This thesis presents the spring 2011 assessment for the University Writing Center at UNC Asheville, a small liberal arts college in Western North Carolina. It includes the results of a study that seeks to shift the focus of assessment in the University Writing Center from operational goals to learning goals; it interprets data related to student writers’ and undergraduate consultants’ perceptions of observable cognitive development activities during typical writing center sessions. The study grew from the University Writing Center’s response to newly developed University Student Learning outcomes (USLOs) and the University Mission Statement.