Susquehanna University2017 Institution Survey
Institutional requirements and goals--Writing Requirement
What does the writing requirement at your institution consist of?
First-year composition predominately taught by English and/or Writing department (FYC)
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
First-year seminar
Is oral communication a component of an institutional writing requirement?
Oral communication is a separate general education requirement.
Institutional requirements and goals--College Writing Goals
What are other approaches to assessment of institutional goals?
Central Curriculum Committee organizes the faculty teaching FYW and WI courses, helping them construct a rubric for each course goal and select samples that come organically from each class (as opposed to asking students to write to a single prompt that is just for assessment purposes) . Faculty groups come together to score the samples as part of a summer workshop on teaching writing.
Institutional requirements and goals--Writing Committee
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 support curricular changes.
Data used to encourage faculty to participate in WAC.
Institutional requirements and goals--Changes to Writing Program
What other changes took place in regards to the writing requirement?
We changed our shared course goals a bit and offered extensive workshops for everyone teaching FYW and WI courses. Actual participation so far is 35% of faculty and adjuncts. Workshops re-interpret the old goals as Teaching Writing for Transfer.
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 curricular structures or writing requirement
Changes to the types of staffing
If you foresee changes to the institutional sites of writing do you foresee in the next four years feel free to explain.
Curricular structure changes: movement afoot to combine first-year orientation course with first-year writing to get a single FYWS. Not sure whether it will go anywhere. Admin structure changes: the writing coordinator just became associate dean of School of Arts and Sciences. Currently she does both, but would like to hand writing coordination to a non-specialist TT faculty member in another field to build buy-in for different faculty than English. This would be a two-year experiment (until the associate dean position is renewed or switched to someone else--3 year positions) with that person reporting to the associate dean (the current writing coordinator). There are only two comp/rhet experts on campus, the WC and another Engish faculty member whose time is dedicated to our Publishing and Editing major (therefore unable to take on WC). Staffing-type changes: see earlier comment re: adjuncts. We have shifted from mostly faculty across the disciplines (2008) to mostly adjuncts with humanities and social science masters. Not sure how long this will go on. Our adjuncts are regulars who get good training and we have a lot of confidence in them, even though we prefer a faculty-across-the-disciplines approach. As noted above, this is not part of a general trend to increasing adjunct faculty over the whole campus; we have an institutional commitment to 80% TT. That has remained pretty steady--it just seems that most adjunct work is happening now in first-year writing.
First-Year Writing--General Description
Does your institution have a first-year writing requirement, whether explicit or embedded?
Yes
How would you describe your first-year writing requirement? Check all that apply. See Glossary for definitions.
First-Year Composition (FYC)
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Placement & Transfer
If your institution accepts alternative credit for FYC, which mechanism is used? Check all that apply.
Transfer credit from another institution
Dual enrollment
What percentage of students in AY 2016/17 received alternative credit for a FYC course?
15
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Goals
If there are explicit goals for FYC, are the goals informed by the WPA Outcomes Statement?
Yes
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Delivery Methods
During the academic year 2016-17, what percentage of sections of FYC were face-to-face?
95
During the academic year 2016-17, what percentage of sections of FYC were online?
5
During the academic year 2016-17, what percentage of sections of FYC were hybrid?
0
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Staffing
Who has primary responsibility for administering the FYC requirement? See the Glossary for an explanation of these terms.
Solo
Beside the person who has primary responsibility for administering FYC, how many graduate students, staff members, or faculty members have administrative responsibilities for FYC?
1
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty in the English Department?
8
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty in the rhetoric/composition department or program?
3
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty from departments besides English and rhetoric/composition?
8
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC 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 FYC 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 FYC 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 FYC were taught by PT faculty (hired by the English Department)?
81
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC 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 FYC 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 FYC were taught by graduate students in English?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC were taught by graduate students in rhetoric/composition?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC 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 FYC were taught by the first-year writing director?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of face-to-face FYC were taught by Other?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC 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 online FYC were taught by FT, tenure-line faculty from departments besides English and rhetoric/composition?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC were taught by FT, non-tenure line faculty in the English Department?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC 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 online FYC 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 online FYC were taught by PT faculty (hired by the English Department)?
100
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC 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 online FYC were taught by PT faculty (hired by another department/program)?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC were taught by graduate students in English?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC were taught by graduate students in rhetoric/composition?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC were taught by graduate students from departments outside English and rhetoric/composition?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC were taught by the first-year writing director?
0
In the 2016-17 academic year, what percentage of sections of online FYC were taught by Other?
0
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Training
For FYC, what types of initial training is provided? Check all that apply.
| FT-TT English/ Writing Faculty | FT-TT Faculty from other disciplines | FT-NTT English/ Writing Faculty | FT-NTT Faculty from other disciplines | Part-Time Faculty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Required Course | |||||
| Required Workshops | |||||
| Optional Course | |||||
| Optional Workshops | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Individual Meetings with Director | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Weekly Staff Meetings | |||||
| Monthly Staff Meetings | |||||
| No training is provided | |||||
| Other | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Do those attending initial training receive additional compensation or course credit?
Yes for anyone teaching a first-year writing course
For FYC, what types of on-going professional development is provided? Check all that apply.
| FT-TT English/ Writing Faculty | FT-TT Faculty from other disciplines | FT-NTT English/ Writing Faculty | FT-NTT Faculty from other disciplines | Part-Time Faculty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attend Conferences | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Present at Conferences | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access to Professional Journals | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Outside Speakers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Required Weekly Meetings | |||||
| Optional Weekly Meetings | |||||
| Required Monthly Meetings | |||||
| Optional Monthly Meetings | Yes | ||||
| Workshops or In-Service | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Meetings with Director | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Other |
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Curriculum
What is the content for the first or only semester of FYC? Check all that apply.
