North Carolina Central University2013 Institution Survey
Sites of writing--General Description
What is the institutional home of the writing program or department? (n=248)
Other academic department
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for first-year writing? (n=377)
Other academic department
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for WAC? (n=227)
Independent program
Is writing in the disciplines part of the writing program or department? (n=265)
No
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for writing in the disciplines? (n=184)
Independent program
Is the undergraduate writing major part of the writing program or department? (n=263)
No
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the undergraduate writing major? (n=196)
Other
Is the undergraduate writing minor part of the writing program or department? (n=352)
Yes
Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=679)
Yes
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the writing center? (n=487)
Other
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the basic writing program? (n=249)
English department
Sites of writing--Writing Requirement
What does the writing requirement at your institution consist of? (n=638)
First-year composition predominately taught by English and/or Writing department (FYC)
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? (n=657)
Yes
What curricular requirements have writing as an explicit goal? (n=342)
There are other requirements where writing is an explicit goal.
Sites of writing--College Writing Goals
Who participates in the college-wide assessment?
| Students take an essay exam. | Students submit a portfolio. | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing program director (n=106) | ||
| Writing center director (n=65) | ||
| Writing program faculty (n=105) | ||
| English department faculty (n=150) | ||
| Faculty from other disciplines than writing and English (n=163) | ||
| Readers outside the institution (n=15) | ||
| Associate dean (n=22) | Yes | |
| Registrar (n=13) | ||
| Other (n=63) |
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 assessment.
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
Which changes have taken place in regards to the writing requirement? (n=382)
The writing requirement was expanded.
Writing-intensive courses were added to the writing requirement.
Other
Were there changes to the assessment of writing at your institution over the past 10 years? (n=589)
Yes
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)
An undergraduate writing minor was added. (not including creative writing)
A graduate degree in writing/rhetoric was added.
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)
Adjunct faculty positions were converted into full-time, non-tenure-line teaching positions.
Peer tutoring positions were added.
Professional 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.
A full-time administrative assistant was added to the Writing Studio staff.
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 curricular structures or writing requirement
Changes to assessment
Changes to the administrative structures
Changes to expand the writing program or sites of writing on campus
Changes to the types of staffing
If you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of the sites of writing at your institution over the next five years feel free to explain.
There's considerable energy and interest in expanding our undergraduate writing major as well as the potential to add a writing concentration to our MA offerings. To do so, however, we would need to increase our staffing, so it's excting but iffy.
First-year writing/English composition--General Description
Does your institution have a first-year writing requirement whether explicit or embedded? (n=672)
Yes
First-year writing/English composition--Placement and Transfer
What is your program's placement mechanism?
| FYWS (n=18) | FYC (n=373) | |
|---|---|---|
| SAT/ACT | Yes | |
| AP/IB | ||
| CLEP | ||
| In-house exam | ||
| Directed self-placement | ||
| Portfolio | ||
| Dual enrollment/ transfer | ||
| Other | Yes |
First-year writing/English composition--Goals and Assessment
How are the goals for FYW courses assessed?
| FYWS (n=66) | FYC (n=381) | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper portfolio | ||
| E-portfolio | ||
| Random sample | ||
| Exam | ||
| Professor evaluation | Yes | |
| None | ||
| Course evaluation | ||
| Student survey | ||
| Other |
Who participates in the assessment of the goals for FYW courses?
| FYWS (n=53) | FYC (n=326) | |
|---|---|---|
| WPA | Yes | |
| Writing faculty | Yes | |
| Institutional faculty | ||
| Outside evaluators | ||
| English faculty | ||
| 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
Other
What is the other content of the FYC requirement?
Comp I: argument/process as of 2012. Previously modes. There is probably some residue of that history still happening in classrooms. Comp II literature based until 2009. Now WAC/WID curriculum, although there remain pockets of lit-centric teaching in Comp II.
