Conferences: Info and Schedule
Conferences | Scheduling | Long Papers | Late Policy | No Show Policy | Group Paper Policy | Conferences in Spanish | Confidentiality | Discipline-Specific Consultants
By clicking on the following link, you agree that you understand and will abide by the policies and procedures described below.
CLICK TO GO TO THE ONLINE SCHEDULER.
Conferences can last from twenty minutes to an hour. Usually, conferences begin with a discussion of your goals, concerns, or problems with your project. Then the writing consultant will take a few minutes to read your paper, keeping your concerns in mind. Afterwards, you and the consultant will discuss the aspects of your project that need attention. The consultant will try to respond to as many of your concerns and questions as possible. Finally, you will get an opportunity to privately evaluate the consultant's ability to help you so that we can continue to improve the quality of our service.
In addition to the online scheduler, you can sign up for a conference appointment--visit The Writing Center (MC 303) or call 785-4484. Walk-in clients are always welcome!
If your draft is 7 pages or longer (double-spaced), it must be submitted in hard copy 48 hours (excluding weekends) in advance of a scheduled conference. Drafts over 40 pages require special conference arrangements made on a case-by-case basis; consult the Writing Center Secretary for more information. Papers submitted in advance for a writing conference become the limited property of The Writing Center (we reserve the right to mark on them, but we do not claim copyright). No paper with written comments will be returned without a consultation with a writing consultant. Missed conferences may be rescheduled within two weeks of the original date. Papers left at The Writing Center for over 30 days will be shredded.
In an effort to serve our clients as efficiently and effectively as possible, we honor client appointments by waiting 5 minutes past the time of the conference. However, after waiting 5 minutes, the consultant will work with any walk-in client who is in the Center for a conference.
Because we often become very busy as the semester progresses, we must encourage writers to be responsible with regards to canceling appointments. If three times during the course of the semester you fail to cancel an appointment and fail to show up for that appointment, you will be barred from using the Writing Center for the rest of the semester and possibly the rest of the year. Canceling an appointment can be done by clicking on your appointment time (the gold box), putting a check mark in the "cancel appointment?" checkbox at the bottom of the form, and clicking on "edit appointment." The writers on the waiting lists will appreciate your timely cancellation.
If a paper has more than one author, all writers must be present at the time of the conference.
Our Spanish consultants give writers in Spanish much of the same kind of feedback that the English consultants give writers in English. They do not, however, work with lower-order concerns like grammar and usage. Students in 101, 102, 201 and 202 should not be making use of the Writing Center; it is official Spanish faculty policy that they not get any help on their writing. Students in courses at the 330 level and above may make use of the Writing Center, unless their teachers specifically communicate otherwise. To make an appointment with a Spanish consultant, first read the general Writing Center policies and then go to the online scheduler (link at the top of this page).
In order to foster free and open conversations among writers, The Writing Center does not report the names of any clients to any outside constituencies without the client's knowledge and consent. If you indicate on the scheduling form that faculty member should be notified, your name, the date of your conference, and a brief summary of what concerns were addressed will be sent to the designated faculty member. In all other cases, information concerning individual conferences remains confidential and for Writing Center use only.
DISCIPLINE-SPECIFIC CONSULTANTS
We do have consultants who have experience in specific disciplines. This is not to say that they can only work with writing in those disciplines. Rather, they are simply more aware of the needs of those disciplines. To see a list of specialists in particular disciplines, click here.
Visit us soon and often!