Faculty FAQ

Here you will find answers to many of the common questions and points of confusion regarding the Writing Center. Just click on any of the answers below to view the response. Feel free to contact the directors, Kimberly Abels kabels@email.unc.edu and Vicki Behrens pixie@email.unc.edu, if your questions are not addressed here.

• What is the Writing Center's mission?
• Who works in the Writing Center?
• How can I encourage my students to use Writing Center services?
• How will I know when my students visit the Writing Center?
• Can the Writing Center help me revise or develop writing assignments for my courses?
• I'd like for all of my students to visit the Writing Center. Can I require my whole class to use the Writing Center?
• Should I give extra credit points to students who use the Writing Center?
• Can I send students to the Writing Center for makeup sessions when they miss a meeting with me or with group members?
• I have one student who desperately needs help with writing. Can I require this particular student to visit the Center?
• Should I make grade decisions dependent on Writing Center visits?
• Are there alternatives to requiring students' use of the Writing Center?
• Do tutors in the Writing Center discuss grades with students?
• How much help can an undergraduate student get from the Writing Center?
• Can graduate students make appointments?
• Can students make standing appointments to work on overall writing improvement?
• Can students bring in non-course related work such as creative writing or personal statements for applications?
• My students are working on a group project. Can the whole group come in for an appointment?
• Does the Writing Center help students with take-home essay exams?
• My students are terrible proofreaders. Will you proofread papers before they turn them in to me?
• Do students need to have a full draft before they make an appointment? Some of my students wait until they have a full draft and then find they can't get an appointment in time.