Universities assume all students can write, and write well, after a first year sequence of composition courses. Those who engage with students, during internships, post-graduation, or otherwise understand that writing instruction should not have stopped there.
How can Universities support the writing that is required in students’ future careers? Further, what does the writing required in students’ future careers look like today?
I am asking employers: how can Writing Centers encourage the writing you want to see?
With limited curriculum or guidelines for writing instruction in upper level courses and beyond the University, improvement in writing falls to the wayside. To encourage the continued endeavor of writing improvement, Writing Center consultants at NKU are meeting students in the classroom this Spring.
Writing Consultants are trained in writing and research support for faculty and students, graduates and undergraduates, on-campus and online programs, but few take advantage of the resource. Since Fall of 2016, the Writing Center has engaged a limited model, placing consultants in only intro college writing courses.
In Fall of 2024, Director Kathleen Spada and consultants asked why we took such a limited view of writing? With this in mind, the Writing Center piloted expansion into interdisciplinary programs that spanned all University departments.
The results showed that students and faculty benefit tremendously from support offered by in-class consultations. This semester, the Writing Center is taking the interdisciplinary embedded program across the University.
Embedded Consultants: Spring 2025 New Model
Northern Kentucky University’s Writing Center, under the direction of Dr. Spada, has implemented an On-Demand Embedded Program where professors may invite consultants into the classroom, on an ad-hoc basis, for planned activities. This allows for visits from beyond the traditional composition course, bringing students from Anthropology, Biology, History, Geology, Kinesiology, Technical Writing, and Honors courses.
Northern Kentucky University’s Writing Center and consultants involved can be contacted on the NKU Writing Center website.
Brady Hall is a lead writing consultant at Northern Kentucky University’s Writing Center