On this page you will find Writing Studio Policies as well as Writing Studio answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Read the FAQ immediately below or jump straight to the Policies Section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Writing Studio Policies
Who Can Access Writing Studio and Tutoring Services Appointments?
Writing Studio and Tutoring Services appointments are free and open to
- all active 国产传媒 students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional)
- current university faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and staff
- recent alumni 0-2 years after graduation (Writing Studio only, NEW as of Summer 2026).*
Writing Studio Support for Alumni 0-2 Years Out
*Starting in Summer 2026, the Writing Studio is piloting access to writing consultation appointments to recent graduates, similar to the Career Center鈥檚 alumni support and resources.
How to Schedule Alumni Appointments
- Contact the Writing Studio by phone at 615-343-2225 (our recommendation for efficiency) or via email at writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu to schedule an online or in-person alumni writing consultation appointment.
Note that during Summer 2026 alumni will not yet be able to access WCOnline directly to schedule their own writing consultation appointments and must call or email.
By the start of the Fall 2026 semester, our goals is for recent graduates to be able to sign into WCOnline and schedule appointments directly.
If Redirected to this WSTS Access Policy
If you have been redirected to this page after attempting to sign into WCOnline and, after reviewing the policy above, you believe you are being redirected here in error, please contact the Writing Studio at writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu so that we may look into the access issue you are experiencing.
Non-Transferrable: Clients May Only Schedule Appointments for Themselves and Their Own Writing
It is our policy that appointments are non-transferrable and that each client can only make appointments for their own use and for their own writing projects (individual and group projects).
- In terms of non-transferability, clients may not schedule appointments and then give up or transfer the appointment to someone else. Likewise, they may not attend an appointment scheduled in someone else鈥檚 name.
- Clients may not hold a writing consultation for a piece of writing for which they are not the author or co-author (as in the case of group projects and collaborations) or which will be credited to or submitted under another individual鈥檚 name.
In general, this policy extends and reinforces our policies on who can access Writing Studio appointments and on daily and weekly appointment limits. More importantly, it preserves the role our one-on-one writing consultations play within the Writing Studio鈥檚 larger mission.
On a first violation of this policy, clients will be given a warning and placed on probation. A second violation will result in suspension of scheduling privileges for the remainder of the semester for all parties involved.
Appointment Confirmation Requests and Expectation of Limited Confidentiality
We know that some clients will need proof of having completed a Writing Studio appointment to satisfy a class requirement or when appointments are incentivized through extra credit. We offer that proof in the form of an official Appointment Confirmation.
Appointment Confirmations are by Student Request only.
Without a request originating from the student, the Writing Studio does not share information about an individual student鈥檚 appointments with the student鈥檚 instructors or other inquiring parties.
This is what we mean when we refer to appointments as confidential. As explained below, the nature of this confidentiality is limited in ways all Writing Studio clients should be aware of.
How to request an Appointment Confirmation
Students can request an official appointment confirmation after completing an appointment you have scheduled with us. You have two options:
- In-person requests can be made by stopping by our front desk to speak with the Writing Studio鈥檚 front desk clerk or Administrative Specialist, who will get the necessary information from you to send our official appointment confirmation email to your instructor.
- Email requests can be sent to writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu from your 国产传媒 email address. In the subject line, please include 鈥淲riting Studio Appointment Confirmation Request鈥� and, in the body, make sure to let us know the following:
- Your Writing Consultant鈥檚 name
- The date and time of your appointment
- Your instructor鈥檚 name and email address
Appointment confirmation requests or inquiries that do not originate from the student will not be fulfilled and instead forwarded to Writing Studio鈥檚 director.
Final Step: Appointment Confirmation Email Sent from Our Program Inbox
After receiving your request and verifying the details of your appointment in our system, we will email the instructor you specified, CC鈥檌ng you, with a message from our program inbox (writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu) confirming the you completed a Writing Studio appointment.
- Our Appointment Confirmation message will specify your appointment鈥檚 date and time and the name of the Writing Consultant with whom you met.
- No additional information about the appointment will be shared.
Do you need to upload evidence of your appointment? If you need to upload evidence, please upload a copy of our Appointment Confirmation email, on which you will be CC鈥檇. (We suggest using the 鈥淧rint to PDF鈥� option in your Outlook email.)
Limits to Appointment Confidentiality
The confidentiality the Writing Studio can offer around appointments is limited in nature, including in the following ways clients should be aware of:
- In respect to Title IX, the Writing Studio and Tutoring Services office is considered neither a confidential nor a limited confidential resource. Our staff (full-time and student employees) are mandatory reporters obligated to report allegations of sexual misconduct to the university鈥檚 Title IX office.
- As part of the extended Student Care Network, we report concerns pertaining to safety and students鈥� personal, physical, or emotional wellbeing.
- For purposes of programmatic and institutional assessment and reporting, the Writing Studio and Tutoring Services office takes part in large-scale data sharing with the Office of Undergraduate Education and relevant partner offices.
