[Writeon] FW: [wcenter] appointment programs

[William Hochman]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Rebel Palm <rpalm at unm.edu>
Reply-To: Writing Center Mailing List <wcenter at lyris.ttu.edu>
Date: Thu, 28 May 2009 14:10:13 -0400
To: Writing Center Mailing List <wcenter at lyris.ttu.edu>
Subject: Re: [wcenter] appointment programs

We use TutorTrac but it is not an intuitive program to
learn at all, the manual is useless, and it's pricey
(purchase approx $3000 with a yearly maintenance fee of
$750). However, once I learned how to use it, I get really
good information out of it. It not only allows students to
schedule appointments from any computer wherever and
collects visit stats and notes, it can also generate
utilization reports by tutor, by student, by time period,
by hours of day by week, by department that sends
students, and even more that I haven't needed to pursue.
There are also ways to have students submit documents
online through the program to a tutor (possible OWL?), and
it can maintain course progress notes. You can also keep a
list of resources (like a library) and check them out
through the program. I suspect it could be used as a
vehicle for assessment, but we don't do that so I haven't
checked that out. It's a pretty powerful program and
probably good for a large center that wants to keep
comprehensive stats and records. Even as small as we are,
I have found the program gives me a lot of data for
reports to administrators.

For those who have talked about user satisfaction surveys,
in TutorTrac there is a way to have the user evaluate the
tutor and session as they log out.

I also really like the support people. Once I learned how
to use the program, I didn't need much help except for an
occasional glitch, but when I have needed the tech guys,
they are always really helpful and (in my experience) very
good natured. These days, just like when buying a
computer, one of the things a consumer should weigh is
support. TutorTrac support has been very good and if I was
the only one making the decision, I wouldn't even think
twice about paying the maintenance fee--when you need it,
it's worth it.

The problem is justifying the purchase price and annual
support fee to an administrator who doesn't know what a
Writing Center does. With campus budgets the way they are,
it's hard for me to explain $750 year to someone who's
never even seen our little room.

On Thu, 28 May 2009 11:05:04 -0400
  Meladel Busante <mgbusante at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> We are planning to implement a system at our college
>where students can book
> tutoring sessions online. Although WCOnline is widely
>used, I've heard mixed
> reviews about it. I've done some looking around and I'm
>curious about
> programs such as HitAppoint, AppointmentPlus, and
>AppointmentQuest - has
> anyone tried them?
>
> Thanks a lot!
>
> Meladel Busante
> Writing Center Associate Coordinator
> The College of New Rochelle
>
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> You are currently subscribed to wcenter as:
>rpalm at unm.edu.
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> leave-wcenter at lyris.ttu.edu


<p>
Interviewer (of S. J. Perelman:
</p><p>How many drafts of a story do you do?
</p><p>Perelman:
</p><p>Thirty-seven. I once tried doing thirty-three, but
something was lacking, a certain--how shall I say?--<i>je
ne sais quoi</i>. On another occasion, I tried forty-two
versions, but the final effect was too lapidary--you know
what I mean, Jack?
</p><p><a
href="http://www.theparisreview.com/media/4536_PERELMAN.pdf">http://www.theparisreview.com/media/4536_PERELMAN.pdf</a>
</p>

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