麻豆传媒团队

Nationally Endorsed for Writing Excellence

麻豆传媒团队鈥檚 Writing Center Earns Certification From CRLA

Wittenberg鈥檚 Writing Center was recently certified by the College Reading and Learning Association鈥檚 (CRLA) International Tutor Training Program.

鈥淭he certification is an acknowledgement of the work we do to prepare our advisors for working with writers, and it can be an excellent line for their resumes,鈥 said Associate Professor of English Mike Mattison, director of the Writing Center. 鈥淲e can now say that we are a nationally accredited writing center. Quite simply, we've got one of the best writing centers in the country at any level.鈥

Mattison learned the good news on Sept. 15 following a 10-year lapse in CRLA certification.

鈥淚n the past year, one of our alums, Colin Payton '13, who just started his doctoral work in composition and rhetoric at Iowa State, volunteered at the Writing Center in the evenings. One of the tasks he took on was to re-certify us,鈥 Mattison said. 鈥淲e had support from the Provost's office, and Colin spent several months putting together the application. It is an arduous process, as we need to document all of our training and explain how the activities and readings align with the criteria from CRLA. The certification highlights the rigor of our training process and how our writing advisors have been well-grounded in the best practices of working with fellow students.鈥

The certification lasts through 2019, at which time Wittenberg will need to reapply.

For nearly 40 years, the Writing Center has been an integral part of Wittenberg, connecting writers and readers in collaborative endeavors to produce the best possible writing.

Originally a grammar lab in 1979 in the basement of the Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning, the lab was soon passed into the hands of Professor of English Mimi Dixon and Maureen Fry at a time when Wittenberg鈥檚 Writing Across the Curriculum Program was in bloom.

Originally named The Writer鈥檚 Workshop, the space maintained its independence from any one particular academic department, a rarity among writing centers at the time, and began to grow in its role as a positive, supportive environment in which writers could feel free to take risks and explore their thinking and writing process. In 2000, the Workshop moved to its current space in Hollenbeck Hall and was renamed The Writing Center.

Currently, student writing advisors from several disciplines provide consultation for all Wittenberg students, staff, and faculty engaged in all types of writing (and writing instruction) at all levels of ability. The Writing Center offers an inviting and personal atmosphere where individuals can both develop successful writing skills and foster these skills in others.

鈥淥ver the last seven years the advisors have given nearly three dozen presentations at regional and national conferences, and they have received several national grants for their work,鈥 Mattison said. 鈥淭he Center is one reason that some high-achieving students attend Wittenberg, and it鈥檚 a reason that some of them stay here.鈥

For academic year 2016-2017, the Writing Center conducted 1,436 face-to-face sessions and 282 email sessions, for a total of 2,718 sessions. The sessions were conducted with more than 890 different students, and the Center registered 526 new students, mainly first-year students.

鈥淭here is perhaps nothing more valuable to a writer than the chance to talk with a reader who is focused on the piece of writing,鈥 Mattison said. 鈥淲riters need readers, and the Writing Center provides just that. We constantly tell students that we are not here because they can鈥檛 write, but because they do.鈥

Cindy Holbrook
Cindy Holbrook
Senior Communications Assistant

About Wittenberg

Wittenberg's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Wittenberg has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Wittenberg offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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