New Mexico State University2013 Institution Survey

Sites of writing--General Description

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

Yes

What is the institutional home of the writing program or department? (n=248)

independent program

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

Yes

Is first-year writing part of the writing program or department? (n=646)

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

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)

Yes

Is the undergraduate writing minor part of the writing program or department? (n=352)

Yes

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

Yes

Is the graduate program part of the writing program or department? (n=157)

Yes

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)

Yes

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)

Yes

What does the writing requirement at your institution consist of? (n=638)

First-year composition predominately taught by English and/or Writing department (FYC)

Mid-level writing course

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

No

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)

Data used for other purposes.

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

No

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)

Yes

Which changes have taken place in regards to assessment? (n=437)

Other

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

No

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

No

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

No

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

No

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)

No

First-year writing/English composition--General Description

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

Yes

How many semesters/courses of first-year writing are required? (n=575)

1

How would you describe your first-year writing requirement? (n=577)

FYC

First-year writing/English composition--Placement and Transfer

Does your institution allow students to place out of FYC? (n=443)

Yes

What is your program's placement mechanism?

FYWS (n=18)FYC (n=373)
SAT/ACT
AP/IBYes
CLEPYes
In-house exam
Directed self-placement
Portfolio
Dual enrollment/ transfer
Other

Does your institution accept transfer credit for FYC? (n=454)

Yes

Who approves transfer credit for FYW courses? (n=539)

WPA

Registrar

First-year writing/English composition--Goals and Assessment

Are there explicit goals for FYC? (n=463)

Yes

Are FYC goals informed by the WPA Outcomes Statement? (n=416)

Yes

How are the goals for FYW courses assessed?

FYWS (n=66)FYC (n=381)
Paper portfolio
E-portfolio
Random sampleYes
Exam
Professor evaluation
None
Course evaluation
Student survey
Other

Who participates in the assessment of the goals for FYW courses?

FYWS (n=53)FYC (n=326)
WPA
Writing faculty
Institutional faculty
Outside evaluators
English facultyYes
Department chair
Other

First-year writing/English composition--Curriculum

What is the content of the FYC requirement? See Note 5. (n=456)

WAC/Topic Based

Is there a common syllabus for FYC courses? (n=457)

Yes

First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps

What is the enrollment cap for honors sections of FYC? (n=261)

22

First-year writing/English composition--Staffing

In the 2011-12 academic year, what percentage of FYC courses were taught by: See Note 2a. (n=422)

Full-Time, Tenure Track English FacultyFull-Time, Tenure Track Writing FacultyFull-Time, Tenure Track Other FacultyFull-Time, Non-Tenure Track English FacultyFull-Time, Non-Tenure Track Writing FacultyFull-Time, Non-Tenure Track Other FacultyPart-time English FacultyPart-time Writing FacultyEnglish Graduate TAsWriting Graduate TAsOther Graduate TAsWPAOther
0%YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
1-5%YesYesYes
6-15%
16-25%
26-35%
36-50%Yes
51-60%
61-75%
76-85%
86-99%
100%

Is there faculty or professional development available for those teaching FYC? (n=457)

Yes

What form does the faculty development take for FYW faculty?

FYWS (n=70)FYC (n=373)
Requried pedagogy course taught by the WPAYes
Required faculty development workshopsYes
Optional graduate pedagogy course
Optional faculty development workshopsYes
Individual meetings with the WPA/WCDYes
Other

Do those attending faculty development for FYC receive additional compensation? (n=411)

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)

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)

No

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

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

Yes

What areas of writing can students specialize in as part of the major? (n=230)

Professional writing

Technical writing

Rhetoric/ composition

Creative writing

In which department is the major housed? (n=245)

English

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

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

Yes

What areas of writing can students specialize in as part of the minor? (n=312)

Professional writing

Technical writing

Rhetoric/ composition

Creative writing

In which department is the minor housed? (n=347)

English

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)

Yes

In which department is the masters program housed? (n=100)

English

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

Yes

In which department is the Ph.D. program housed? (n=47)

English

Does the graduate coursework include a course on writing program administration? (n=47)

Yes, optional

Does the graduate coursework include a course on writing center studies? (n=47)

Yes, optional

Roughly how many graduate students in your program complete their Ph.D.s each year? (n=40)

1-3

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)

Part of another institutional unit

If the writing center is not free-standing, what larger institutional unit is it a part of? (n=379)

English department

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)

Academic building

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

Center usage statistics

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

Face-to-face consultations

Online feedback via e-mail (asynchronous)

Writing centers--Consultations

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

Yes

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

60 minutes

Writing centers--Consultants

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

No

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

Yes

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 volunteers? (n=543)

No

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

No

How are consultants working in the writing center initally trained?

Undergraduate students (n=505)Graduate students (n=251)
Full-credit courseYes
Half-credit course
Weekly meetings
Monthly meetingsYes
Workshops before the semesterYes
No training required
Other

How are consultants working in the writing center compensated?

Undergraduate students (n=509)Graduate students (n=263)
Hourly wage
StipendYes
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)

No

Administrative structures

Who has primary responsibility for administering first-year writing requirement? (n=565)

FYWD

How is the FYWD position classified? (n=274)

TT

Where does the FYWD's tenure line reside? (n=228)

Rhetoric/ composition/writing

To whom does the FYWD report? (n=272)

Chair of the department

Was the FYWD director hired for this position? (n=261)

No

If the FYWD director was not hired for this position, how did he/she assume these responsibilities? (n=128)

Previous director retired or left the position.

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)

TT

Where does the WCD or LCD's tenure line reside? (n=118)

English

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

Chair of the department

FYWD

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)
0-0
0-1
1-1
1-2 or 2-1Yes
2-2
2-1-2Yes
2-2-2
2-3 or 3-2
3-3Yes
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 programYes
Teach courses in the writing program/department (Not FYW)Yes
Teach courses outside the writing program/department
Assess all or some aspects of the writing program
Assess the development of student writing on campus
Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplines
Conduct TA trainingYesYes
Consult with individual faculty across the disciplinesYes
Consult with departments across the disciplines
Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.)Yes
Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer)Yes
Hire professional staff
Hire tutors
Schedule writing coursesYes
Schedule writing centerYes
Place students into writing coursesYes
Facilitate placement exam
Oversee curriculum developmentYes
Train professional staffYes
Train peer tutorsYes
Advertise program
Oversee program budgetYes
Tutor students
Plan eventsYes
Serve on university committeesYes
Maintain program websiteYes
Serve as an academic advisorYes
Offer student workshopsYes
Oversee exemption and/or transfer creditYes
Other