The coronavirus has brought the world to its knees, shutting down entire countries and infecting bodies. Across the globe, billions of people remain tucked indoors as their homes soon transforms into a multifaceted workplace, daycare, or business headquarters. As of April 2020, millions of college students in America sit behind digital screens as a part of socially distanced learning—among them University of Richmond students. The University of Richmond community received its first COVID-19 related alert in January, a message from the Student Health Center medical director, outlining symptoms and encouraging health precautions. By March, the university announced it would transition to remote learning. Swinging into full effect, students were immediately kicked off of campus, told not to return under any circumstance, and essentially left in the dark. With only a string of emails, the Richmond education and experience worth a hefty price tag of $70,000, ended. Many of us felt robbed. Only later, and over a one month period, could students return for their belongings while carefully escorted into and out of their dorm rooms or apartments.

One of the hallmarks of a Richmond education is the intimate classroom experience coupled with a liberal arts education focused on equipping students with life-long critical thinking and writing skills. The whole appeal of the Richmond experience is a guaranteed intimate classroom experience, guided by discussion-based learning as opposed to being a student at a public university, lurking in the shadows of a 400-student lecture hall. Similarly, the University of Richmond emphasizes that writing and critical thinking are at the foundation of a liberal arts education. It is so fundamental, it takes the form of First-Year Seminar classes. Students in FYS classes are afforded ample opportunities for critical reading and thinking to establish a foundation for effective written and oral communication skills. In fact, Writing Consultants often accompany FYS classes to offer additional support in the transition from high school to college level writing. All this promise of a rich education, rooted in critical thinking and writing skills with personalized support, is fundamental to the Richmond experience. Yet, as classes have moved online and both professors and students are stressed, how can we ensure that students, despite these remote learning challenges, are still being equipped with quality writing skills that are at the core of Richmond’s liberal arts education? I will explore how The Writing Center can readily focus on convenience and redirect the skills of Writing Consultants to preserve the Richmond experience-- even remotely.

Before the pandemic, a student seeking writing assistance could stroll into the back corner of Boatwright Memorial Library and get immediate help from a Consultant—no appointment necessary, no Zoom conference setup, no Google Docs complications. Regardless of what stage in the writing process, a student could talk to a trained Consultant whether it be about brainstorming or formal commentary. The experience, itself, from sitting down and engaging in conversation is collaborative. As Cooper et al. note, “peer tutoring is an interaction between human beings, each with their own ideas and experiences” (34). From introductions to setting an agenda, face-to-face conference is an intimate experience.

Currently in the midst of remote learning, those seeking writing assistance are directed to a Google Form titled “UR Writing Center Conference Request”. At the top of the form reads: “Please fill out this form but give us at least 72 hours notice before the due date. We cannot guarantee we will get to all requests in time, but we will monitor form responses and then forward them to a Writing Consultant in your field of study.” Granted, given these challenging circumstances, this format is the most reasonable as Writing Consultants are undergraduates and are not immune to the challenges of the virus. However, one drawback is that it requires a good deal of advance planning in order to even consult the center. Students seeking full edits should have a draft churned out 72 hours in advance to even submit a request. Then comes playing the waiting game, as emails get exchanged back and forth before edits are placed back in the hands of the author. Once received, students can finally spend even more time interpreting these suggestions to implement them. The whole tutoring process becomes lengthy and clumsy.

Moving forward to improve remote tutoring, we need to think about what makes The Writing Center an effective resource in the first place. For me a word that comes to mind is convenience. Stuck and fighting to overcome a roadblock in writing, I have often walked five feet across the library and into The Writing Center for immediate assistance. This takes on a rather informal nature as I just bounce my ideas and frustrations with the Consultant. The mere process of talking my ideas out helps tremendously with the writing process and more times than not the Consultant offers insight and suggestions to overcome this block. As some in the profession contend, “…conversation is the precursor to the development of ideas on paper” (Cooper et. al 129). It is this same convenience of conversation that is lost with remote tutoring.

In scheduling conferences, it may be useful to consider a website called Calendly, which has appointment slots where students can select a date and time. This interface is extremely user-friendly as Calendly helps schedule meetings without the back-and-forth emails. Students are able to see and pick up available time slots. In order to provide even more convenience, The Writing Center should implement designated open Zoom conferences. Everyday for an hour or so, a Writing Consultant is available online and students can enter and exit the conference freely. This open doors format would replicate the convenience of the in person center the most.

Along with making access to The Writing Center as convenient as possible, we need to redirect the strengths of Writing Consultants in this new remote setting. Granted, although Writing Consultants are equipped with many skills, some with years of experience; the pandemic has created a new circumstance for all of us. Online tutoring is a different format. In fact, some have argued, as Cooper et al. notes, “…that sending a paper online to a tutor can be similar to dropping off dry cleaning—leave your paper on Monday and pick it up on Tuesday with all errors marked and corrected—a practice resisted in most writing centers” (130). In remote learning, I believe nuance gets lost fast without personal, real-time interaction and body language. However, this does not mean we cannot redirect our skills to still retain a sense of humanity and collaboration in an online forum.

