions were designed to assess the basic structure of small undergraduate writing centres with respect to volume of appointments, size of budgets, the number and qualifications of staff, and the degree to which staff members were satisfied with their roles in academic learning. Also, 15 open-ended responses from participants at the 22nd conference of the Canadian Association for the Study of Language and Learning were collected. To determine local success, questionnaires and course evaluations were used. Questionnaire responses of 51 UAC faculty members were used to assess their perceptions of the services offered by the UAC Writing Centre. Also, a combined total of 376 responses were collected in 2004-2005 to the UAC Writing Centre anonymous course-based evaluations. These evaluations combined 9-point Likert Scale rankings and closed- and open-ended questions. Also, a random sample of 103 students from the UAC who had accessed the services of the Writing Centre responded to a web-based questionnaire. Results support the existing literature in the fields of adult learning and education and student academic support in university settings, in so far as writing centres are frequently met with student satisfaction, but receive only marginal support from the institution. The results also confirm the strengths of the UAC Writing Centre’s programs in terms of student satisfaction. Overall, students rated the individual attention they received from instructors and class content. Harder to determine quantitatively was how the UAC Writing Centre programs and support affected students’ grades. UAC faculty members who responded were, for the most part, supportive of the Writing Centre, yet many were unsure of how their students’ were affected by Writing Centre support. Faculty members also reported the Writing Centre should focus more on grammar. As a whole, the writing centres across Canada that responded cited similar challenges: a lack of sufficient operational funds, a lack of adequate space and resources, and a lack of identity in their roles as academic support on campus. Overwhelmingly, writing centres reported that they struggled with the misconception that writing centres are either remedial or are editing services. The results from this study indicate that more research is needed to assess the connection between students’ use of writing centre services, grade improvement, and student retention. Another area to research is the transferral rate of writing centre instructors’ suggestions in one-to-one appointments to future assignments. One recommendation is for the UAC Writing Centre to be more proactive and specific in their promotion of their services to faculty members. Also, the Writing Centre instructors should continue to develop first-year transition course curriculum that students feel is relevant to their academic needs.