Honor Code
It is the responsibility of each student to uphold the in their use of the Writing Studio and determine how it applies to the writing for which they are seeking support from a Writing聽 Consultant.
For instance, each student is responsible for determining whether it is appropriate to schedule an appointment for a particular assignment (e.g., a take-home exam or foreign language essay).
Appointments Limits Per Day (1) and Week (3)
Throughout the academic year (fall, spring, and summer), the following limits apply to all Writing Studio clients (students, faculty, staff, and alumni):
- Weekly limit: All clients may schedule a maximum of three appointments per week up to eight days in advance using the Writing Studio鈥檚 online scheduling system, in which a new week begins each Monday.
- Daily limit: All client are limited to one appointment per day.
Adding a Fourth Weekly Appointment as a Walk-In or By Request
A Writing Studio client who has already held three appointments in one week may speak to the front desk attendant to request to the opportunity to hold a fourth appointment as a walk-in or for assistance scheduling a fourth appointment, pending an available opening.
Extended Two-Hour Appointments Count as Two Appointments
For the purposes of this policy, all two-hour appointments count as two appointments toward the weekly maximum. For more information, see 鈥淓xtended Sessions for Graduate Students鈥� policy below.
Tardiness for Appointments Policy
Writing Studio clients are responsible for arriving promptly for their scheduled appointments or communicating with the Writing Studio in advance when they risk arriving more than 10 minutes late to avoid the tardiness policy.
Tardiness policy: If a client has not arrived 10 minutes after the start time for a scheduled appointment and another client is waiting for a walk-in appointment, the appointment will be given to the waiting walk-in client. At that point, the appointment will be marked as 鈥渕issed鈥� in our scheduling system. See 鈥淢issed Appointment Policy鈥� below.
Appointment Cancellations
Cancelling appointments in a timely fashion ensures that support is open to another student who may be seeking an appointment. Thus, clients' responsibilities to cancel in a timely fashion are enforced by our Missed and Late Cancellation policies:
- In order to avoid incurring the Missed Appointment Policy (see below), clients are responsible for cancelling scheduled appointments they will no longer attend.听
- In order to avoid incurring the Late Cancellation Policy (see below), an appointment must be cancelled at least four hours in advance of the appointment鈥檚 start time.
To Cancel Appointments
- Appointments can be cancelled through the Writing Studio鈥檚 online scheduling platform anytime prior to its scheduled start time.
- After that time or when otherwise necessary, clients may also contact the Writing Studio鈥檚 front desk either by phone or email.
Late Cancellation Policy
Our scheduling platform (WCOnline) enforces a three-strikes Late Cancellation Policy that applies across both Writing Studio and Tutoring Services appointments as follows:
- If a client cancels an appointment less than 4 hours before the scheduled start time, the system will send them an automated late cancellation notice. The first two late cancellation notices serve only as a warning.
- Three strikes: If a client accrues three late cancellations in the same semester across both the Writing Studio and Tutoring Services, their WCOnline account will be deactivated for the rest of the semester.
- Clients who accounts are deactivated will still be able to secure appointments on a walk-in basis, but will no longer be able to view the schedule or book appointments in advance unless they follow the steps outline below to have their accounts reactivated.听
Missed Appointment Policy
Our scheduling platform (WCOnline) enforces a three-strikes Missed Appointment Policy that applies across both Writing Studio and Tutoring Services appointments whenever a scheduled appointment is marked as "missed" in the system.
An appointment will marked as "missed" in the system under the following circumstances:
- If under our Tardiness for Appointments Policy, an appointment will be marked as missed whenever a client does not arrive for their scheduled appointment by 10 minutes after the scheduled start time and the appointment is given to a waiting walk-in client.
- If no walk-in client is waiting, an appointment will be marked as missed when a client does not arrive by the appointment's scheduled end time.听
Three-Strikes Missed Appointment Policy
- When an appointment is marked as "missed" in WCOnline, the system will send the client an automated missed appointment notice. The first two missed appointment notices serve only as a warning.
- Three strikes: If a client accrues three missed appointments in the same semester across both the Writing Studio and Tutoring Services, their WCOnline account will be deactivated for the rest of the semester.
- Clients who accounts are deactivated will still be able to secure appointments on a walk-in basis, but will no longer be able to view the schedule or book appointments in advance unless they follow the steps outlined below to have their accounts reactivated.
Disabled Account? Accessing Appointments and Reactivation Process
If your account is deactivated, you will be unable to view the schedule or make appointments for the rest of the current semester. However, you will be able to access appointments on a walk-in basis.
You can also take the following steps to have your account reactivated prior to the start of the next semester:
To reactivate your account, you will need to contact writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu and request a time to meet with the Administrative Specialist in order to discuss account reactivation. The meeting is a required prior to reactivation.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in helping us manage our appointment resources effectively.
