Faculty FAQs

A: Yes. Fill out this brief class visit request form. You will be asked to provide two preferences for visit dates and times. The presentation lasts approximately 5 minutes and gives an overview of our general services and our specific support for your course. 

A: No. This would be a violation of FERPA. Writing centers have a strong tradition of valuing student privacy. There are several solutions, each preserving student agency. A student can:

1. show you a screenshot of their appointment on the schedule (kept appointments remain on the schedule)
2. forward a confirmation email of their appointment.
3. show you a tutor’s feedback from an eTutoring appointment.

A: We strongly recommend against grading on required TLC visits. Offering extra-credit to students is fine with us, but we believe that students who seek feedback on their writing will, over time, improve as writers, thus likely improving their grades.

A: Contact uwtteach@uw.edu at least two weeks in advance. Provide us with the assignment details, and we will pass on this information to our tutors.

A: No. The TLC does not offer exam proctoring, because we cannot guarantee quiet space, and our staff is occupied with their tutoring duties. For make-up exams, please go to the Office of Undergraduate Education's Makeup Testing page.

A: Maybe. Tutoring is our first priority. Substituting is up to each professional staff member. Advanced planning is generally necessary.

A: Though not frequently asked, this concern is important to address. If you have concerns specific to students or assignments in your class, we are happy to hear them. In our experience, it is rare for a tutor to go too far. “Helping too much” is quite subjective and can hinge on your ideals of what a university student should know and know how to do. A lot is on the table in a writing consultation. (For more on this, see How do Writing Centers Work?) At an institution like UW Tacoma, with a high number of students who are first-generation, multilingual, international, and otherwise non-traditional, student learning needs are many and varied. Students might need to discuss how to approach an assignment, how to begin research, how to begin a draft, or consider organizational options. Additionally, students may lack the background knowledge to effectively begin an assignment. If tutors have the requisite background knowledge, we encourage them to share that knowledge with the student while emphasizing that it is incumbent on the student to research the topic. A tutor who shares their background knowledge or social/linguistic capital is not appropriating that student’s work, nor are they helping that student too much. To be effective writing tutors, we must be guides to the labor of being a university student. The writing process includes all of the intellectual labor that comes before and after typing, all of which can be the focus of a writing consultation––none of which students are guaranteed to bring with them. So long as the student remains the decision-maker over the process, focus, content, and form of their work, the tutor has not overstepped.

A: We are not, strictly speaking, an editing service, and our goal in each tutoring session is NOT elimination of accented writing (i.e. grammar errors). Our tutors are trained to first listen to the writer’s concerns and intent, and to focus on the degree to which the writer has fulfilled the criteria of the assignment or prompt. When a language issue leads to a breakdown in understanding, tutors will work with the writer to elicit a clearer version of the writer’s intended meaning. For more on contemporary writing center pedagogy, see our page on How Writing Centers Work. For concerns about student language proficiency, see Working with Multilingual Writers.

A: Yes. In conjunction with the UW Tacoma Office of Research, the TLC offers statistical consultations. For more information or to submit a formal request visit the Statistical Consulting and Analytical Support page.