Spring Break
UGA's writing centers cut operational hours
Center received $23,330 in funds
RAISA HABERSHAM
Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: News
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The allocation resulted from the Task Force on Writing, spearheaded by English professors Fran Teague and Nelson Hilton, who submitted suggestions to the Task Force on General Education and Student Learning.
"I charged the Task Force on Writing to identify barriers to writing at UGA and suggested ways to get undergraduate students involved in more writing assignments," Jere Morehead, vice president of instruction, wrote in an e-mail. "Both reports identified several ways to expand writing by our undergraduate students."
The funds went toward advancing the Park Hall Writing Center and establishing a South Campus Writing Center, in addition to hiring a writing coordinator and providing five tutors to staff the centers.
But, Morehead said, budget reductions have put a strain on providing adequate funding to the writing centers, causing him to redirect operational funds as a one-time use to support the writing initiatives.
Christy Desmet, director of the first-year composition program and The UGA Writing Center, said the cuts to the center began with the lower division of the English department, which supports teaching assistants and instructors who staff the department.
"We've lost six tenure-track faculty and have had a 25 percent increase in English majors," she said in an interview last week. "Fewer faculty and more majors combined with the number of freshman means fewer units to deal with them."
Though tutors won't lose their jobs, vacant staff positions won't be filled and the operating hours for the Park Hall Writing Center will decrease, Desmet said.
Elizabeth Davis, coordinator of the writing certificate program, said the cuts will affect pay.
"Because there are fewer classes, you have to cut back on graduate instructors, which naturally affects pay," she said.
Davis said the writing certificate program won't be affected because the program is a way to learn through course work taken.
"The only factor would be the number of classes offered," she said. "As classes get larger, it gets difficult for professors to teach writing intensive courses needed to complete the certificate."
When at full strength with 12 tutors, the writing center usually receives 8,000 visits - each lasting 15 minutes - per semester, Davis said.
"Under normal circumstances, the English department would denote 12 teachers who tutor for 10 hours a week for 15 weeks," Desmet said. "I believe, with more money, we can serve more students than before."
Desmet said she is grateful for the allocation from Morehead, but in the short run there will be "staunch bleeding" in a reduction of operating hours. The new hours have not been determined yet, she said.
Davis said right now the center is trying to find ways to fund its operations for next semester.
