2025-26 Program Brief

The University Writing Center (UWC) supports student success and well-being by offering free, accessible, and high-quality writing support. Through its resources and services, the UWC helps writers build sustainable practices, refine their ideas, approach writing as a process shaped by reflection and revision, and develop confidence as they work toward clear, effective communication in academic and professional settings. The UWC is guided by six valued principles—respect, compassion, inclusion, adaptability, collaboration, and learning—with the purpose of…

• Providing an inclusive environment where all members of the UCF community can utilize free peer consultations at any stage of the writing process.
• Promoting innovative learning and writing strategies by offering workshops and resources that can be adapted and used across interdisciplinary and professional contexts.
• Promoting a rich teaching and learning experience for tutors that emphasizes research-based tutoring practices and allows them to engage in professionalizing opportunities in and beyond UCF.

The UWC seeks to be recognized as a leader in writing center research and program assessment, both nationally and internationally, advancing UCF’s strategic priority to expand research impact through evidence-based practices that continually improve the quality of peer tutoring and deepen our understanding of student learning across the university. We imagine a university where visiting the UWC is a practice associated with engaged, capable, and intellectually curious students as well as those who are still developing to meet college-level writing expectations.
Our work reflects UCF’s dedication to inclusive excellence and community by valuing language diversity, respecting writer agency, and offering feedback that invites writers to explore the full range of rhetorical choices available to them. As part of a Hispanic Serving Institution, the UWC actively supports the success of multilingual, international, and Black, and Indigenous students, while ensuring an accessible learning environment for students with disabilities. Through these efforts, the UWC contributes to a campus culture that prioritizes belonging, opportunity, and meaningful engagement.

• Sustain online and in-person consulting services while innovating more ways to scale disciplinary writing support for the UCF community.
• Participate in TEACH ME Grant, intended to measure success in first-year writing through ENC 1102 online writing groups.
• Engage in professionalizing UWC consultants as researchers, writers, and professional communicators.
• Increase the visibility of the UWC in writing center studies and rhetoric and composition.

Student Contact and Impact

The UWC had contact with 12,572 students (not unique), a 22% increase from last year.

In addition to increasing consultations this year by 1.8%, data shows writers are extremely satisfied with their experiences in the UWC.

Institutional Analytics and Integrated Planning (AIP) data suggests consultations support student retention and success. When comparing first-year retention rates for UWC users and non-users using 2024–2025 AIP data, students who visit the UWC consistently show higher retention. First-time-in-college students who use the UWC have a 95.2% retention rate (1.9% higher than their peers) and transfer students who use the UWC have a 95.3% retention rate (12.3% higher than their peers). These data do not suggest consultations cause retention but indicates that consultations are part of a broader pattern of academic engagement that characterizes students who ultimately remain enrolled.

Writing groups provide opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to gather regularly to work on writing. For students in the composition program and Soar Student Success program, this includes receiving mentor support from an undergraduate or graduate tutor. In addition to providing weekly support, these writing groups introduce students to the UWC and get them in the habit of attending UWC events to support their writing development.

• Continue to sustain and improve ENC 1102 TEACHME online writing groups and assess how these groups contribute to student retention and success.
• Engage UWC staff in local, regional, and national professionalization experiences (e.g., conference presentations, publications, research opportunities).
• Apply for the Center Acknowledgement and Recognition of Excellence (CARE) certificate from the Southeastern Writing Center Association (SWCA).
• Increase UWC online resources and events targeting interdisciplinary writers and, when possible, partnering with programs, offices, and departments across UCF.
• Increase UWC online resources and events related to integrating AI tools into writing processes, drawing on our UWC AI Values and needs identified through the 2025 spring UWC Needs Assessment survey.
• Explore options for sustaining and scaling online consultation support considering technology transitions happening across UCF (i.e., the Zoom to Teams transition).

Want to Partner with the UCF University Writing Center on a Writing-Related Event or Program?

We are proud to partner with UCF departments, programs, and offices to support your writing and communication goals. This could include developing a tailored UWC workshop for your students, hosting a departmental writing group, or serving as a support service on a grant proposal project. Please email UWC@ucf.edu or the UWC Director, Dr. Amy Cicchino (amy.cicchino@ucf.edu), to set up a time to meet to discuss your goals for collaboration with the UWC.