The Graduate School
of Management & Technology
Advising Through Tutoring:
How an Online Writing Coach Program
Fosters Graduate Student Success
Cynthia Greene - Academic Specialist
Management, Accounting, and Finance Programs
University of Maryland University College
Presentation Outline
• Overview
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UMUC and its Students
Identification of and Need for Writing Coaching for Graduate Students
The Coaching Program – Description, Mission, Approach, and Need
The Writing Coaches and Their Work
• Feedback/Perceived Effectiveness
 Zoomerang Surveys
 Faculty Feedback
• Best Practices
• Room for Growth and Next Steps
About UMUC
Mission
The mission of University of Maryland University College is to offer topquality educational opportunities to adult students in Maryland, the
nation, and the world, setting the global standard of excellence in adult
education. By offering academic programs that are respected, accessible,
and affordable, UMUC broadens the range of career opportunities
available to students, improves their lives, and maximizes their economic
and intellectual contributions to Maryland and the nation.
About UMUC
History
Founded in 1947, UMUC is one of 11 accredited, degree-granting
institutions in the University System of Maryland (USM). Offering a
broad range of cutting-edge classes, UMUC has earned a global
reputation for excellence. Headquartered in Adelphi, Maryland, UMUC
has classroom locations in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area,
Europe and Asia, and provides award-winning online classes to students
worldwide.
About UMUC
• Admissions
 At least a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited degree-granting
university or college
 Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Graduate Management
Admission Test (GMAT) scores are not required for admission to regular
master’s degree and certificate programs.
 For the MS in Management, no minimum GPA or prerequisite
coursework required
About UMUC
• Student Population and Program Facts
 Enrolls over 86,000 students worldwide
 More than 2,400 faculty worldwide
 18 graduate degree programs (15 master’s degrees, EMBA, 2 doctoral programs), 15
master’s degree programs available completely online
 In fall 2008, 32% of UMUC's stateside students were African-Americans; minority students
comprised 43% of the total enrollment—UMUC enrolls more African American students
than any of the four individual Maryland HBCUs.
 In FY 2009, 31% of master's degrees were awarded to African-American students; 28% of
all degrees and certificates were awarded to African-American students.
 As of spring 2009, 85% graduate students enrolled in UMUC's stateside programs were
working full time.
 48% of UMUC stateside students are working parents.
 In fall 2009, the median age for students enrolled in UMUC's stateside graduate programs
was 34 years old.
Why Writing Coaching?
Why Adult Graduate Students?
• Research shows that effective written communication:
 is fundamental to professional success across disciplines
 helps increase comprehension.
• UMUC’s students are working adults who need to write
successfully both professionally and academically
• Kalteissen and Robinson (2009) found that adult and ‘nontraditional’ students are often reluctant to seek writing help, yet
their instructors indicate that they often need help in basic and
analytical writing and research skills.
• Kalteissen and Robinson also found that an asynchronous
approach increased use by non-traditional students.
Why Writing Coaching?
Why Graduate Students?
• According to results of the National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE, 2009), student success and increases in
student learning are directly and intrinsically linked to writing.
• The NSSE is focused on undergraduate students, but, has
implications for UMUC’s graduate student population given
UMUC’s population, some graduate students begin programs
with a range of writing skills and abilities
Why Writing Coaching?
Why Graduate Students?
• NSSE results also show that students believe that their learning
is enhanced through assignments that faculty have clearly
explained and that allow feedback throughout the process and
build in opportunities for feedback and provide opportunities
for peer reviews.
• Harris (1995) found that students view the primary work of
tutors as translating assignments into a language they speak, that
they can more readily understand an assignment's purpose or
where their writing help is needed when provided tutoring help
from a tutor.
• UMUC’s program was developed after consideration of this
research and its relationship to our student population.
The Coaching Program
Program Mission
The mission of the MSM Introductory Course Writing Coach Program
(the writing coach program) is to provide students - many of
whom are working adults and are returning to school after long
absences - strong fundamentals in effective academic writing
practices. Through quality tutoring support, the program’s
primary goal is to improve students’ academic performance in
general and writing skills specifically.
