Tutoring in cyberspace: Student impact and college/university collaboration

Abstract

The Writing Center Consultation Project is a collaboration between the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) and the Oak Ridge campus of Roane State Community College (RSCC) in Tennessee. Undergraduate RSCC students e-mail drafts of their essays to graduate students at UALR who then return the drafts through e-mail along with comments. The RSCC and UALR students then meet for a synchronous writing conference at a Cyberspace writing center. This study looks at the impact the pilot project has had on both the community college students and on the graduate students. Both groups of students said the experience was helpful. The community college students responded by engaging in more revision of their writing. The university students focused on the pedagogical potential and the contrast between traditional writing center and Cyberspace writing center conferencing. Specific student responses are cited. The benefit of collaboration between 2-and 4-year campuses is also discussed.