Sustainable Academic Writing Centers in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

The age of artificial intelligence is defined by the hyper-personalization of information available online. In the age of information, internet users could easily access information through search engines and digital platforms. However, information is now personalized and streamlined through the prompting of equally accessible artificial intelligence (AI) software. These trends have new implications for higher learning and the institutional programs that support it.

In this post-information age, students are now able to apply their use of these AI tools to the practices of content generation and writing development. Information is no longer simply accessible, but it is highly personalized through large language modelling systems that pattern outputs to suit the needs of its user. Through these innovations, learning optimization has the potential to streamline many of the academic support programs that are sustained within institutions of higher learning. The question of what remains after AI innovations take a foothold within these institutions is one that is addressed in this book. Particularly for the academic writing center, program sustainability efforts will need to consider the ways in which AI can optimize or replace relevant student support.

By highlighting historical contexts, developing sustainable strategies, and reflecting on survey data, this book seeks to establish concepts of program sustainability in this new age. Value within higher learning continues to be challenged by resource constraints and institutional restructuring. However, through relevant, sustainable practices, practitioners can affirm the value of institutional writing center work in light of technological innovations that seek to challenge that value.