Policies

Please let us know so that we can see others. The earlier we know, the more likely we can fit in someone else. If you have to cancel, please do at least 2 hours before your scheduled appointment. If you must cancel an appointment 30 (or fewer) minutes prior to your appointment, you will need to call the Writing Center directly at 413.577.1293. (You cannot cancel online; you must call.) See below for our policy on missed or "no-show" appointments.

To delete your appointment:

1. Log in and select your appointment. A new window will open.
2. Check the "Delete this reservation?" box at the bottom of the page.
3. Select "Save changes."
4. We hope to see you back again soon! Those who miss an appointment and do not show up are marked "no-shows."

If you accidentally miss one appointment, we'll send you a reminder of our policies. Those with two no-shows in one semester will forfeit appointment privileges for the remainder of the semester. However, you can walk into the Writing Center to see if we have an available tutor.

If you are fifteen or more minutes late for an appointment you will be marked as a no-show and your appointment will be canceled if another writer is waiting to see a tutor, except for during finals week where you will be marked as a no-show if you are 10 minutes late. If you know you will be late, you will need to call the Writing Center directly at 413.577.1293.

Writers are limited to a maximum of two appointments per week. 

There are two main reasons for this limit. First, we'd like you to have time to develop the writing strategies that you discussed with your tutor, so it's good to have a little cushion between appointments. Second, we wish there were more of us, but unfortunately, we can only staff 4-5 tutors per hour. The appointment limit is therefore two pre-scheduled tutorial sessions per week. That said, you can try your luck and drop into the Writing Center during our open hours; if a tutor is available, then we'd be happy to see you.

You will see that WC Online restricts scheduling two appointments in a row. Two hours of tutoring the same writer can be quite draining for tutors, and writers need time in between appointments to work on their own and develop the writing strategies discussed with the tutor.

The Writing Center can be a fun and fulfilling place to come in to work with peers about your writing, but we are also a professional space. As such, we expect writers who come in for appointments to adhere to UMass’ Student Code of Conduct. It is important to us that writers and tutors are able to collaborate while maintaining a friendly, but professional, relationship. Accordingly, as student employees, tutors do not provide writers with their personal contact information (including phone number and email). We ask that writers refrain from asking for this information.