The Coaching Program
Program Objectives
• Provide assistance for students requiring writing help.
• Establish writing standards and expectations that students can carry into
subsequent graduate program courses and professional experiences.
• Through highly detailed feedback, assist students in thinking critically about
their writing and its appropriateness for a given audience (e.g. an academic
essay vs. a personal e-mail to a friend).
• Provide a strong foundation in good writing skills.
• Refer students to appropriate resources so that they have toolboxes from
which to draw for writing in future assignments and courses.
• Work toward improving academic performance of all class members and
MSM students.
The Coaching Program
Need for the program
• Because of the accessible nature of UMUC’s admissions polices,
students come to the graduate school with a wide range of skills,
experiences, and backgrounds. Many of our students have been
out of school for a period of time and are out of practice in
academic and other formal writing.
• This variance in backgrounds is one of the many strengths that
students bring to their classroom experiences at UMUC. But
this variance also means that some students struggle with the
writing expectations and requirements, particularly in their first
semesters.
The Coaching Program
Background
• The Management, Accounting, and Finance Department, which
represents a third of the Graduate School, began the program in
spring 2009 as a pilot in five sections with four writing coaches.
• The program has since has grown to being offered in all sections
the foundation courses in the MS in Management - MGMT 610
and 630. Currently, the program has 23 writing coaches.
• All tutors have at least a Bachelor’s degree and some
professional experience in writing and/or teaching, tutoring, or
editing writing.
The Coaching Program
• Format and approach
 The approach employed by the writing coach program is based on an “activeminimalist” approach (Kalteissen & Robinson, 2009, p. 00), whose goal is to
“help students develop strong writing practices rather than to fix individual
pieces of writing”
• The writing coach program is based on four major principles
(Reigstad & McAndrew, 1984):
 Establish and maintain rapport through engaging, asynchronous conferences
 Allow the writer to the work – the tutor is not an editor or a rewriter but rather a
“monitor and guide” (p. 9)
 Focus on Higher Order Concerns (HOCs) before Lower Order Concerns
(LOCs) – focus on parts of a piece that will garner the most improvement
 The ‘Coaches’ primary job is to help students improve a work of writing – not
necessarily perfect it.
The Coaching Program
• Format and approach
Definitions of HOCs and LOCs (McAndrew & Reigstad, 2001,
pp. 50-54)
 HOCs are defined as “the features of a piece of writing that exist beyond
the sentence level; they include clarity of thesis or focus, adequate
development and information, effective structure or organization, and
appropriate voice or tone”.
 LOCs are “the features within a sentence, at the level of individual words
and punctuation; they include sentence structure and variety,
punctuation, grammar and usage, and spelling”
The Coaching Program
Tutors/Coaches
• Tutors in the MSM Introductory Course Writing Coach Program have
a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and are skilled editors,
English teachers, and writing.
• The coach training involves a retraining to help coaches
understand the model employed in this program.
• We recruit from UMUC Undergraduate and Graduate alumni,
staff and faculty, local Universities, local editing and journalism
services
• Hiring process involves a review of a writing sample, an
interview, and 2-week online training
The Coaching Program
• The program is focused on foundation courses to provide a firm
foundation early in program
 The program is centered on MGMT 610 Organizational Theory and
MGMT 630 Organizational Theory and Behavior, the foundation
courses for the MS in Management (MSM) program
 Students must take either MGMT 610 or MGMT 630 within the first 6
credits of their 36-credit MSM programs, so all MSM students are
exposed to the writing coach service and have the opportunity to take
advantage of it
 MGMT 630 is a 6 credit course that combines the content of two
courses: MGMT 610 Organizational Theory and MGMT 615
Intercultural Communication and Leadership (Org Behavior), the second
course in the program
The Coaching Program
• Courses on which the program is focused
 MGMT 610 and 630 were redeveloped to create a comprehensive
approach to student success in writing, research, and plagiarism
awareness:
 The writing coach program addresses writing issues
 The UMUC Center for Intellectual Property created Virtual
Academic Integrity Lab (VAIL) tutorial and the requirement to use
turnitin.com. These guide students through avoidance of plagiarism
and other academic integrity issues
 The library module created specifically for these courses by UMUC’s
Information and Library Services helps students learn how to use
appropriate resources for research.
