Goals of the Writing Center

The Writing Center  has been a vibrant part of UMKC's writing community for over 25 years. Receiving funding from the College of Arts and Sciences and faculty support from every school and department of the University, the Writing Center stands as proof of UMKC's commitment to Writing Across the Curriculum. The Writing Center’s mission consists of three primary objectives—all of which are student and process centered.

The main objective of the Writing Center has always been to offer quality one-to-one tutoring to the students of UMKC. The Writing Center staff strives to create a safe, comfortable, and professional environment where students can share their writing and thoughts and in turn consistently receive meaningful attention, criticism, and instruction. The staff of the Writing Center approach writing according to a hierarchy of concerns that places emphasis on ideas and the organization and development of content rather than solely focusing on lower order concerns, such as grammar, mechanics, and spelling. The idea of process over product encapsulates a great deal of the philosophy of the Writing Center. Accordingly, the second main objective, tutor training, is a process that extends across the academic year.

Comprehensive tutor training stands as the second primary objective of the Writing Center. Because the Writing Center strives to be an active member of the University’s learning, teaching, and research community, the Center is compelled to contribute to the learning experience of undergraduate and graduate students by not only offering employment opportunities but by providing extensive training over a variety of topics related to tutoring, learning, and writing. Tutor training enriches a tutor’s college experience and ultimately makes her or his degree more valuable. Furthermore, through an emphasis on professional development, tutors enjoy a uniquely personal environment that encourages and nurtures participation in the fields of composition and rhetoric and education through publication and presentation in scholarly settings.

Offering support services to UMKC faculty is another principal aim of the Writing Center. In partnership with the Writing Across the Curriculum Program, the Writing Center offers a number of services to assist instructors. Consulting about syllabi and assignment design, providing in-class workshops, and maintaining sample paper files represent some of the ways the Writing Center assists faculty.

Regardless of the rank or skill of the writer, the Writing Center views itself as the gathering place for those serious about the craft of writing and the creation of knowledge.