Furman University2017 Institution Survey

Institutional requirements and goals--Writing Requirement

Does your institution have a writing requirement?

Yes

What does the writing requirement at your institution consist of?

First-year seminars taught by faculty across the curriculum (FYWS)

Writing-intensive courses that are located throughout the curriculum (W courses)

Senior thesis or capstone experience

Are there curricular requirements that are not part of the writing requirement but that have writing as an explicit goal?

Yes

What curricular requirements have writing as an explicit goal?

Senior capstone or thesis for some or all students

Is oral communication a component of an institutional writing requirement?

Oral communication is not a component of any institution writing requirements.

Institutional requirements and goals--College Writing Goals

Are there institution-wide student writing goals?

No

Institutional requirements and goals--National Survey of Student Engagement

Does your institution administer the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)?

Yes

How does your writing program use the NSSE data?

Data used for assessment.

Data used to argue for additional resources.

Data used to promote the writing program.

Data used to support curricular changes.

Institutional requirements and goals--Changes to Writing Program

Were there changes to the writing requirement since the academic year 2012-13?

Yes

Which changes took place in regards to the writing requirement?

The writing requirement was changed.

Writing-intensive courses were added to the writing requirement.

Students are required to take more writing-intensive courses than before.

Were there changes to the assessment of writing at your institution since the 2012-13 academic year?

No

Do you foresee changes at the institutional level to the sites of writing on your campus over the next four years?

Yes

What type of changes to the institutional sites of writing do you foresee in the next four years?

Changes to the administrative structures

Changes to expand the writing program or sites of writing on campus

First-Year Writing--General Description

Does your institution have a first-year writing requirement, whether explicit or embedded?

Yes

What is the institutional home for first-year writing?

There is no home

How would you describe your first-year writing requirement? Check all that apply. See Glossary for definitions.

First-Year Writing Seminar (FYWS)

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Placement & Transfer

In the academic year 2016-17, how many students took FYWS?

720

Does your institution accept alternative credit for FYWS?

No

What percentage of students in AY 2016/17 received alternative credit for a FYWS course?

0

If there is a placement mechanism for FYWS, what is it? Check all that apply.

Directed Self-Placment

What percentage of students in AY 2016/17 placed out of a FYWS course?

0

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Goals

Are there explicit goals for FYWS?

Yes

If there are explicit goals for FYWS, are the goals informed by the WPA Outcomes Statement?

Yes

How are the FYWS goals assessed? Check all that apply.

Paper Portfolio

Electronic Portfolio

Course Evaluation or Grades

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Delivery Methods

In AY 2016/17, did your institution offer face-to-face sections of FYWS?

Yes

In AY 2016/17, did your institution offer online sections of FYWS?

No

In AY 2016/17, did your institution offer hybrid sections of FYWS?

No

During the academic year 2016-17, what percentage of sections of FYWS were face-to-face?

100

During the academic year 2016-17, what percentage of sections of FYWS were online?

0

During the academic year 2016-17, what percentage of sections of FYWS were hybrid?

0

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Staffing

Who has primary responsibility for administering the FYWS requirement? See the Glossary for an explanation of these terms.

WPD

Beside the person who has primary responsibility for administering FYWS, how many graduate students, staff members, or faculty members have administrative responsibilities for FYWS?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty in the English Department?

30

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty in the rhetoric/composition department or program?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty from departments besides English and rhetoric/composition?

69

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by FT, non-tenure line faculty in the English Department?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by FT, non-tenure line faculty in the rhetoric/composition department or program?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by FT, non-tenure line faculty from departments besides English and rhetoric/composition?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by PT faculty (hired by the English Department)?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by PT faculty (hired by the rhetoric/composition department or program)?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by PT faculty (hired by another department/program)?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by graduate students in English?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by graduate students in rhetoric/composition?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by graduate students from departments outside English and rhetoric/composition?

0

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by the first-year writing director?

1

In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYWS were taught by Other?

0

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Training

For FYWS, what types of initial training is provided? Check all that apply.

