How the University Writing Center is increasing visibility to support students
- Sofia Arnaiz
- 8 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Nancy Talbott Holton earned the University System of Maryland’s highest honor, the Board of Regents Staff Award for Excellence in Performance as the University Writing Centers Academic Program Specialist.
In 2024, the Conference on College Composition and Communication awarded the Salisbury University Writing Program with a Certificate of Excellence, an award that was only given to two other programs that year, compared to previous years. The UWC is looking for new ways to reach out to incoming and current students to let them know the UWC is here on campus to help them with any writing project they are working on.
Holton’s role at the UWC is to connect students with different resources around campus while also analyzing data the center receives on the different writing, reading and study sessions they offer. The issue is it is underutilized. Many students remain unaware of the UWC’s resources or feel a sense of nervousness when entering the space.
She helps connect the gap between students and campus resources by analyzing session data to address the underutilization and recognizes that many students simply do not know they exist.
“I try really hard to make sure that we have enough offerings that students can come into the writing center at any time and that we are easy to find,” Holton said.
Many of Holton’s colleagues have commended her for her work ethic and willingness to help others.
As part of her job, she handles day-to-day operations and assessment for the UWC such as restocking materials, analyzing data and budgets, overseeing the collection of any post session surveys, recruitment and record keeping.
“Nancy is very present in [supporting students],” Director of the UWC Dr. Melissa Bugdal said. “I think especially just her ability and willingness and interest in being a team player and pivoting when it's necessary.”
Holton's leadership at the UWC can be seen as a commitment to student accessibility with the help of maintaining a professional mentorship style.
Beyond managing schedules, Holton ensures the center meets students where they are, providing a steady and reliable mentorship experience and environment for everyone who needs the help.
“As far as mentorship goes, Nancy is exceptionally smart and she doesn’t always celebrate herself and her intelligence,” UWC Coordinator Jeff Dean said. “She is a really strong model for people to see what a curious mind looks like, what a conscientious mind looks like and what a responsible human being looks like.”
Holton utilizes a collaborative data-driven approach to ensure the UWC’s resources are aligned with actual student usage and academic trends.
Every Friday, she facilitates a meeting called the “data party” with other administrators to analyze data and survey results to make sure all aspects of the center are running smoothly and how they should be.
“We have a dedicated time every Friday where Jeff, Dr. B and I sit down and just look at data. Just crunch the numbers and do whatever it is we need out of that," Holton said.
Not only does she help her colleagues in their work, but she also gets to help graduate teaching assistants and writing consultants gain confidence in their professional development while working at the center.
She actively leads development initiatives by coordinating the graduate teaching assistant practicum and organizing monthly staff meetings, ensuring that both TA's and writing consultants have a structured environment to help further their skills throughout the year.
“She participates in our graduate teaching assistant practicum, which are weekly professional development sessions that we do with our graduate TA’s all year long,” Dean said. “She organizes and schedules the monthly writing center staff meeting, which is where we do professional development for the writing center consultants.”
Holton’s effectiveness as an administrator is rooted in her firsthand experience navigating the complexities and dedication of the tutoring process.
After beginning her graduate studies in rhetoric and composition in 2020, she transitioned from a staff role in Fulton to a graduate peer consultant at the UWC. It was during this transition that she discovered her professional calling, later applying for the academic program specialist position.
“She’s able to contribute that sort of insider tutoring knowledge because she’s had years of experience being a tutor as well,” Dr. Bugdal said.
Despite a background primarily rooted in writing, this role requires a shift from her humanities background toward data analysis, which was challenging.
Transitioning from a focus on writing to a role that requires budget balancing and data analysis presented a learning curve for Holton. It is a skill she never thought she would have because math was the difficult part.
“Math? I got nothing,” Holton said. “Learning how to collect data, analyze it, manage it and get my brain to work in that way has been the most challenging part.”
The data-driven strategies and administrative oversight implemented at the University Writing Center ensure that institutional support is visible and accessible to the students who need it.
By identifying and addressing the factors that contribute to underutilization, Nancy Talbott Holton has helped refine the center’s role as a resource within the university. While her contributions were recently recognized at the highest level, she maintains a perspective that attributes the program's success to a wider range of service.
“The award is a huge accomplishment and honor," Holton said. "I, by no means, am the only person on campus who deserves the recognition.
"There are people doing really great work that goes unrecognized."
By SOFIA ARNAIZ
Managing Editor
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