Policies for Working with Writing Center Consultants

POLICIES:

The following policies are in place to help us best serve Columbia’s community of writers: 

 

Appointments

• All appointments are 45 minutes long and start on the hour.

• Students may schedule one appointment per week.

• Students may drop-in for an additional appointment. (Drop-ins are taken if there is a no-show or sudden cancellation.)

• Students may not have more than one conference in a day.

• Students are limited to two sessions per week maximum. (One scheduled appointment and one drop-in.)

These limits are in place for two reasons:

• To foster independent thinking.

• To ensure availability of appointments for all.

Non-native English speakers/writers and students with learning disabilities may schedule two appointments per week. Please call or come in to schedule a 2nd appointment. It is possible to drop in for a third unscheduled session; in a single week the maximum number of sessions allowed is three.

Graduate students are invited to use the Writing Center. A consultant will read longer papers (for example, a dissertation chapter, master’s thesis, conference paper, scholarly article, job letter) outside of the session, provided you first meet with her/him (see bios for consultants willing to read longer papers--link to bios).

During this meeting you will frame how the consultant reads your paper (no longer than 25 pages*) by indicating your concerns and questions. You will also set up a mutually convenient time to meet with the consultant again. While consultants will not edit or proofread your paper, they will act as an educated audience to help you develop your ideas clearly and concisely.

Cancellations

• Please cancel 3-hours in advance by using the online scheduler or calling 212-854-3141; this way we can give your appointment to someone else.

• If you miss two appointments without calling in advance, you will not be allowed to visit the Writing Center again during the semester without approval from the Director.
  

• If you are more than ten minutes late you risk losing your session. Please call us if you are going to be more than ten minutes late.