Genre/Modes
Writing about Writing
Themes
WAC/discipline topics
Teaching for Transfer
Research
Multimodal
Other
What is the content for the first or only semester of FYC? Check all that apply - Other - Text
Depends on the faculty. The only requirement is number of finished pages, a revision process with faculty feedback, and four shared course goals. The goals are broad enough to fit just about anything (they date to before we had a Writing Coordinator, when the whole faculty came together to vote on all central curriculum course goals). About 90% of our faculty (all ranks) who teach FYC have taken a teaching for transfer workshop, and most of them chose to incorporate key elements into their syllabi.
First-Year Writing--First-Year Composition: Course Caps
In the academic year 2016/17, what was the enrollment cap for Honors sections of the first or only semester of face-to-face FYC?
15
In the academic year 2016/17, what was the enrollment cap for Regular sections of the first or only semester of face-to-face FYC?
18
In the academic year 2016/17, what was the enrollment cap for Basic Writing sections of the first or only semester of face-to-face FYC?
16
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?
Yes
Since AY 2012/13, what have been the changes to the first-year writing requirement at your institution? Check all that apply.
Other
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?
No
Do you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of first-year writing at your institution over the next four years?
Yes
If you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of first-year writing at your institution over the next four years, feel free to explain. -TEXT-
explained in other section--movement to FYS may be afoot. Writing coordinator may temporarily be staffed by TT faculty in a non-comp/rhet specialization while current WC acts as Associate Dean.
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
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
Is there professional development available for those teaching in the WAC Program or teaching WI courses?
No
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
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Major
What areas of writing can students specialize in as part of the major? Check all that apply.
Professional writing
Rhetoric/ composition
Digital/ new media writing
Other
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Minor
What areas of writing can students specialize in as part of the minor? Check all that apply.
Other
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 writing minor was created (not including creative writing).
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?
No
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.
SAT/ACT scores
TOEFL scores
Portfolio
GPA
Advisor referral
Faculty referral
Student self-referral
What type of supports are available for basic writers? Check all that apply.
Special sections of FYW
Peer tutoring
Workshops
What is the structure of your basic writing program? Check all that apply. (See Glossary for an explanation of terms)
Intensive model
What is the curriculum of the basic writing courses? Check all that apply.
Reading and writing
How do students exit basic writing? Check all that apply.
Passing grade in basic writing course
Basic or Developmental Writing--Changes to Basic or Developmental Writing
What changes have there been to the support for basic writers? Check all that apply.
Basic writing classes were dropped.
The placement mechanism for basic writing was changed.
The content of basic writing courses changed.
The structure of the basic writing courses/program was changed.
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?
Academic support 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.
Academic building
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 reading
Assistance for English Language Learners
What events does the writing center offer?
Space for student to come together to write
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?
20 minutes
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-10
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?
Full-credit course
Workshops before semester begins
What on-going professional development opportunities are provided undergraduate consultants?
Staff meetings
Writing centers--Administration
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?
1
Writing centers--Changes
Since the academic year 2012/13 have there been changes to the writing center at your institution (not including staffing)?
Yes
What other changes have been made to the writing center?
New staffing structure, new recordkeeping software
Since the academic year 2012/13 have there been changes to the staffing or administration of the writing center at your institution?
Yes
What other changes have been made to the staffing or administration of the writing center?
Responsibilities reassigned to assistant dean.
Feel free to explain these upcoming changes.
After keeping electronic records regarding tutoring sessions in our own departmental software, the institution adopted an advising platform, for which I have responsibility to implement. Due to institutional priorities and other responsibilities, I have yet to set up functionality for tracking tutoring sessions and do not have the last few years of data in the new system. We have been keeping pen/paper records, so the data available for this survey is not as nuanced as I would like.
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 both domestic and international
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?
Other
Multilingual Writing Support--Multilingual Writing Support: Domestic Students
Does your institution identify domestic English Language Learners (ELLs) who may need additional writing support?
Yes
How does the institution identify domestic English Language Learners? Check all that apply.
SAT/ACT scores
TOEFL scores
Portfolio
GPA
Advisor referral
Faculty referral
Student self-referral
What type of supports are available for domestic English Language Learners (ELLs)? Check all that apply.
Peer tutoring
Workshops
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.
SAT/ACT scores
TOEFL scores
Portfolio
GPA
Advisor referral
Faculty referral
Student self-referral
What type of supports are available for International English Language Learners (ELLs)? Check all that apply.
Peer tutoring
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)?
No
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
Feel free to explain your answer.
We have a very small ELL and international student population, but we're hoping to grow. Currently support for international students happens in an office just for IS, with mainstreaming and tutoring support inside the writing program. Hopefully we'll hire a specialist as our Center for Academic Achievement grows. We've tried in the past, but our area is rural, the jobs are staff positions (FT) and don't pay enough to attract beyond the region.
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
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 are reassigned for WPD administrative responsibilities?
1
Which of the following are the administrative responsibilities of the WPD?
Create Program Documents
Conduct assessment
Consult with individual faculty or departments across the disciplines
Hire (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)
Mentor (tutors, professional staff, or teaching faculty)
Place students into writing courses
Oversee program budget
Plan events
Serve on university committees
Serve as an academic advisor