Writing Center Conference

The Writing Initiative team will be presenting at the upcoming MAWCA (Mid-Atlantic Writing Centers Association) conference. This year the conference is being held at Shippensburg University on March 30 and 31. Its annual conference is a great forum for Writing Center directors, consultants and tutors to exchange ideas and discuss best practices. MAWCA is part of a larger organization called the International Writing Centers Association.

This year’s conference theme is “Writing Centers as Agents of Change,” which will delve into the nature of Writing Centers and how they affect students, peer tutors, professional writing consultants and administrators. Our team will be presenting about PCCC’s own Writing Center and the role it plays in Writing Intensive courses.

Presently, one of the requirements of Writing Intensive courses at PCCC is that students must use at least two forms of tutoring (Writing Center or eTutoring) during the course of the semester. We have found that many students who choose to come to the Writing Center continue to come even after they have fulfilled their required visits. Many return with papers for other, non-WI classes or other types of writing help, like crafting an essay for an application to a four-year university. Rather than seeing it as a punishment or chore, students view a visit to the Writing Center as a valuable resource.