Question: What will motivate students to come to the lab?

Answer: The single most effective motivator for a first visit to the lab is to give students extra credit for coming to the lab. Five points seems about right.

Question: How can I verify that my students have been to the lab?

Answer: A student who would like verification of attendance can ask his/her tutor to sign the appointment slip which can be stapled to her paper when it is handed in. Instructors can also e-mail the director with questions.

Question: Can I require my students to come to the lab?

Answer: Although we know that our service is valued, we discourage this practice for two reasons. First, our number of tutoring appointments is limited, and second, students who come of their own initiative are more receptive to our assistance than individuals who come just to get their appointment slip signed.

The Writing Lab is a free service available to any Northeastern Illinois University student. Tutors see students by appointment, and each appointment is 50 minutes long. Students may make up to two appointments per week.

In order to make appointments available to students across the university, we cannot reserve tutoring hours for students enrolled in any particular class or program.