The RWC Writing Center is all about Starfish. What is Starfish, you might ask? According to Eric Van Hoose, who works in the Writing Center, Starfish is where students can make appointments through Blackboard when you need help with writing (i.e. for an upcoming paper). However, the Writing Center is doing away with making telephone appointments, and using Starfish promises to make things easier for everybody.
According to Van Hoose, there are several different benefits of using this new appointment feature:
you can make, cancel, or reschedule appointments anytime you want without having to call during the Writing Center hours;
you can schedule with a specific tutor;
the appointments are uninterrupted, meaning that there are no phones ringing during a session;
and, finally, students can let the Writing Center know what they are going in for so that it helps the staff to know and prepare for what they can help students with.
According to Maria Damen, Manager of the Center, there are a few simple steps you can take to make an appointment through Starfish.
First, you log on to Blackboard and select Starfish from the Tools menu (it’s at the bottom).
Second, under “My Success Network,” select Raymond Walters College Writing Center.
Third, select a tutor, and the day and time you would like to come in and hit the green + to “sign up” for the appointment. Lastly, after selecting your time, you will see the “Add Appointment” screen. You should let the Center know what you are coming in for and then click Submit. The Writing Center highly encourages appointments and all appointments must be made online.
There is a flyer you can refer to, and it should be available online at the Raymond Walters website pretty soon, according to Damen. Go to: http://www.rwc.uc.edu/writing_center/index.html.