Weber State 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 composition predominately taught by English and/or Writing department (FYC)

Mid-level writing course

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

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

No

Is oral communication a component of an institutional writing requirement?

Oral communication is an explicit goal of first-year writing.

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)?

I don't know

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?

Other

What other changes took place in regards to the writing requirement?

A new emphasis on digital writing has emerged

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

If you foresee changes to the institutional sites of writing do you foresee in the next four years feel free to explain.

We are working on building an undergraduate Certificate in Writing Studies and a Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Writing

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?

Multiple homes

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

Does your institution have a creative writing major?

No

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)?

Yes

What areas of writing can students specialize in as part of the minor? Check all that apply.

Professional writing

Technical writing

In which department is the minor housed?

English

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.

Other.

Since the academic year 2012/13, have there been changes to the graduate writing program?

No

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

Feel free to explain any forthcoming changes.

I need to explain my answers to several of the preceding questions. While [we do] not offer a major in Creative Writing, it does offer something that is close to that but technically different: we call it an English major with emphasis in Creative Writing. The university is careful to distinguish, in its terminology, that this is not a major in CW but an English major with emphasis in CW. For purposes of your survey, this may amount to the same thing as having a CW major. Likewise, we do not offer a masters degree in CW, but we do have a masters degree in English with a CW track. While we have not added new degrees to our English program at [our institution], we did a thorough overhaul of our English department curriculum, including the English major with emphasis in CW, in 2017. [We do] not offer either a BA degree or a MA degree in "Writing." Beginning this year, we are offering, collaboratively with the Communication department at our university, an Associates Degree in "Workplace Communication and Writing."