Norms and Policies

You must be a registered UMB student or postdoctoral fellow to use the appointment services of the Writing Center. Appointments cannot be made for the day the paper is due.

Please contact the Writing Center directly if you are working on a group paper. Please email both our main email and Writing Specialist. eTutoring appointments are not available for group papers. 

The following types of writing are excluded from assistance:

• Any writing in which the client is not an author (e.g., work written by a family member or another student)
• Any writing that is part of a take-home examination

Consultants will not predict a client's grade.

No information about client use of the Writing Center will be shared unless required by law. All writing services are confidential.

Consultations will not last longer than 45 minutes. Please note that while the WC Online scheduler lists hour-long appointments, consultants will end the appointment after 45 minutes. Consultants use the rest of the time to fill out client report forms, prepare for their next appointment, and take a required short break. 

Clients may sign up for one appointment per day, two appointments per week. To request an exception to this policy on a case-by-case basis, please email both our main email and Writing Specialist.

Clients have until 24 hours before their appointment to cancel their scheduled consultation. After this point, cancellations will be counted as no-shows.  

Arriving more than 20 minutes late without providing notice results in a no-show. The amount of time late counts against the total length of the consultation. 

If a client does not show up for an appointment, they will get an email that the appointment was marked as a no-show. After two no-shows, clients will not be able to make appointments for the rest of the semester.

Clients are not permitted to give/transfer appointment times to other clients. 

Writing consultants will not meet with clients outside of their scheduled work hours, in person or online.

If UMB closes before the Writing Center opens, the Writing Center will be closed. If UMB closes after the Writing Center opens, staff will finish conducting their current appointment and then close the Writing Center immediately. If UMB announces an advanced closure (e.g., a closure for the following day), the Writing Center will be closed. Finally, if UMB delays opening before the Writing Center opens, the Writing Center will open when the University does.

Affected clients will be contacted by the staff, and an attempt to reschedule will be made.

Clients may not drive during online appointments. If the consultant becomes aware that the client is driving, they will end the appointment and contact the client about rescheduling. Please plan to be in a comfortable place with minimal distractions during online appointments.