FT-TT English/ Writing FacultyFT-TT Faculty from other disciplines
Required Course
Required Workshops
Optional Course
Optional WorkshopsYesYes
Individual Meetings with DirectorYesYes
Weekly Staff Meetings
Monthly Staff Meetings
No training is provided
Other

Do those attending initial training receive additional compensation or course credit?

Yes for anyone teaching a first-year writing course

For FYWS, what types of on-going professional development is provided? Check all that apply.

FT-TT English/ Writing FacultyFT-TT Faculty from other disciplines
Attend ConferencesYesYes
Present at ConferencesYesYes
Access to Professional JournalsYes
Outside Speakers
Required Weekly Meetings
Optional Weekly Meetings
Required Monthly Meetings
Optional Monthly MeetingsYesYes
Workshops or In-Service
Meetings with DirectorYesYes
Other

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Curriculum

Which type of scheduling does your institution follow?

Semester

How many semesters of FYWS are required?

One Semester

Is there a common syllabus for the first or only semester of FYWS?

No

What is the content for the first or only semester of FYWS? Check all that apply.

Literature

Themes

WAC/discipline topics

Multimodal

First-Year Writing--First-Year Writing Seminar: Course Caps

In the academic year 2016/17, what was the enrollment cap for Regular sections of the first or only semester of face-to-face FYWS?

12

First-Year Writing--Changes to First-Year Writing

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the first-year writing requirement at your institution?

No

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the first-year writing placement mechanism or how alternate credit is granted at your institution?

No

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the first-year writing assessment at your institution?

No

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the first-year curriculum or enrollment caps at your institution?

No

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the administration or staffing of first year writing at your institution?

Yes

Since AY 2012/13, what have been the changes to the administration or staffing of first year writing at your institution? Check all that apply

Other

Since AY 2012/13, what have been the changes to the administration or staffing of first year writing at your institution? Check all that apply. - Other - Text

Tenured faculty now also part-time Writing Director

Do you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of first-year writing at your institution over the next four years?

Yes

Upper Level Writing Courses--Upper Level Writing Courses: General

How many specific writing course(s) beyond the first year does your institution require all students to take? For example, such a course could be a sophomore or junior-level course taught by English or writing faculty. We are NOT asking about writing-intensive courses. The WAC section of the Census will ask about those courses.

0

Upper Level Writing Courses--Senior Culminating Experience

Does your institution require ALL students complete a senior thesis or other writing-intensive capstone experience?

No

Does your institution require SOME students complete a senior thesis or other writing-intensive capstone experience?

Yes

What are the criteria for some students to complete a senior thesis?

The requirements vary by department.

Upper Level Writing Courses--Changes to Upper Level Writing

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the requirement for writing courses beyond the first year (not writing-intensive)?

No

Writing across the curriculum (WAC)--General Description

Does your institution have a formal WAC Program?

No

Is there professional development available for those teaching in the WAC Program or teaching WI courses?

Yes

If faculty attend a seminar or workshop, how are they compensated?

They receive food at the event.

They receive a stipend.

Writing across the curriculum (WAC)--Writing-Intensive Courses

Does your institution require all students to take writing-intensive (WI or W) courses taught by departments other than English or Writing? See Glossary for definitions.

Yes

How long has the WI requirement been in existence?

1-3 years

How many WI courses are required beyond the first-year requirement?

2

How many WI courses are part of a first-year requirement?

1

When do WI courses need to be completed?

By graduation

Are there explicit goals for the WI courses?

Yes

Have the goals been influenced by the WPA Outcomes Statement?

Yes

What form of assessment takes place of the WI goals?

Random sample of student writing

What are the criteria for a WI course?

Number of pages or words written

Revision

Time discussing writing In class

Written or verbal feedback from instructor

Who certifies that a course fulfills WI designation?

Curriculum Committee

Are there incentives offered for faculty to teach a WI course?

Yes

Which incentives are offered to faculty to teach WI courses?

Course release

In academic year 2016/17, what was the course cap for WI courses?

Varies by department

Writing across the curriculum (WAC)--Administration

Who has primary responsibility for administering the WAC Program?

Writing Program Director

In addition to the person who has primary responsibility for WAC, how many graduate students, staff members, or faculty members have administrative responsibilities for WAC?

2

Writing across the curriculum (WAC)--Changes to WAC

Since the academic year 2012/13 have there been changes to the WI or WAC program?

