Frequently Asked Questions

All appointments are scheduled through WCOnline. Please go to our “Schedule an Appointment” page for full instructions.

UMW students may make up to 2 appointments a day for a total of 60 minutes and up to 4 appointments a week for up to 120 minutes. They may also make 12 appointments per month for a total of 360 minutes. These limits allow all students at UMW to have access to our consultation services as well as foster independent work on projects. If there is a compelling reason to have additional and/or longer appointments, please contact Dr. Leah Schweitzer at lschweit@umw.edu or 540-654-1347 to discuss those extensions and availability.

Yes, we do accept walk-ins. However, we do not guarantee that there will always be an available consultant. During our busier times, you may have to wait. If you want to guarantee that a consultant will be available to you for a full 30 or 60 minutes, we recommend that you make an appointment.

YES! We would love to work with you at any stage in the composing process. You can come to the Speaking and Writing Center to brainstorm, outline, draft, practice or proofread. We are here to meet you where you are in the process and help you make progress on your project.

Consultants are students from any major at UMW who have successfully completed FSEM (or been exempted as a transfer student), applied to and interviewed for the position, been endorsed through a letter of recommendation from a member of the UMW faculty, and successfully completed training to work as a Speaking and Writing Center consultant.

We send an appointment report form to instructors via email upon request. Please let your consultant know that you want a report sent to your instructor. Appointment reports will contain the day and time of your appointment, how long the appointment lasted, a brief description of what topics were discussed, and any suggestions for follow-up either with the SWC or on your own that were made. You will be copied on the report so that you know it was sent.

We offer in-class workshops for any class on campus. Faculty may go to the “Schedule a Class Workshop” page and fill out the form to request a workshop during their class times. We are adding to our list of available workshops all the time; if you would like to see a workshop offered that isn’t currently listed, please contact Dr. Leah Schweitzer at 540-654-1347 or lschweit@umw.edu to discuss your needs.

We accept application during the spring semester, generally immediately after spring break, for consultants to start the following fall. The link to the open position and application will be found on the UMW Careers Page. Click on Student Employment to search for the listing. Please contact Dr. Leah Schweitzer at lschweit@umw.edu for any questions you have about the position requirements, training, or application criteria.