First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps
What is the enrollment cap for basic writing sections of FYC? (n=286)
Varies by semester
First-year writing/English composition--Staffing
In the 2011-12 academic year, what percentage of FYWS courses were taught by: See Note 2a. (n=70)
| Full-Time, Tenure Track English Faculty | Full-Time, Tenure Track Writing Faculty | Full-Time, Tenure Track Other Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track English Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track Writing Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track Other Faculty | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | ||||||
| 1-5% | Yes | |||||
| 6-15% | ||||||
| 16-25% | ||||||
| 26-35% | ||||||
| 36-50% | ||||||
| 51-60% | ||||||
| 61-75% | ||||||
| 76-85% | ||||||
| 86-99% | ||||||
| 100% |
In the 2011-12 academic year, what percentage of FYC courses were taught by: See Note 2a. (n=422)
| Full-Time, Tenure Track English Faculty | Full-Time, Tenure Track Writing Faculty | Full-Time, Tenure Track Other Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track English Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track Writing Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track Other Faculty | Part-time English Faculty | Part-time Writing Faculty | English Graduate TAs | Writing Graduate TAs | Other Graduate TAs | WPA | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
| 1-5% | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||
| 6-15% | |||||||||||||
| 16-25% | Yes | ||||||||||||
| 26-35% | Yes | ||||||||||||
| 36-50% | |||||||||||||
| 51-60% | Yes | ||||||||||||
| 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 WPA | ||
| Required faculty development workshops | ||
| Optional graduate pedagogy course | ||
| Optional faculty development workshops | Yes | |
| Individual meetings with the WPA/WCD | Yes | |
| Other | Yes |
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)
Yes
How does the institution identify these students? (n=483)
SAT/ ACT scores
Placement test
Faculty referral
Student self-referral
What types of supports are available to those students? (n=489)
Required basic writing course
Peer tutoring
Workshops
Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Basic Writing
What percentage of the student body is placed into basic writing? See Note 4. (n=164)
15
What is the structure of the basic writing program? See Glossary for terms used. (n=205)
Prerequisite model
What is the curriculum of the basic writing courses? (n=203)
Grammar
Paragraph writing
Reading and writing
Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Support for English Language Learners
What type of supports are available for ELLs? (n=412)
Targeted optional writing courses
Peer tutoring
Tutoring from the WPA or WCD
Other
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
Does your institution require all students to take lower-division writing courses taught by the English or Writing department for students in other departments? Does not include the first-year writing requirement. (n=302)
No
Does your institution require all students to take upper-division writing courses taught by the English or Writing department for students in other departments? (n=303)
No
Does your institution require all students to take a mid-level writing course(s)? (n=304)
No
Does your institution require ALL students to complete a senior thesis or other writing-intensive capstone experience? (n=306)
No
Does the institution require some students to complete a senior thesis or other writing-intensive capstone experience? If so, what are the requirements? (n=216)
It varies by department.
Other
Writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing beyond the first year--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? (n=303)
No
Who administers WAC assessment?
| Paper Portfolio | Electronic Portfolio | Random Sample of Student Writing | Writing Exam | Professor Evaluation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPA (n=27) | Yes | ||||
| Writing program faculty (n=13) | |||||
| Faculty from across the institution, via committee or ad hoc group (n=49) | |||||
| Other (n=30) |
Who participates in WAC assessment?
| Paper Portfolio | Electronic Portfolio | Random Sample of Student Writing | Writing Exam | Professor Evaluation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WPA (n=25) | Yes | ||||
| Writing program faculty (n=23) | |||||
| Faculty from across the institution, via committee or ad hoc group (n=77) | |||||
| Outside evaluators (n=6) | |||||
| Other (n=24) |
What are the criteria for a WI course? (n=184)
Number of pages or words written
Revision
Time discussing writing In class
Written or verbal feedback from instructor
Percentage of course grade in writing
Other criteria
Who certifies that a course fulfills WI designation? (n=183)
WPA/WAC director
General education/general studies/core committee
Is there professional development available for those teaching in the WAC Program? (n=298)
Yes
What form does that faculty development take? (n=216)
Faculty seminar
Optional faculty workshops
Individual meetings with faculty members
Collaborative research projects
Other
If faculty attend a seminar or workshop, how are they compensated? (n=129)
They receive food at the event.
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Major
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Minor
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)
Part of another institutional unit
If the writing center is not free-standing, what larger institutional unit is it a part of? (n=379)
Other
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
Other
How are the goals assessed? (n=423)
Student feedback forms
Faculty feedback
Center usage statistics
Analysis of student papers
Other
What services does the writing center offer? (n=610)
Face-to-face consultations
Online tutoring via Skype or instant messaging (synchronous)
Assistance with oral presentations
Assistance with Powerpoint or other presentation software
Writing centers--Consultations
How many face-to-face consultations were offered in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=225)
1,440
How many face-to-face consultations were offered in the Spring of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=224)
1,440
How many face-to-face consultations were offered in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=223)
240
How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=440)
610
How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Spring of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=440)
510
How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=428)
98
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)
60
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)
20
What percentage of the undergraduate student body had a writing center consultation during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=316)
8
How many writing center consultations did your center conduct with graduate students during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=184)
121
What percentage of the graduate student body had a writing center consultation during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=122)
5
What is the average length of a consultation or tutorial session offered? (n=574)
50 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 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)
Yes
During the fall of 2011, what percentage of the writing center consultants were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=228)
91
During the fall of 2011, what percentage of the writing center consultants were professional tutors? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=113)
9
During the spring of 2012, what percentage of the writing center consultants were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=228)
87
During the spring of 2012, what percentage of the writing center consultants were professional tutors? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=112)
12
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the fall of 2011 were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=227)
10
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the fall of 2011 were professional tutors? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=112)
1
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the spring of 2012 were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=227)
7
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the spring of 2012 were professional tutors? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=111)
1
How are consultants working in the writing center initally trained?