Yes

What changes occurred?

WI requirement added

Increased number of requried WI courses

A Full-time WAC director position was created.

Do you foresee any major changes to WAC on your campus in the next four years?

Yes

Feel free to explain any upcoming changes.

I am hoping to create an administrative unit for the writing programs to provide some real oversight and "quality control" (in the Dean's words) for the writing classes.

The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Major

Does your institution have a creative writing major?

Yes

Does your institution have a writing major (other than creative writing)?

No

The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Minor

Does your institution have a creative writing minor?

No

Does your institution have a writing minor (other than creative writing)?

No

The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Graduate Programs

Does your institution offer a masters degree (MA) in writing (not creative writing)?

No

Does your institution have a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program in writing (not creative writing)?

No

The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Changes to the Major, Minor, or Graduate Programs

Since the academic year 2012/13, have there been changes to the undergraduate writing major or minor?

Yes

What were the changes? Check all that apply.

An undergraduate creative writing major was created.

Do you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of the writing major, minor, or graduate programs at your institution over the next four years?

Unsure

Basic or Developmental Writing--Basic or Developmental Writing

Does your institution identify basic writing students who may need additional writing support?

Yes

How does the institution identify basic writers? Check all that apply.

GPA

Admissions office/Student Affairs referral

Advisor referral

Faculty referral

Writing Center referral

Student self-referral

What type of supports are available for basic writers? Check all that apply.

Peer tutoring

Professional tutoring--not including from WPA or WCD

Workshops

Does your institution have a formal basic writing program?

No

What percentage of the student body is placed into basic writing?

0

Is there a Director of Basic Writing?

No

Basic or Developmental Writing--Changes to Basic or Developmental Writing

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the support for basic writers?

Yes

What changes have there been to the support for basic writers? Check all that apply.

A new full-time staff director/coordinator/specialist position was created and filled.

Do you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures for helping diversely prepared students at your institution over the next four years?

Yes

Writing centers--General description

Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors?

Yes

Is the writing center free-standing or part of another institutional unit?

Part of another institutional unit

If the writing center is not free-standing, what larger institutional unit is it a part of?

Teaching and learning center

Where is the writing center located? Note: From this point on writing center refers to both free-standing and those located within another unit.

Library

Is there a mission statement for the writing center?

Yes

Are there explicit goals for the writing center?

Yes

How are the goals assessed?

Center usage statistics

In addition to providing support for students writing for their courses, what services does the writing center offer? Check all that apply.

Assistance with multimodal assignments

Assistance with oral presentations

Assistance with Powerpoint or other presentation software

Assistance with new media

Assistance with how to prepare a poster presentation

Assistance with job materials

Assistance with graduate school materials

Asssistance for faculty on syllabus or curriculum development

What events does the writing center offer?

Student workshops

Faculty workshops

Writing centers--Consultations

What type of appointments does the writing center offer?

scheduled face-to-face appts

drop-in face-to-face appts

What is the average length of a consultation or tutorial session offered?

45 minutes

What percentage of the undergraduate student body had a writing center consultation during the 2016-17 academic year?

24.6

Writing centers--Consultants

How many consultants worked in the writing center during the 2016-17 academic year? UG=undergraduates, GS=graduate students, Fac=faculty, PT=professional tutors, Vol=volunteers

UG-20

On average, what percentage of a week's consultations are staffed by each group? For example, if your center offers 100 hours of consultations a week and 50 hours are filled by undergraduates and 25 hours by both graduate students and professional tutors, then the percentage would be 50% undergraduate, 25% graduate students, and 25% professional tutors.

UG-100

How are undergraduate consultants initially trained?

Staff meetings

What on-going professional development opportunities are provided undergraduate consultants?

Attend regional conferences

Staff meetings

Meeting with Director

How are the undergradaute consultants compensated?

Hourly wage

Writing centers--Administration

Who has primary responsibility for directing the writing center or overseeing the writing tutors if the tutors are part of a different institutional unit?

Writing Center Administrator (WCA)

In addition to the person who has primary responsibility, how many undergraduates, graduate students, staff members, or faculty members have administrative responsibilities for the writing center?