The Coaching Program
• Courses on which the program is focused
MGMT 610 Organizational Theory
An overview of the fundamental concepts of organizational theory and
design in the context of a postindustrial and increasingly global society. The
study of organizations encompasses several key knowledge areas essential to
today’s manager: the impact of technological and workforce changes on
society, organizational ethics and social responsibility, global issues, history
of management thought and its relevance for managers today, and systems
thinking and the challenges of managing in today’s complex and rapidly
changing environment. Discussion addresses essential concepts in
organizational theory and design, including measuring effectiveness,
organizational life cycles, options for organizational structure and becoming
the learning organization.
The Coaching Program
• Courses on which the program is focused
MGMT 630 Organizational Theory and Behavior
An overview of the fundamental concepts of organizational theory and
organizational behavior in the context of a postindustrial and increasingly
global society. Topics include the impact of technological and workforce
changes on society, organizational ethics and social responsibility,
organizational communication, leadership and decision-making skills in
intercultural environments, the history of management thought and its
relevance for managers today and systems thinking and the challenges of
managing in today’s complex and rapidly changing environment.
The Coaching Program
• WebTycho platform
 UMUC’s proprietary online course delivery platform
 Provides features that are similar to a traditional classroom, lending itself
well to online tutoring
 Allows students to organize a portfolio of class work and notes
 Provides a central location in which all of the tutoring work can take
place
 Navigate class discussions with tabbed browsing
 Send private messages to professors and classmates
The Coaching Program
• WebTycho platform
The Coaching Program
• Online coachring process
•
•
The WCs work involves review of assignment drafts that students submit, typically 4
to 5 days before an actual assignment is due. WCs must also create and manage a
conference, in which weekly tips are posted to ensure that all students in the class can
benefit from having a WC assigned.
Writing reviews are done using the track changes feature of MS Word and are meant
to provide highly detailed feedback on the specific overall, paragraph-, and sentencelevel issues students are presenting - grammar, organization, mechanics, paragraph
skills, transitions, punctuation and spelling, APA format, etc. – as well as references to
resources students can use to improve on these areas.
 The emphasis here is on coaching and advising – not editing a students’ paper
beyond recognition of its original form
 Coaches are imbedded within the classroom so that the faculty member is privy
to the advice the coach is giving and so that students can return to the coach and
seek clarification
Student and Faculty Perceptions and
Feedback
• Zoomerang Survey Results (student feedback)
 Surveys were first done in summer 09 in one section. Pilot was
successful and feedback was positive
 Zoomerang surveys are now in all sections and assess student
perceptions of the writing coach, the virtual academic integral lab (VAIL
tutorial, and use of turnitin.com
 Students like having the coach in class but often lament that the four day
turnaround time is too long – they’d like to see a day-of due date for
 89% of students surveyed (880 surveyed in fall 2009 and spring 2010)
agreed with the statement that the service should be available in all
graduate courses.
Student and Faculty Perceptions and
Feedback
•
Zoomerang Survey Results (student feedback)

Sample of student comments
Student and Faculty Perceptions and
Feedback
• Faculty Perceptions
 Some initial resistance from faculty who believed their ability to manage own
courses was being taken away
 After initial pilot and subsequent rollout to all sections, faculty see the value in
being able to focus on the content of student papers and provide feedback on
that aspect of the work.
