While we discourage faculty from requiring students to visit the writing center, we do strongly encourage you to familiarize students with the center in the following ways:

• Schedule classroom visits or tours - Consultants are happy to come to your classroom or to host your class for a short visit at the center to introduce them to the OUWC and our services.
• Offer revision opportunities to students who are willing to schedule a consultation - While some students become resentful if they are mandated to visit the center, most are relieved to discover that consultants can help them to rethink a paper’s design or to translate a teacher’s suggestions into a revision draft, especially if that support might help them to earn a better grade.
• Encourage all students, not just struggling students, to see the OUWC as a part of the writing process. All writers can benefit from collaborating with consultants to improve their writing communication and achieve their goals.
• Remind students that WC Consultants are not editors - Our consultants are seasoned readers who offer each student a second lens from which to see her/his writing. As such, students cannot drop off their papers or expect that a writing consultant will help them to "fix" every grammar and usage error in the paper.  Our consultants will help writers to recognize and address error patterns in their work as part of the consultation.

To make the most of your students' visits to the Writing Center, you might also:

• Provide the OUWC with a copy of your syllabi, assignments, model papers, and rubrics.
• Collaborate with the OUWC director to design specific supports for major assignments.

If you identify specific students who would benefit from writing assistance, please recommend that they come to the Writing Center. While many of our consultants have experience serving underprepared and special needs students, please contact the director at (248) 370-3105 when referring someone who needs intensive support.

We are always interested in how we can more efficiently serve the needs of our faculty and student body.  To make a referral, schedule an in-class seminar, or ask a question, please e-mail us at ouwc@oakland.edu or call (248)-370-3120.