| Undergraduate students (n=505) | Graduate students (n=251) | Faculty who teach in the writing program (n=124) | Faculty who teach in other academic departments (n=45) | Professional tutors (n=113) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-credit course | Yes | ||||
| Half-credit course | |||||
| Weekly meetings | |||||
| Monthly meetings | Yes | Yes | |||
| Workshops before the semester | Yes | Yes | |||
| No training required | |||||
| Other |
What on-going professional development opportunities are offered for consultants working in the writing center?
| Undergraduate students (n=461) | Graduate students (n=237) | Faculty who teach in the writing program (n=54) | Faculty who teach in other academic departments (n=42) | Professional tutors (n=106) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendance at national conferences | |||||
| Attendance at regional conferences | Yes | Yes | |||
| Presenting at national conferences | |||||
| Presenting at regional conferences | Yes | Yes | |||
| Reading professional journals | |||||
| Outside speakers | Yes | Yes | |||
| Weekly meetings | |||||
| Semester inservice or workshop | Yes | Yes | |||
| Written reflections on daily and/or semester work | |||||
| Meet with director | Yes | Yes | |||
| No opportunities available | |||||
| Other |
How are consultants working in the writing center compensated?
| Undergraduate students (n=509) | Graduate students (n=263) | Faculty who teach in the writing program (n=132) | Faculty who teach in other academic departments (n=45) | Professional tutors (n=127) | Other (n=22) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly wage | ||||||
| Stipend | Yes | |||||
| Tuition waver | Yes | |||||
| Course credit | ||||||
| Faculty salary | Yes | |||||
| Release time | ||||||
| Other | Yes |
Writing centers--Course-based Peer Tutoring
Does your institution have a writing fellows (course-based peer tutoring) program? (n=577)
Yes
Do the writing fellows work both as fellows and in the writing center? (n=145)
Writing fellows and writing center tutors are two separate groups.
If two separate groups, how are they staffed? (n=47)
Writing fellows are undergraduates, and writing center tutors are graduate students.
Do the writing fellows regularly attend the class they are assigned to work with? (n=142)
Yes
On average, how many students does each writing fellow work with for a course? (n=131)
10
Administrative structures
Who has primary responsibility for administering first-year writing requirement? (n=565)
FYWD
To whom does the FYWD report? (n=272)
Chair of the department
Faculty committee
Other
Who has primary responsibility for administering the writing center? (n=546)
Separate writing center director or coordinator (WCD)
What is the teaching load for writing administrators?
| Average faculty member (n=501) | FYWD (n=265) | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-0 | ||
| 0-1 | ||
| 1-1 | ||
| 1-2 or 2-1 | ||
| 2-2 | ||
| 2-1-2 | ||
| 2-2-2 | ||
| 2-3 or 3-2 | ||
| 3-3 | Yes | |
| 3-1-2 | ||
| 3-1-3 | ||
| 3-4 or 4-3 | ||
| 4-4 | Yes | |
| Other | ||
| Varies |
What are the job responsibilities for writing administrators?
| FYWD (n=267) | |
|---|---|
| Teach courses in the first-year writing program | Yes |
| 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 | Yes |
| Assess the development of student writing on campus | |
| Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplines | |
| Conduct TA training | |
| Consult with individual faculty across the disciplines | |
| Consult with departments across the disciplines | |
| Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.) | |
| Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer) | |
| Hire professional staff | |
| Hire tutors | |
| Schedule writing courses | |
| Schedule writing center | |
| Place students into writing courses | |
| Facilitate placement exam | |
| Oversee curriculum development | Yes |
| Train professional staff | |
| Train peer tutors | |
| Advertise program | |
| Oversee program budget | |
| Tutor students | |
| Plan events | Yes |
| Serve on university committees | Yes |
| Maintain program website | |
| Serve as an academic advisor | Yes |
| Offer student workshops | |
| Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit | Yes |
| Other | Yes |