Writing Center Cuts Strain Student Workers

University budget reductions have left the Writing Center with a shortage in services and caused an additional strain on student workers. 

The purpose of the Writing Center is to allow students to receive help from their peers on writing assignments. The center’s student workers were suddenly informed of potential cuts to the program at the end of the Fall 2025 semester, according to writing tutor and fourth-year English major Mia Anderson. 

In addition to being told there would be an upcoming administrative budget meeting concerning the College of Arts and Sciences, students were asked to submit testimonials from their tutorees in defense of the Writing Center’s Writing Fellows program.

Directors said they were concerned this service would be the most likely to get cut, according to Anderson. 

Without further communication from the center’s directors, students assumed the program had been saved from dramatic cuts, according to writing tutor and fourth-year English and criminology major Jack Wolff. 

It wasn’t until the following summer that students were emailed about the meeting’s results. 

“After piloting the Writing Fellows program for the last few years, the College of Arts and Sciences has decided to discontinue the program starting this fall,” current Writing Center Director Brandiann Molby, wrote in an email to student workers. 

The Writing Fellows program, launched in fall 2024, placed trained tutors in classrooms to assist students and professors. Professors could also ask fellows to give presentations on more specific writing-related topics. Initiated by former Writing Center Director Amy Kessel, the program expanded the center’s services and created jobs for students. 

In anticipation for the initiation of the program, the Writing Center’s pre-tutoring classes were larger, with two to three sections of about 28 people, according to Wolff. He said there’s now only one class with under 20 students.

“They actually over-hired for almost two years for the program, so we would have more tutors than the usual,” Wolff said. 

Come fall, the maximum hours for regular tutors were reduced from six hours to two hours. With the cutting of the program, Writing Fellows experienced a reduction of about eight hours in their working week as well as a cut in the pay raise which came with the promotion of the role. 

Although students were always paid for their full scheduled hours —  with or without full-time slots to assist students — the cut in hours has resulted in busier days for workers. 

Wolff believes the introduction of the Writing Fellows program boosted student interest in the center’s services, even though it lasted just one semester.

“There was more push after they experienced the benefits, and now a lot more freshmen are coming,” Wolff said. “I’ve been totally full every single time.”

The role of shift lead, which consisted of administrative tasks like coordinating shifts and outstanding appointments, was also affected by cuts. A promotion to the role, which many students worked toward in their career at the Writing Center, is no longer available, according to Anderson.

However, there’s still confusion about what the role currently entails, including duties and changes in hours.

“There wasn’t a document with an overall series of changes that got placed down,” Wolff said, referring to the vagueness on behalf of the center’s directors. “I know that there were changes, I don’t even know what they were.”

A lack of communication on behalf of directors has only increased uncertainty amongst workers, according to Wolff.

While there are presumably four directors currently managing the Writing Center, according to the center’s official website, students are still unsure about the management structure.

In particular, it was known Kessel stepped down as Writing Center director last year to take the role of coordinator for the Writing Fellows after establishing the program. Following cuts and the ascension of Brandiann Molby as the new director, students were left unsure about Kessel’s role and her continued collaboration with the center.

Wolff said his time at the center also involved participation in an initiative he was able to develop through the center’s Working Groups. The inmate initiative program connected tutors with incarcerated individuals to support their writing education at a correctional center. 

The Working Groups were smaller projects within the center which allowed tutors to lead initiatives beyond traditional tutoring. This included things like pilot programs and outreach efforts for the center. The groups encouraged innovation  and collaboration among tutors, according to Wolff. 

“Those working groups were huge for the center and to cut that down seems like it would only be damaging to it,” Wolff said. 

While Wolff’s initiative ended due to external factors unrelated to the Writing Center’s budget, Wolff felt the cutting of Working Groups made programs like his almost impossible to head start. 

The Writing Fellows program also reflected a broader commitment to more creative and writing-focused disciplines within the university, according to Anderson. 

The Writing Fellows program also reflected a broader commitment to more creative and writing-focused disciplines within the university, according to Anderson. She said its removal signal fewer opportunities for students to explore their writing and as a field of study within university. 

“With the overall decline in funding for the humanities we’re seeing, it’s all coming at a time where it feels like we’re not gonna get any better,” Anderson said. 

The Writing Center’s cuts come amid broader financial challenges the university has been facing. The administration has been planning budget adjustments and cost measures in response to reduced revenue and institutional pressures, the Phoenix previously reported.