Kenyon College2013 Institution Survey

Sites of writing--General Description

Does your institution have an official writing program or department? (n=671)

No

Does your institution have first-year writing? (n=673)

No

Does your institution have writing across the curriculum (WAC)? (n=671)

Yes

Is WAC part of the writing program or department? (n=306)

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for WAC? (n=227)

Other

Does your institution have writing in the disciplines (WID)? (n=674)

No

Does your institution have an undergraduate writing major? (n=673)

No

Does your institution have an undergraduate writing minor? (n=676)

No

Does your institution have a graduate program in writing/rhetoric? (n=677)

No

Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=679)

Yes

Is the writing center part of the writing program or department? (n=654)

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the writing center? (n=487)

Independent program

Does your institution have a basic writing program? (n=675)

No

Sites of writing--Writing Requirement

Does your institution have a writing requirement? (n=668)

No

Are there curricular requirements that are not part of the writing requirement but that have writing as an explicit goal? (n=657)

Yes

What curricular requirements have writing as an explicit goal? (n=342)

A senior capstone/thesis for some or all students has writing as an explicit goal.

Sites of writing--College Writing Goals

Are there college-wide student writing goals? (n=660)

No

Sites of writing--National Survey of Student Engagement

Does your institution administer the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)? (n=667)

Yes

How does your writing program use the NSSE data? (n=425)

I don't know.

Is your school part of the WPA/NSSE Consortium for the Study of Writing in College? (n=494)

I don't know

Sites of writing--Changes to Writing Program

Have there been changes to the writing program or sites of writing at your institution in the past 10 years? (n=666)

Yes

Were there changes to the writing requirement in the past 10 years? (n=585)

No

Were there changes to the assessment of writing at your institution over the past 10 years? (n=589)

No

Were there any changes to the administrative structures of the writing program or the sites of writing over the past 10 years? (n=597)

Yes

Which administrative structures of the writing program or the sites of writing changed? (n=396)

Other

Was the writing program changed in the past 10 years to expand or eliminate areas? (n=609)

Yes

How did the writing program change? (n=346)

Other

Were there changes to the staffing of the writing program or center over the past 10 years? (n=595)

Yes

Which changes to the staffing of the writing program or center have taken place over the past 10 years? (n=412)

Peer tutoring positions were added.

Other

Were there any additional changes to the writing program or the sites of writing at your institution not already mentioned? (n=588)

Yes

If there were any additional changes to the writing program or the sites of writing at your institution not already mentioned, please explain.

[We hired] hired a consultant (funded by a grant) to do a study of writing at [the institution] and a Teachers Teaching Teachers grant funded various faculty committees. The Provost created an "Essentials Writing Group" committee.

Do you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of the sites of writing at your institution over the next five years? (n=661)

Yes

What type of changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of the sites of writing at your institution do you foresee in the next five years? (n=484)

Changes to the administrative structures

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

First-year writing/English composition--General Description

Does your institution have a first-year writing requirement whether explicit or embedded? (n=672)

No

Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--General Description

Does your institution identify students who may need additional writing support, including students whose primary language is not English? (n=626)

Yes

How does the institution identify these students? (n=483)

Faculty referral

Student self-referral

What types of supports are available to those students? (n=489)

Peer tutoring

Workshops

Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Basic Writing

Does your institution have a formal basic writing program? (n=493)

No

Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Support for English Language Learners

Is there support for English Language Learners (ELLs)? (n=484)

Yes

Is support for ELLs separate from basic writing? (n=417)

Yes

What type of supports are available for ELLs? (n=412)

Peer tutoring

Workshops

Does your institution offer ELL writing classes? (n=408)

No

Writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing beyond the first year--General Description

Does your institution have a WAC program and/or writing requirement beyond the first year? (n=642)

Yes

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

Does your institution have a writing major? See Note 3. (n=656)

No

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

Does your institution have a writing minor? (n=656)

No

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

Does your institution offer a masters degree (M.A.) in writing, other than creative writing? (n=656)

No

Does your institution have a Ph.D. program in writing, other than creative writing? (n=654)

No

Writing centers--General description

Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=676)

Yes

Is the writing center free-standing or part of another institutional unit? (n=612)

Free-standing

Where is the writing center located? Note: From this point on writing center refers to both free-standing and those located within another unit. (n=612)

Library

Is there a mission statement for the writing center? (n=610)

