WTS Employment Information

Writing Tutorial Services hopes to hire students—both graduates and undergraduates—who have demonstrated ability and confidence in writing papers and who will be friendly and approachable when working with other students. We are looking in particular for students who have the ability to discuss others' writing constructively or to work in small groups.

The majority of WTS tutorials are for classes other than English. WTS would therefore like to encourage applications from students from a variety of disciplines, particularly sciences and social sciences. And because students who visit WTS are a widely diverse group—in terms of ethnicity, nationality, religion, race, and gender—we encourage applications from those who reflect this diversity.

Both graduate students and undergraduates at IU are invited to submit applications to WTS. In addition, WTS solicits nominations from faculty members for undergraduate candidates as described below.

Undergraduate peer tutoring
Graduate tutoring

Undergraduate Peer Tutoring

Writing Tutorial Services Peer Tutors work in the main location of WTS (in the Information Commons on first floor of the Wells Library) as well as the Briscoe, Teter, and Willkie Academic Support Centers (ASCs). The ASCs operate from 7pm to 11pm Sunday through Thursday. All WTS tutors work a set schedule for the semester; that is, they will be required to work the same days and hours each week for the duration of the semester.

Undergraduates may nominate themselves. WTS also solicits faculty nominations for peer tutor trainees each fall. Faculty members should watch Campus Mail each October for nomination forms, or they can submit nominations via e-mail, as described below. Feel free to contact Jo Ann Vogt (javogt@indiana.edu) for further information.

Eligibility

Students who are freshmen, sophomores, or juniors in the current fall semester are eligible to become WTS peer tutors. Because training takes a full semester—and is offered only in the spring—seniors are ineligible.

Training

Peer Tutors must complete a 14-week training practicum held each spring semester and taught by Jo Ann Vogt. Students who successfully complete this training in the spring then join the WTS staff the following fall.

The training practicum consists of a weekly, 2-hour meeting with other new Peer Tutors; an additional 1 to 2 hours a week for preparation; and 8 hours of tutoring (2 hours per week) during the month of April. Pay for the training is $7.50 per hour.

Applications

Faculty members: To nominate a student, send an e-mail message to Jo Ann Vogt (javogt@indiana.edu). Include

  1. your name
  2. your department
  3. the course in which the student was enrolled
  4. the student's name and e-mail address
  5. the student's year in school (seniors are ineligible because of the length of the training course)
  6. a short statement of the student's qualifications

If you prefer, you can download the nomination form as a Word document and return it either by e-mail or in hardcopy. WTS also solicits nominations via campus mail each October. Faculty nominations will be reviewed after the first Friday in November and selected candidates will be invited to apply.

Students: To apply to become a WTS peer tutor, submit the following by the first Friday in November:

  1. a letter of application outlining your writing experience and your interest in tutoring; please include your home phone number and email address
  2. a resume, if you have one
  3. a writing sample (a paper from an IU course—any length), and
  4. a short letter of recommendation from an IU faculty member—this can be in the form of an email message sent to Jo Ann Vogt at javogt@indiana.edu.

Submit written materials to:

Jo Ann Vogt, WTS Coordinator
CITL Writing Program
Wells Library E250
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, IN 47405

Hours

Those who successfully complete the spring-semester training practicum then tutor for WTS the following fall. They can expect to tutor between 5 and 10 hours per week, dividing these hours between WTS in the Wells Library and the Academic Support Centers.

WTS is open 10am to 8pm Monday through Thursday and 10am to 5pm Friday.

ASCs, in Briscoe, Teter, and Willkie, are open 7pm to 11pm, Sunday through Thursday.

All Peer Tutors are required to work at least one late-night shift (that is, until 11pm) each week.

Rates of pay

The deadline for applications is the first Friday in November. After all application materials are reviewed, 10 to 20 students will be invited to interview in mid-November.

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Graduate Tutoring

Writing Tutorial Services hires graduate students to work on an hourly basis as tutors at WTS in the Information Commons on the first floor of the Wells Library. Graduate students from any discipline or department at IU are eligible to apply for tutoring positions, and may hold positions as associate instructors in their home departments while also working as tutors at WTS. Teaching or tutoring experience will of course be considered when applications are reviewed, as will breadth of background in the subject areas in which candidates would feel comfortable tutoring.

Applications

To apply for a position as a WTS tutor, submit the following materials:

  1. a letter of application describing any teaching or tutoring experience and listing the disciplines in which you’d be most comfortable tutoring student writing
  2. a resume or curriculum vitae
  3. a sample of your own academic writing; the sample should be 3-5 pages long and may be something written for a course or part of a dissertation, thesis, or other project.

Send these materials to:

Jo Ann Vogt, WTS Coordinator
CITL Writing Program
Wells Library E250
1320 East 10th Street
Bloomington, IN 47405

Applications are accepted on a ongoing basis. To be considered for a tutoring position for the fall semester, however, it’s best to submit an application by early April of the preceding spring semester.

Hours

Graduate tutors should expect to work 10 hours per week at all WTS locations combined. In addition to their tutoring hours, all tutors are required to participate in 5 hours of tutor training, conducted in the first week of the fall semester, and to attend biweekly staff meetings throughout the semester. Tutors are expected to establish a weekly tutoring schedule during the first week of the semester and to maintain that schedule, working the same days and hours each week, throughout the remaining weeks of the semester. All tutors are required to work at least one evening shift each week.

WTS hours: 10am to 8pm Monday through Thursday; 10am to 5pm Friday.

Rates of pay

Tutors are paid $12.50 per hour for the hours they work at WTS, for tutor staff or training meetings, and for any other work they do for WTS.

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