Writing Centre impact on student retention?

Fri, 2007-09-14 09:53 — Theresa Bell

Hi there, I'm looking for some information regarding how Writing Centres can contribute to increased student retention. Is anyone aware of any studies that have been done on this question, or do you perhaps have any information that you might be able to share about the experiences of your own Writing Centre regarding student retention? Thanks very much, Theresa Bell

General Discussion

Fri, 2007-10-05 11:54 — LBCCWC

Great Question!

I'd be interested in this too. It seems a challenge in terms of tracking since our students go so many different ways after utilizing our services. My college did just do an instutional study of how taking freshman composition (WR 121) affected student success in other courses both within and beyond the English department, and the results were stark. For exmaple, 46.3% of students who passed WR 121 got an A in their Anthology classes compared with only 6.1% who did not take WR 121. The same was true in history, where 41.3% of students who took WR 121 got an A whereas only 14.6% recieved an A without WR 121. I understand the need for Writing Center specific data--and in your case, data that speaks directly to retention--but this speaks volumns for the importance of basic writing skills. Generally, and as we all are aware, it's the students who are struggling who are less likely to stick with a course. Since we support these very skills, it seems a logical and acceptable conclusion to justify our importance to departments campus wide. Greg Rathert

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Greg Rathert

Wed, 2007-12-05 17:12 — Theresa Bell

Articles re: writing centres and student retention

Hi Greg, I found these articles helpful because they make some very clear connections between writing centres and student retention. The Poziwilko article is particularly good. Griswold, G. (2003, December 22). Writing centers: The student retention connection. [i]Academic Exchange Quarterly[/i], pp. 1-8. Habley, W., & McClanahan, R. (2004). What works in student retention? Two-year public colleges. Retrieved from [url=http://]http://www.act.org/path/postsec/droptables/pdf/TwoYearPublic.pdf[/url] Poziwilko, L. (1997, October). Writing centers, retention, and the institution: A fortuitous nexus. [i]The Writing Lab Newsletter[/i], 22(2), 1-4. Simpson, J. (1991). The role of writing centers in student retention programs. In R. Wallace & J. Simpson (Eds.), [i]The writing center: New directions[/i] (pp. 102-109). New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. Cheers, Theresa Bell

Pacific Northwest Writing Centers Association

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