3

Does the writing center have a faculty advisory committee?

No

Writing centers--Changes

Since the academic year 2012/13 have there been changes to the writing center at your institution (not including staffing)?

No

Since the academic year 2012/13 have there been changes to the staffing or administration of the writing center at your institution?

Yes

What changes were made to the staffing or administration of the writing center?

Peer tutor positions increased

Hired a full-time multilingual writing specialist

What other changes have been made to the staffing or administration of the writing center?

Reporting structure changed. The writing center coordinator no longer reports to the Writing Program Director and Center for Teaching & Learning Director (dual reporting structure), but now reports to the Executive Director for the Faculty Development Center (the Center for Teaching & Learning no longer exists). We are also part of the Center for Academic Success, our learning and academic skills center. The CAS hired a full-time staff position to support English Language Learners, but that position is not within the writing center itself.

Do you foresee changes to the writing center over the next four years?

Yes

Feel free to explain these upcoming changes.

We are undergoing organizational changes to support our newly-announced strategic vision. This vision promises students an individualized four-year pathway facilitated by teams of mentors and infused with a rich and varied set of high impact experiences outside the classroom that include undergraduate research, study away, internships, community-focused learning, and opportunities to engage across differences. There have already been changes in our administrative and curricular support structures and we are part of several internal pilot programs in support of the new vision that will hopefully expand in the future.

Writing Fellows (Embedded Writing Tutors)--General information

Does your institution have a writing fellows program? (See glossary for definitions)

No

Multilingual Writing Support--Multilingual Writing Support: General

Is there support for domestic and international English Language Learners (ELLs)?

Yes, for only international ELLs

Is support for English Language Learners (ELLs) separate from basic writing?

Yes

What percentage of the student body is placed into ELL writing courses, both required and optional?

0

Who has primary responsibility for administering support for English Language Learners?

Full-time staff director/coordinator

Multilingual Writing Support--Multilingual Writing Support: International Students

Does your institution identify international English Language Learners (ELLs) who may need additional writing support?

Yes

How does the institution identify International English Language Learners? Check all that apply.

TOEFL scores

Writing Center referral

Student self-referral

What type of supports are available for International English Language Learners (ELLs)? Check all that apply.

Professional tutoring--not including from WPA or WCD

Tutoring from WPA or WCD

Workshops

Multilingual Writing Support--Changes to Multilingual Writing Support

Since AY 2012/13, have there been changes to the support for English Language Learners (ELLs)?

Yes

What changes have there been to the support for English Language Learners (ELLs)? Check all that apply.

A new full-time staff director/coordinator/specialist position was created and filled.

Do you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures for helping diversely prepared students at your institution over the next four years?

Yes

Administrative positions--Writing Program Director or Chair of a Writing Department (WPD)

How is the Writing Program Director or Chair of the Writing Department position (WPD) classified?

TT

Where does the WPD's tenure line reside?

English

To whom does the WPD report?

CAO

Was the WPD hired for this position?

Yes

Which of the following teaching responsibilities does the WPD have? Check all that apply.

Teach courses

faculty workshops

On average, how many courses per year does the WPD teach?

3

On average, how many courses per year are reassigned for WPD administrative responsibilities?

2

Which of the following are the administrative responsibilities of the WPD?

Create Program Documents

Consult with individual faculty or departments across the disciplines

Hire (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)

Supervise (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)

Mentor (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)

Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit

Oversee program budget

Maintain program/department/center website

Serve on university committees

Administrative positions--Writing Center Administrator (WCA)

How is the Writing Center Administrator position (WCA) classified?

Staff-FT

To whom does the WCA report?

Assoc Dean or Provost

Other

Was the WCA hired for this position?

Yes

Which of the following teaching responsibilities does the WCA have? Check all that apply.

Train tutors, TAs, or professional staff

faculty workshops

student workshops

Which of the following are the administrative responsibilities of the WCA?

Create Program Documents

Conduct assessment

Consult with individual faculty or departments across the disciplines

Hire (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)

Supervise (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)

Mentor (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)

Schedule writing courses

Advertise program

Oversee program budget

Plan events

Maintain program/department/center website

Serve on university committees