The Writing & Communication Center

Services for Faculty

Class Visits	Faculty can request a visit to their classroom by a WCC staff member who will give a brief (5 min.) presentation regarding the Center's Services. Evening, morning and off-campus class requests are welcome! Call 439-8202 to schedule or e-mail Rob Russell with your name, location of class, and preferred dates/times.
WCC Intro Workshops	Faculty can request a 25 min. workshop that introduces their students to the services provided by the Center, leads the class through a "mock" consulting session, and gives students the chance to critique a paper as a group, preparing them for peer-critique or self-critique. These workshops are usually led by an experienced undergraduate or graduate staff member; they can take place in the classroom or in the WCC (409 Warf-Pickel Hall). Evening, morning and off-campus class requests are welcome! Call 439-8202 to schedule or e-mail Rob Russell with your name, location of class, and preferred dates/times.
Writing Workshops	The Center's director is available to work with instructors to develop specific workshops to prepare students for writing assignments in any discipline. Some previous workshop topics have included research documentation, overcoming writer's block, developing critical thinking skills, writing business letters, and composing personal statements for graduate or professional schools. Evening, morning and off-campus class requests are welcome! Call 439-8202 to schedule or e-mail Rob Russell with your name, location of class, and preferred dates/times.
Oral Communication Workshops	The Center's director is available to work with instructors to develop specific workshops to prepare students for oral communication assignments in any discipline. Some previous workshop topics have included public speaking skills, interviewing skills, group presentation skills, debate, and using Microsoft PowerPoint. Evening, morning and off-campus class requests are welcome! Call 439-8202 to schedule or e-mail Rob Russell with your name, location of class, and preferred dates/times. We also run a weekly small group meeting for ESL and International Students wanting to work on speaking and listening skills. You might want to recommend the English Table to some of your international students or GA's.
Syllabus Attachments	A one-page summary of the Center's services and current term schedule is available to be used as a syllabus attachment. This is usually mailed to all faculty at the beginning of each term, but if you need another copy, or would like the original in Microsoft Word format, e-mail Rob Russell.
Brochures	The Center has many pre-printed brochures available on writing and oral communication topics. Some of these might benefit your students, and you may consider handing them out when giving writing or speaking assignments. Currently, we have multiple copies of the following brochures available: APA Documentation MLA Documentation Interviewing and Resume Preparation Giving an Effective Presentation Getting Started Writing To request a set of brochures, or to get some samples, call 439-8202 or e-mail Rob Russell.
Faculty Development Workshops	The Center's Director works with the Directors of the Writing and Oral Communication Proficiency Programs to present opportunities for faculty to learn more about teaching using writing and oral communication across-the-curriculum. The WCC, in conjunction with the Oral Communication Proficiency and General Education Programs, is offering two workshops this fall. Scared Stiff: Frighteningly Simple Strategies for Teaching Oral Intensive Courses will be offered on Wednesday and Thursday, September 21 and 22, 1:30-4:30 p.m. at the Millenium Center. A workshop for instructors teaching writing intensive courses will be offered October 4 and 5 (agenda still to be decided). E-mail Rob for more information, or call 439-8202 to register.
Consulting Services	The Center's Director is available to consult with any instructor on topics related to teaching writing and oral intensive courses: assignment development, evaluation, student preparation, etc. Adjunct Faculty and TA's are encouraged to utilize this service as well. For an appointment, e-mail or call Rob Russell at 439-7849.
WCC Library and Paper Files	The WCC's library contains numerous reference works and books about writing and speaking across-the-curriculum that you may find helpful for class exercises, assignments, evaluation and course planning. In our Paper Files you can find samples of student writing that might be helpful when preparing students for writing assignments or for peer critique. We also encourage faculty to contribute good student papers, with the permission of the paper's author, to our files -- we use these examples of good student writing in our training workshops and when assisting students who are having problems with similar assignments. Come by any time we are open.