ASC and library aim to expand outreach

By Grace Bertrand and Caitlyn Sutton

By Grace Bertrand and Caitlyn Sutton 

In February, the Academic Success Center and Moore Library joined forces to facilitate new drop-in writing and research support for struggling students. 

In an effort to combine writing and research tutoring under one umbrella, Amy Atkinson, the assistant director for academic tutoring, explained their main goal was to make it easier for students to receive help with academic papers.  

“If we can bring it all together under one roof, that might make it easier for students to seek that kind of support,” Atkinson said.

The easy-to-access drop-in writing and research hours, taking place on the third floor service desk in the library, were developed in hopes that students would utilize the resources provided once they realized they needed a bit more assistance than they planned.

“I don’t want to say that you have to feel pressure in order to seek writing tutoring, but I know sometimes students feel like they may not need it initially and then recognize later on that they do,” Atkinson said.

A set of “inaugural pilot” workshops took place on the last three Fridays in February to test the reception from students. Atkinson confirmed that despite the amount of outreach they achieved in flyers and emails, the workshops did not receive the attendance they had hoped for. 

“Sometimes it takes a little while for those kinds of things to catch on,” Atkinson said. 

The drop-in hours strived to help students avoid the stress of scheduling and attending a standard 50-minute appointment with the writing studio.

In addition to lifting the pressure of time commitments, during drop-in hours students would have access to “all the different books and sources that they may need,” said Atkinson.

Sharon Whitfield, a librarian at Moore Library, was the one to reach out to Atkinson and Shane Conto, director for academic tutoring, in hopes to collaborate with the ASC on this new initiative. 

“When both the Academic Success Center, particularly the writing studio, and the library are together, we really can offer a more holistic approach to students’ writing needs,” Whitfield said. 

While the support offered by the two parties has often been referred to as a workshop, Whitfield explained what they are doing is not a workshop, but rather a combination of two “integral services.” 

When it comes to their outreach approach, Whitfield expressed the desire to re-strategize promoting their new services on campus. According to Whitfield, students had not approached her inquiring about the new services until recently, after the three-week trial ended, in preparation for midterms.

Atkinson and Whitfield both declared plans to bring back the service later on in the semester closer to finals week. “Having [drop in hours] support those final papers would be really great,” said Whitfield.

While there are still plans to continue their efforts later in the semester in April, Atkinson explained that there may be changes made in the schedule to better meet the needs of students. The writing workshops that took place on Valentine’s Day and the Eagles Superbowl parade gained the least amount of traction, which Atkinson acknowledged was not the best decision, looking back.

Senior English major Anthony Cammarano, one of the two student writing consultants for the ASC, agreed with this sentiment. Cammarano explained that there was not a big demand for the service at the beginning of the semester due to a lack of research papers being assigned yet. 

“Many classes have research projects, and not just English classes or CMP classes, throughout the fall and spring semesters,” said Cammarano. “I could see it being a valuable resource for anyone who needs to just come in.” 

For Cammarano, writing and research go hand-in-hand and the service allows students to receive both services in one place. 

Whitfield, who agreed with Cammarano’s point, expressed the necessity for a writing and research service at a time when students have fallen in the habit of using artificial intelligence for homework. 

“I’m not against using AI as a tool,” Whitfield said. “But, how do you use it to make it a productive tool that allows you to still critically think and enhance what you want to say?” 

Whitfield expressed the value in students attending these services so they can learn how to gain the skills of research and writing with the help of tutors and the library, rather than learning nothing from AI. 

“I definitely see the human element that we can offer in the central research and writing studio that far surpasses what AI can do,” said Whitfield. “I would say this type of service blows AI out of the water and can support you in a much better way than artificial intelligence can.”

These drop-in hours to assist students with research are important to both the library staff and the ASC. “I think that taking advantage of these types of services is going to get you a better grade,” said Whitfield.