Writing Centers at Brookdale Community College and Rutgers University Community College

The November 10th presentations by Lynn Reid of the Rutgers Writing Center and Mary Kerwin of the Brookdale Writing Center were very informative. The presentations highlighted one fact that I have discovered in this course: that the function of writing centers reflect the student bodies they serve. It appears that while college writing centers have similar goals, they all operate based on the needs of the students who seek assistance.

I think that both institutions reflect good models of writing centers. I was surprised that students at Rutgers Plangere Center were only allowed 30 minute sessions for consulting. However, I recognize that if the students are required to sign up for 6 sessions of tutoring and it is reflected on their academic record, then they will be more focused and work harder to improve their writing. I was also surprised that the center works so closely with instructors that tutors have guidelines for the content taught in various class. I would love to have this at City College's writing center. It would solve many of the issues that tutors have understanding teacher expectations of several classes.

Also, I was quite impressed by the facts I discovered about the Brookdale Writing Center. Compared to that of many other writing centers, the pay rate is exceptional! Anyway, I found it interesting that there is no real director and that the senior staff actually oversees the day-to-day managing of the center. That they admit non students for consulting was also quite unique. I know that this is not accepted at the CCNY writing center. In fact, at that center if a student's school id has expired he or she is unable to make appointments. Still I am interested to discover if security issues ever arise at Brookdale College's writing center because of this practice.

The presentations provided me a unique opportunity to discover about Rutgers and Brookdale's writing centers. They also revealed that no two centers work alike. While all centers operate under the similar goal of assisting students, the process by which they meet this goal differs greatly.

November 27, 2010 9:10 AM