At a forum at Palo Alto College Nov. 4, English Instructor John Fulton said a student admitted skipping an English class to attend an appointment with the writing assistance center.
Fulton said during a phone interview Tuesday, this is not something that typically happens, but because it happened once, it is enough.
Fulton said he does not know how many students skip class to meet with the center’s schedule.
“I just happen to have this one student who admitted to doing it,” he said.
The center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and is staffed by Fulton and two students.
He spoke about students receiving tutoring outside of class because the only writing instruction they get is in the classroom.
For those not enrolled in an English class, there is really no other location besides the center where students can go to “learn how not to do things like write run-on sentences.”
There is, however, a Web site the college uses, that may be useful to students, smarthinking.com.
Through SMARTHINKING, students can e-mail in a paper and a professional will offer suggestions for revisions within the next 24 hours, he said. However, if developmental students receive a returned paper asking for them to change one sentence from active to passive voice, they may not know what is meant.
That is when students need to visit the center.
“We’re very understaffed. We haven’t had a professional in here since March,” Fulton said. “They (the college) interviewed last Friday for the position, and hopefully, by spring, they’ll have a writing specialist.”
He said 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday is the only hour where all three tutors are in the center and that is only because they are closed Friday so they wanted to add extra help for the week.
Tutors are available 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Monday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday and 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday.
All other times, there is only one person to help students.
“When we hire a full-time specialist, then we can think about having students in until 7 at night; right now, we can’t do that,” Fulton said.
Greg Pasztor, the English chair at Palo Alto College, was also interviewed via telephone Tuesday. He said, “You are what you write. It’s very important to learn how to write.”
Discussing the shortage of staff, he said, “It’s not the greatest of situations, but we’re working to make it better.”
He agreed SMARTHINKING was an option, saying that he has received a lot of good feedback from students about it.
One thing Pasztor said was convenient about SMARTHINKING was that a student could use it from their home or school computer, and anyone enrolled at the college can use it. It is not limited to students enrolled in English courses.
For the students taking remedial courses, he said, it is best to get one-on-one tutoring, but when the center is booked for appointments, faculty are always available.
“Things are somewhat slow moving in hiring with the district right now,” he said. However, “the other opportunity for students who need help, and I don’t know why they don’t do this often, they should talk to their teacher.
“They should ask when they don’t understand an assignment,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what college you’re talking about.
“Obviously, there should be more tutors. I don’t know what else to say beyond that.”
On the other hand, Frances Crawford, this college’s writing center director, said it is not limited to SAC students; it also serves community members and is open to assist students who cannot meet with a center at their college.
She also said they have extended the hours for this college’s center. Students can now make later appointments for Monday or Thursday when they close at 7:30 p.m. To make an appointment, call 486-1433, or visit Room 200 of the Gonzales Hall.
Palo Alto College’s center may be contacted for more information at 486-3257 and is located in Room 121 of the learning lab building.
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