Extended (Two-Hour) Sessions for Graduate Students Policies and Procedures
At the Writing Studio, we recognize that different writers have different needs. One such group includes Graduate Students working on substantial, long-term projects, such as a dissertation or thesis, to whom we offer an extended appointment type to allow to sustained support over time from the same Writing Consultant.
What are Extended Appointments?
Extended appointments are intended to be a series of two or more appointments wherein you meet regularly with the same Writing Consultant in order to make significant progress on a major writing project or goal.
Individual extended appointments in the series may last up to an hour and fifty minutes depending on the appointment style chosen (discussed below).
Extended appointments are a limited resource for the Writing Studio. The number of extended appointment requests that can be fulfilled each semester depends on factors including the availability of qualified staff and the demand for normal-length consultation sessions.
Graduate Students are the primary target audience for extended appointments. However, faculty, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and, with permission of the director, undergraduates writing honors theses or other major projects can place a request for extended appointments, as well.
In terms of weekly appointment limits, clients should be aware that all two-hour appointments count as two appointments against the Writing Studio limit of three appointments per week.
Styles of Extended Appointment
There are two options for the style of appointments within the extended appointment series, one with a preparatory reading hour for the Writing Consultant and the other without.
Style 1: Preparatory Reading Time
The first style splits the time of each session in the series into an initial reading hour for the Writing Consultant followed by a regular 50-minute session between client and consultant.
- Prior to the first hour of the session, a client who selects this still must email a copy of the draft to their Writing Consultant and CC'ing writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu.
- In the first hour, the Writing Consultant then reads and reviews the provided draft.
- After the first hour, the client and Writing Consultant meet for a standard-length 50-minute session, either in-person or online (depending on the Writing Consultant's availability and the client's preference).
Style 2: No Preparatory Reading Time
The second style involves the client and Writing Consultant meeting for the full hour-and-fifty-minute session for each meeting in the series.
- In this case, no draft is shared and reviewed in advance. Instead, the client and Writing Consultant simply have a longer period for dialogue and work together than during a standard-length 50-minute session.
Requesting an Extended Appointment
Prior to Requesting
Before placing a request, the client must first hold an initial 50-minute writing consultation with the Writing Consultant with whom they will be requesting a series of extended appointments.
During that initial consultation the client and Writing Consultant should discuss the project and discuss the possibility of extended sessions. At that time, the client and Writing Consultant would also ideally discuss goals for the series of extended sessions and the type of ongoing appointment most suitable to the writer and their project.
If you would like assistance in finding a consultant well suited to your extended consultation goals, please email us at writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu. We can offer recommendations.
After the Initial Appointment
Following the initial appointment, the client may place a request for an extended appointment series by email us at writing.studio@vanderbilt.edu.* Please include the following with your emailed request:
- The name of the Writing Consultant with whom you met
- The day and time of that appointment
- Your desired extended appointment style (with or without preparatory reading time, see above)
- Your desired start date and duration for the extended appointment series
The request will be received by the Writing Studio's Administrative Specialist, who will be able to arrange the sessions after confirming the initial appointment requirement has been met, the Writing Consultant's availability to take on an extended appointment client, and any final details that need to clarified with the client.
*As a courtesy to the client, the Writing Consultant may email a request on the client's behalf, CC'ing the client, and including the details requested above.
Space to Write at the Studio: Policies and Guidelines
Need Time and Space to Write? At the Writing Studio, we invite you to try out coming over for a writing session at our main location (1801 Edgehill Ave, Ste 112).
Whether you need a table to spread out on or a quiet room, we have a variety of spaces that are often available as well as complimentary tea and coffee for writers.*
*Our spaces are available during our regular open hours when they are not otherwise needed for official Writing Studio and Tutoring Services staff and programming. To help us manage our space needs, we ask that you follow the guidance and policies laid out below, which include checking in with the front desk clerk or administrative assistant about available spaces as you arrive.
Using Writing Studio Spaces: Policies and Guidelines
Please observe the following policies and guidelines when using our space to write or study:
- Getting Started: When you arrive, we ask that you always speak with the front desk clerk or administrative assistant before claiming a space. They will review the schedule and standing reservations to determine if there is space in which you will be able to write or study undisturbed.
- If there is space, you will be asked to sign in using the QR Code provided at the front desk and be shown to a space. Signing in helps us track and report on use of our space in this manner.
- If there is no space available, we may ask you to visit at a later time.
- Space is available, but limited: Please know that we will try to accommodate you to the best of our ability, but we will not always be able to guarantee a space for you. This is especially true any time a large number of writing consultants and STEM tutors are holding shifts and when Writing Studio and/or Tutoring Services events and programming are scheduled.
Additional Recommendations
- At our busiest times of the semester, coming to write in our space is a great option for those who hope to claim a Walk-In Appointment because all of our appointments are otherwise booked.
- Are you a graduate student? At the Writing Studio, we know that sometimes graduate students just need time to write. Come write alongside your peers during our weekly Writing Groups for Graduates and Postdocs and our thrice annual Dissertation Writers鈥� Retreats.