University Writing Center

Poster for recruiting UWAs

Hiring

Either a department or faculty member may hire an Undergraduate Writing Assistant (UWA). The UWA may work with one section of a class, multiple sections, or multiple classes within a department or program, as long as the following conditions are met. (See The Undergraduate Writing Assistant Program Policy Agreement  for further details).

1. The UWA is paid bi-weekly for a minimum of 5 hours per week;
2. An office space or a work area is provided;
3. Hours are between 5 and 20 hours a week, on average, with all usual University holidays observed.
4. UWAs do not assign grades and are supervised when commenting on papers or filling in grading rubrics. They may not use Track Changes in Word, edit student papers, or discuss grades with students.

To hire a UWA, fill in the hiring application form.

Nominating

The University Writing Center encourages faculty to nominate UWAs. Keep in mind that there is a full semester of training before the UWA will be hired, and that includes a one-credit class. If you know a promising student, especially one you would like to hire, send a letter of nomination to:

Dr. Valerie Balester Executive Director,
University Writing Center
5000 TAMU

In addition to the letter, ask the candidate to contact Dr. Balester at v-balester@tamu.edu. He or she will be asked for a writing sample and an interview, and will have to fill in a written application.

Candidates may come from any major and any language background. They should have strong writing and oral communications skills and have a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the major. They should have good time management skills and a desire to help their peers. A position as a UWA is almost sure to improve their writing skills further.