 Faculty take different approaches to the coaching process – some require
students to submit drafts, some require drafts of only certain assignments, some
don't allow drafts of midterms given the nature of such assignments – but all 85
faculty are on board with and support the program
 One faculty member suggested that the program name be changed to writing
coach to remove any stigma that might be attached to the word tutor, especially
for graduate students
Best Practices for Adult Learners
in a Virtual Environment
• Provide ways for all students to benefit from the service
 Provide in class writing, research, APA, assignment -specific tips for students
who don’t submit drafts
 Timely responses to post in class so that others can benefit
• Imbedding the coaches in class ensures that the coaches are very
familiar with the assignment expectations and can provide
detailed and specific feedback relative to the assignment
requirements
• Have an on campus service or center (virtual or live) that
provides an additional resource to which tutors can refer
students and provides additional source of help for students
who need it after the class ends
Best Practices
• Hire tutors who are above-average writers who relate well to people
(Reigstad & McAndrew, ), are willing to work online and asynchronously,
and understand the adult population
• Ensure that coaches are well-trained and aware of and follow the
expectations set forth – providing timely feedback to students, showing
presence in classroom, providing students a central location to ask questions
and view tips and resources and receive reviews.
• Faculty role in encouraging use of coaching services
 Students are more likely to strive to submit a draft when faulty remind students
about the service and encourage use!
• Invite tutors to faculty meetings so that they can communicate with the
faculty members with whom they’ll be working
Best Practices
• Provide a writing coach center to provide a community of practice for the
coaches – a place for them to connect share ideas, network, share tips and
resources, receive feedback form colleagues (created MGMT 999T)
• Dohrer (1991) found that students are frustrated by and cannot easily
process papers with huge numbers of comments: They get frustrated and
either give up or concentrate on surface corrections, which do not encourage
rethinking or clarifying information. Coaches should be conscious of the
number of comments they are making on compositions.
• Coaches should also be conscious of the type of comments being provided –
this is coaching, not editing, and comments that don’t provide students
enough information (awkward, rewrite, reword) or that give “false or
generalized praise (McAndrew & Reigstad, 2001) require students to spend
lots of time trying to decipher meaning (Dohrer, 1991).
Room for Growth and Next Steps
• This program has been implemented in several other Graduate
School foundation courses, including those in the MS in health
care administration and the master of distance education.
• Current discussions on implementing in the MBA
• Continue to enhance the training for coaches and create
opportunities for updating skills
• Multimedia to complement text-based information
 Provide a way to reach the largest group of students possible
• Enhance the community of practice for the coaches by bringing
in guest speakers
Room for Growth and Next Steps
• Receiving feedback about a draft before submitting a final
assignment has been shown an effective means of improving
grades on final assignment – in our program, 85% of students
who submit a draft get a final grade of 88 or higher.
• Encourage student use of the program with this statistic
• Provide more opportunities for synchronous help – live chats,
conference calls, etc. – for students who express a need
• Create a longitudinal study to track use of the program and
effects on subsequent courses
References
• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) - http://nsse.iub.edu
• Dohrer, G (1991, January). Do teachers' comments on students' papers help?
College Teaching, 39(2), 48.
• Harris, M. (1995, January). Talking in the middle: Why writers need writing
tutors. College English,57(1), 27-42.
• Kalteissen, K. & Robinson, H. (2009, April 1). Building an online writing
center: Student tutors look to the past to construct a future. Writing Lab
Newsletter, 33(8), 6-10.
• Reigstad, T. J. & McAndrew, D. A. (1984). Training tutors for writing
conferences. Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and
Communication Skills and the National Council of Teachers of
English.
• McAndrew, D. A. & Reigstad, T. J. (2001). Teaching writing: A practical
guide for conferences. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.
Resources
• Cordaro, D. (2009). (E)merging identities: Graduate students in the
writing center. Writing Center Journal, 29(2), 95-100. Retrieved from
Education Research Complete database.
• Ryan, L. & Zimmerelli, L. (2009). Bedford guide for writing tutors.
Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s .
• Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory (VAIL) http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/vail/index.html
• turnitin.com
• American Psychological Association Blog - blog.apastyle.org
• WebTycho –
http://tychousa9.umuc.edu/wtdocs/wthelp/html/aboutwt.html
• UMUC’s Effective Writing Center - http://www.umuc.edu/ewc/
Questions?