The Harvard College Writing Center operates under a decentralized model two months after Harvard laid off the center’s director, Jane Rosenzweig, and folded the center into the Academic Resource Center. Under the restructuring of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, writing tutors now share operational space with STEM peer tutors and academic coaches, altering how students access writing support across campus.
Restored Drop-In Hours and Decentralized Tutoring Locations
Individual tutoring appointments remain available to students, while drop-in hours return the week of October 12 following a hiatus at the start of the semester, according to a Friday email sent to tutors and obtained by The Crimson. The updated drop-in schedule provides six hours per week, representing a reduction from the ten hours offered annually since 2013. The revised schedule features sessions from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Barker Center, and from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Sundays in the Lowell House dining hall, with two tutors staffing each shift.
Outside of designated drop-in windows, tutors conduct individual appointments across common campus spaces, including House dining halls and the Smith Campus Center, instead of operating exclusively out of the Barker Center. In addition, students can no longer schedule Zoom meetings directly through the center’s website.
Tutor Perspectives on Structural Changes
Writing tutor Colin P. Curley ’27 noted that the writing center continues to function effectively despite the administrative shift. A decentralized model aligns with managing a wide array of academic subjects where tutors maintain diverse schedules, according to Curley. Writing tutor Justin J. Black ’27 stated that the initial absence of drop-in hours reduced student access to immediate resources, noting that weekly training meetings split into smaller groups and scattered appointments make tutors feel less like a cohesive unit and more like contractors.
Black added that increased management responsibilities now fall on students because the personnel currently running the center maintain other professional priorities. Tutors also highlighted the loss of Jane Rosenzweig’s institutional knowledge, particularly regarding artificial intelligence, expressing concern that ongoing discussions about the impact of AI on student writing will not continue under the new framework.
Faculty Impact and Artificial Intelligence Guidance
Expository Writing Studio 10 preceptor Amy Hanes stated that Rosenzweig acted as an essential resource for faculty members seeking guidance on managing artificial intelligence in coursework. Hanes noted that losing this specialized institutional support removes a direct point of reference for instructors managing technological shifts in academic writing classrooms.