In navigating an online session, Writing Consultants need to be even more cautious of their tone and voice in commentary. This can be done by setting the right tone in introductory remarks. As suggested by during our training, if a peer tutor begins with opening remarks that are friendly and informal, “…the writer will read the tutor’s comments as gentle and constructive”(Cooper et al. 130). Consultants should use introductory remarks as what stands in place of a smile, eye contact, and friendly voice. Beginning with a short, but personable introduction can help the writer read the commentary as friendly and constructive. In contrast, an extremely formal introduction will translate to comments that are businesslike, “running the risk of writers hearing a cold and scolding voice, even if the tutor intended otherwise” (Cooper et al. 131).

With that established connection, skills of Writing Consultants are still transferable in an online format. The principles outlined in Dr. Essid’s “The Art of Good Commentary” are still relevant. For example, “Principle One: Never critique the professor, the writer, or the assignment,” still holds true as we see numerous essays from a variety of academic disciplines, often in topics we are not familiar with and we will continue to do so in a remote setting. As Writing Consultants, we can still go back to the basics by referring to the assignment sheet and directing a writer back to their professor. Anna Kendall of De Paul University, in “The Assignment Sheet Mystery,” highlights the importance in spending a brief amount of time in every meeting to address the assignment sheet. Even without extensive knowledge of the topic at hand, we can use the assignment sheet to understand the rhetorical situation and break down expectations to prevent any misinterpretations. Given the remote online setting, we can still use these strategies as we would have done in the center.

While certain tutoring strategies used by Consultants can still be useful, the challenges of remote learning have disproportionately affected more vulnerable populations such as international students. International students are incredibly valuable to the Richmond community, promoting cross-cultural dialogue in the classroom and often paying a hefty tuition which the university depends on. In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak and official travel restrictions, many international students are unable to return home and are facing uncertain living circumstances in the United States. The University of Richmond assumes no responsibility for their living circumstances after mid-May, leaving international students feeling alienated and unsupported while still being billed for a $70,000 online education. To top it off, concerning the racial epithets on campus this semester, what is stopping them from pursuing a more affordable, familiar education closer to home?

In these trying times, we need to ask how we can still offer writing assistance to foreign students who are often ESL learners. Often, the difficulties ESL students face are greatly influenced by their linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Evident through Moujtahid’s research of Arabic and Japanese students’ writing, people are deeply influenced by the communication of their culture. ESL students are taking on the difficult task of writing in a secondary language, but more importantly adopting a new language along with the values of a new culture.

I believe we can redirect the skills of Writing Consultants to recognize and honor not only the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of ESL students, but also their tough situation in pandemic. In “Creating a Common Ground with ESL Writers”, author Mosher proposes the WATCH method that entails a series of steps to create common ground with ESL learners. We can redirect the skills of Writing Consultants by encouraging them to use the WATCH approach in an online format. In an online setting with a mandatory video conference, this may start with small talk just by asking how an international student is coping with the pandemic. By hearing English and engaging in conversation, this will help ESL learners internalize an intuitive understanding of English grammar. If we begin our conversation using this framework of empathy and listening throughout the session, I believe the remote writing center can better serve and even attract more ESL learners.

In light of the challenges of COVID-19, online tutoring may offer dimensions that face-to face conference lack. I think the online format of Richmond’s writing center will encourage writer independence. In face-to-face conferences, students may feel inclined to implement suggestions, but online feedback will allow students to direct responses more freely and independently. This provides more opportunity for writers to reflect and construct their own interpretation of the Consultant’s recommendations. We should encourage this kind of independence and freedom, so writer’s find their own voice and have agency in how they choose to edit. After all, our goal is not just to help make better essays, but better writers that can eventually edit their own work with a constructive lens as we Writing Consultants do (North).

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we think about higher education. As colleges all over the country are battling declining enrollments, significant cuts in funding, and a predicted economic recession, closure is on the table more than ever before (Alexander). The reactions of schools now will significantly affect their ability to operate after the pandemic. Students feeling alienated with increased personal pressures and financial burdens may decide a Richmond education is not worth its price tag. International students struggling to adapt to the campus culture may deem the United States is not the inclusive melting pot they once thought. Students wary of the job market may pursue more practical degrees at public universities. Considering these shifting circumstances, remote learning is predicted to continue for another semester and for The Writing Center that translates to remote tutoring. In these times of disease and death, to be able to think about our education and writing is a privilege. So for now, yes, the full Richmond experience is postponed. But that does not mean The Writing Center cannot work to the best of its ability to still provide quality support and resources. Ultimately, we are a part of shaping and defining the remote Richmond experience.

Works Cited

Alexander, B. “COVID-19 versus higher ed: the downhill slide becomes an avalanche.” Bryan Alexander, 31 Mar. 2020, bryanalexander.org/future-of-education/covid-versus-higher-ed-the-downhill-slide-becomes-an-avalanche/

Cooper, G., Bui, K., Riker, L. “Protocols and Process in Online Learning.” A Tutor’s Guide to Helping Writers One to One, ed. Rafoth, B., pp. 129-139.

Essid, J. “The Art of Good Commentary.” https://sites.google.com/site/ureng383/the-art-of-good-commentary

Kendall, A. “The Assignment Sheet Mystery.” The Writing Lab Newsletter, vol 33, no. 1, (September 2008), pp. 1-5.

Mosher, D., Granroth, D., Hicks, T. "Creating a Common Ground with ESL Writers." Writing Lab Newsletter 24.7 (March 2000): 1-7.

North, S. “The Idea of a Writing Center.” College English, vol. 46, no. 5, 1984, pp. 433–446.