Funding and Assistantships

Whom We Help

The Writing Center serves any and all interested undergraduate students by appointment. As of Fall 2014, there is one tutor specifically for graduate students. Each student using the Writing Center should sign in at the reception desk.

Appointments

All appointments begin at a quarter after the hour and last for a maximum of forty-five minutes. This leaves fifteen minutes for the tutor to complete any necessary documentation or take a break.
Appointments should be made online. Students visiting the Writing Center website (http://coas.howard.edu/writingcenter/) can click on a button saying "Schedule your appointment now!" There are also half-sheets of paper with instructions you can give to students. If you need to print more handouts a digital copy is on the reception desk computer.

Sometimes, if a student's personal Gmail or Howard e-mail account is not set to EST, that student will arrive at the wrong time for their appointment. To us, it often looks like they had an earlier appointment, but the time will be different on their own calendar. Just have them reset their calendar to prevent further problems, and let them work with whichever tutor is available. There is a handout at the reception desk explaining how to change their time zone in Gmail.

Tutor can view the appointment calendar by checking the Google Calendar attached to their Howard e-mail accounts.

If a student does not arrive to their appointment within the first fifteen minutes of the hour or contact the Writing Center to notify the tutor that they are on the way, they have missed their appointment. At that point, the tutor is free to accept a walk-in student if the tutor feels they can get through the walk-in’s work in the time left for that appointment slot. For example, if a student has an appointment for 11:15 a.m. and they have not arrived by 11:30 a.m., the tutor is free to see other students provided they can complete the session by 12:00 p.m.

Tip of the Day

Create your own or use one from the index cards in the reception desk. The dry erase markers are there as well. It should be updated daily, so whoever does so should put the date on the board to keep track of how old the tip is.

Borrowing from the Writing Center Library

Students are free to borrow from our library, provided they either use the books in the Writing Center or leave their ID for collateral until they return the text.
In the glass block portion of the Writing Center is a bookshelf with handouts for tutees, including materials on resumes. The OWL Purdue website is another helpful resource that includes information on writing in a variety of genres (even resumes and citation styles!) as well as writing exercises that students can complete in their own time.

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

Coming Soon!

Instructional assignments are typically only available to Ph.D. students. Most students, with or without previous teaching experience, will be asked to shadow a professor or become a teaching assistant for at least one semester before being able to teach. Students with an M.A. can ask the Graduate Director to shadow or become an assistant after their first year.

When first assigned an instructional position, students will likely be asked to teach the same class that they shadowed or assisted with or one that is similar. The professor whom you shadow or assist can become a useful mentor. Other professors to whom you can refer for mentorship may also be provided on your assignment letter, or you can ask the Graduate Director for professors who can provide resources for the class you are assigned to instruct.

Syllabi for courses must be completed and reviewed before the beginning of each semester.

Most students will begin by teaching English 002 or 003.

English 002 has a standard required syllabus as well as a required rubric for grading all student essays. Before using the documents supplied here, please double-check with the department office that they are the most up-to-date versions. For English 002, the department usually assigns a common text that all sections of 002 will read, so look out for an e-mail from the department announcing what the common text will be. All other requirements for the course are explained in the syllabus. Students may be required to create portfolios, but there is not a department wide portfolio review at Howard. Rather, the portfolio will be reviewed by the course instructor if required. Students will fill out their course evaluations online, so you will probably get an e-mail from the department with a link you can then forward to your students.

Students are required to earn at least a C in English 002 before they are allowed to take English 003. At the beginning of the semester, the department will supply a list of those students who did not fulfill that requirement, which you will need to cross-reference with your roster. The department will also supply you with a notice to give to any students who have erroneously enrolled in your class. English 002 also has a standard required syllabus as well as a required rubric for grading all student essays. Also keep in mind that both the 003 rubric and syllabus are distinct from those used for 002. The 002 rubric should not be used to grade papers in 003. Each instructor of 003 will also be required to record all scores from each section of the essay rubric for each essay for each student. Those records should then be submitted to the department at the end of the semester. They can be recorded in a spreadsheet supplied by the department or on Blackboard. You will receive e-mails announcing workshops on how to use the Blackboard option for your rubrics. Before using the documents supplied here, please double check with the department office that they are the most up-to-date versions.

The Graduate School offers travel funds for students to present at conferences. Please note this information has "not been updated" on the graduate school website; however, Dr. Betsey "urges students to apply for funding." Students are only eligible to receive funding for one conference for the 2012-2013 academic year. Complete the application form and gather everything on the travel checklist. Applications must be submitted AT LEAST 30 days in advance. Please include the following materials with your application:

• a copy of the acceptance letter from the conference coordinators (a printed email confirmation is acceptable)
• a copy of the accepted abstract
• a copy of your Howard academic transcript
• a copy of travel (airfare) and hotel bookings as well as your food estimate on the itemized budget (*Alcoholic beverages are not eligible for funding reimbursement)
• a copy of conference registration
• a copy of your CV
• the completed application with necessary signatures (*faculty signature is MANDATORY)
•  a letter of support from the Department (*helpful but not required)

For insurance purposes, Howard University only provides funding for airline travel; you will not receive funding for transportation if you rent a vehicle.  All travel funds are given as a reimbursement after you have submitted the necessary receipts, which are due within 10 business days of your return from the conference. GESA recommends that you complete your application materials meticulously to avoid delays with your application. We also recommend hand delivering your application rather than emailing it. Submit all application materials to Martha Gay in the Graduate School Room 112.

For more information, contact Ms. Gay in the Graduate School at hugradscan@yahoo.com or (202) 806-6904.