I'm going to ignore Paula's suggestion and reply directly to the list, annoying other list members who probably don't want to read about writing centres or anything related, but it is summer and I like to see the list tick over.
It seems to me that a writing centre can have two fundamentally different roles - either educational or faculty support. Most writing centres in the US, as well as my own, sit firmly on the educational side of the divide: their (our) aim is to help students learn how to write, a final goal of which might be to get published later in their career. What Paula is describing is more the second type, the purpose of which is in large part not educational but supportive. I privately translate and proofread scholars' work for publication and believe me, there is no educational element - the next article comes back with the same errors as the last (and the person who writes in German hasn't yet switched to English, inspired by my work). I think a writing centre can be either of these (though it would be very helpful to us all if we could agree on two different names) but that if it tries to be both at once, there can be problems.
If you provide a service for 'researchers' (whether these are paid faculty or also PhD students or possibly anyone who hopes to publish), then if those people are not paying for that service they are likely to offload as much work as they can onto the providers of the service. That means, like one professor who is sending me stuff right now, that it can be the most atrocious quality bordering on incomprehensible. Because this person pays me out of her own pocket, she pays through the nose for someone else to tidy up her work, so there is a limit to how much she can afford. If the university provides the service, she can send any old rubbish and it doesn't cost her a penny - in other words, the provision of the service acts as a *disincentive* to learning.
I'd say, yes, provide the educational parts - workshops, consultations on macro features and other services where the service receiver is present and putting in their time for free, but charge for the proofreading and translation, and if you charge market rates, that will cover most of your costs.
Best,
John
>>> Paula Haapanen <[log in to unmask]> 19/8/10 11:48 >>>
Dear colleagues,
I am writing for advice on how to set up a writing centre.
Our university is looking for solutions to improve our researchers'
chances of getting published. In addition to the academic writing
courses that we already offer(which are not compulsory for every
student), I suggested that we consider establishing a writing centre.
This writing centre would, of course, serve the whole university and
should provide not only the teaching and mentoring of academic writing,
but possibly translation and proofreading services as well. The idea is
that we use the English lecturers we already have (4) because there's
not an awful lot of money in the kitty to invest in this (or any other)
solution. In other words, we're looking for a miracle here.
What kinds of experiences have you had? What things should be
considered? What kind of money are we talking about? What services
should be offered? Are there alternatives to a writing centre that might
be more feasible? All suggestions would be most welcome.
If you e-mailed me directly at [log in to unmask], I'm sure that
other subscribers to this list would breathe a sigh of relief but rest
assured, I'll send out a summary of the responses to the list in one
form or another.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Paula
**************************************
Paula Haapanen
Coordinating Lecturer - English
Language Centre
Lappeenranta University of Technology
PO Box 20
53851 Lappeenranta
Finland
Phone: + 358 (0)5 621 2213 (direct)
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