Brent Quam/Winonan

Statistics analysis students at Winona State University conducted a campus-wide survey on use of the on-campus Writing Center last semester.
According to Writing Center Director Dr. Liberty Kohn, “All then-current 8,900 or so Winona State students were surveyed, of which 802 responded, or about 8 percent.”
For the most part, Kohn was not surprised by the results. “We’re serving about 33 percent of WSU’s students at some time in their careers, of which about 33 percent return,” Kohn said. “The results were in accordance with other university writing centers across the country.”
The results of the survey were helpful in at least one way, however.  “One thing they did do is help me focus [staff] training,” Kohn said.
“The sciences and capstone projects will be a new area of focus. Right now, our tutors don’t have the knowledge of the styles required for those areas.”
Kohn said use of the Writing Center’s services is recommended for all students, not only those majoring in English and related fields.
The survey revealed several other trends regarding student use of the center.
“Most people find out about the Writing Center through their professors including it in their syllabi,” Kohn said.
“A lot of people requested an online presence, like Facebook. About a third of the students had forgotten there was a writing center.”
To help combat these problems, Kohn and his staff of 18 tutors have expanded their website to include links to information on MLA and APA citation, thesis-building and other fundamentals.
“We’re also developing a Facebook page and are working on online sign-up for writing center appointments,” Kohn said. “Many students requested that, even though you can already email or call us.”
The Writing Center welcomes drop-ins, but those with appointments are given priority.
Kohn and his staff believe many of the students surveyed, both those who use the center and those who don’t, don’t understand the sort of help the Center offers.
“A lot of people think we’re here to correct spelling and grammar errors,” Jenn Baechle, an English graduate student and Writing Center tutor, said. “But we’re not here to correct your paper. Like teachers, we help you make it better.”
Kohn was more blunt. “It’s not a ‘fix-it’ center,” he said.
Many visitors to the Writing Center believe their papers can be dropped off there to be corrected, or that the visit will only take a few minutes.
“It really ends up being about half an hour,” Kohn said. “Students, and this was confirmed nationally, think of writing as a short-term process. It’s not.”
Above all, Kohn said he hopes more students can be enticed to take advantage of the Center. “Those who see the benefits see them sharply,” he said. “But two-thirds of those who don’t use the center don’t because they don’t think they need help.”
After talking with faculty from departments across campus, Kohn found the opposite was true.

“Faculty would not agree that two-thirds of Winona State students couldn’t use a little help with their writing,” he said.

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