Yes

Are there explicit goals for the writing center? (n=610)

Yes

How are the goals assessed? (n=423)

Student feedback forms

Faculty feedback

Center usage statistics

What services does the writing center offer? (n=610)

Face-to-face consultations

Writing centers--Consultations

How many face-to-face consultations were offered in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=225)

1,287

How many face-to-face consultations were offered in the Spring of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=224)

1,287

How many face-to-face consultations were offered in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=223)

0

How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=440)

450

How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Spring of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=440)

348

How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=428)

0

How many online consultations were offered in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=221)

0

How many online consultations were offered in the Spring of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=222)

0

How many online consultations were offered in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=220)

0

How many online consultations were conducted in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=427)

0

How many online consultations were conducted in the Spring of 2012? See Note 2b & 4. (n=427)

0

How many online consultations were conducted in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=425)

0

Does your writing center work with graduate students? (n=580)

No

What is the average length of a consultation or tutorial session offered? (n=574)

30 minutes

Writing centers--Consultants

Are some or all of your writing center consultants undergraduate students? (n=561)

Yes

Are some or all of your writing center consultants graduate students? (n=546)

No

Are some or all of your writing center consultants faculty who teach in the writing program? (n=548)

No

Are some or all of your writing center consultants faculty who teach in other academic departments? (n=539)

No

Are some or all of your writing center consultants professional tutors? (n=548)

No

Are some or all of your writing center consultants volunteers? (n=543)

No

Do you have others working as writing consultants? (n=531)

No

During the fall of 2011, what percentage of the writing center consultants were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=449)

100

During the spring of 2012, what percentage of the writing center consultants were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=450)

100

How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the fall of 2011 were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=448)

40

How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the spring of 2012 were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=449)

36

How are consultants working in the writing center initally trained?

Undergraduate students (n=505)
Full-credit course
Half-credit course
Weekly meetingsYes
Monthly meetingsYes
Workshops before the semesterYes
No training required
Other

How are consultants working in the writing center compensated?

Undergraduate students (n=509)
Hourly wageYes
Stipend
Tuition waver
Course credit
Faculty salary
Release time
Other

Writing centers--Course-based Peer Tutoring

Does your institution have a writing fellows (course-based peer tutoring) program? (n=577)

Yes

How old is the writing fellows program? (n=144)

1-2 years

How is the writing fellows program funded? (n=144)

Writing center budget

Do the writing fellows work both as fellows and in the writing center? (n=145)

Students work both as writing fellows and writing center tutors.

Do the writing fellows regularly attend the class they are assigned to work with? (n=142)

No

On average, how many students does each writing fellow work with for a course? (n=131)

10

How are the writing fellows compensated? (n=144)

Hourly wage

Administrative structures

Who has primary responsibility for administering the writing center? (n=546)

Separate writing center director or coordinator (WCD)

How is the WCD or LCD position classified? (n=410)

Staff-PT

To whom does the WCD or LCD report? (n=402)

Associate dean or provost

Was the WCD or LCD director hired for this position? (n=401)

Yes

Are there others who help to administer the writing center? (n=403)

Yes

If others help to administer the writing center, how many? (n=326)

2

What is the teaching load for writing administrators?

Average faculty member (n=501)FYWD (n=265)WAC director (n=62)WCD (n=387)
0-0Yes
0-1
1-1
1-2 or 2-1
2-2
2-1-2
2-2-2
2-3 or 3-2Yes
3-3
3-1-2
3-1-3
3-4 or 4-3
4-4
Other
Varies

What are the job responsibilities for writing administrators?

FYWD (n=267)WAC director (n=63)WCD (n=392)
Teach courses in the first-year writing program
Teach courses in the writing program/department (Not FYW)
Teach courses outside the writing program/department
Assess all or some aspects of the writing programYes
Assess the development of student writing on campusYes
Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplines
Conduct TA training
Consult with individual faculty across the disciplinesYes
Consult with departments across the disciplinesYes
Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.)
Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer)Yes
Hire professional staff
Hire tutorsYes
Schedule writing courses
Schedule writing centerYes
Place students into writing courses
Facilitate placement exam
Oversee curriculum development
Train professional staff
Train peer tutorsYes
Advertise programYes
Oversee program budgetYes
Tutor students
Plan eventsYes
Serve on university committees
Maintain program websiteYes
Serve as an academic advisor
Offer student workshopsYes
Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit
Other