2013 Four-Year Institution Survey

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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. (n=291)

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1. We expect to change the basic writing requirement to an optional course using directed self-placement. 2. We hope to expand the portfolio assessment to a mandatory component of the required college writing course. 3. We expect the capstone course for the English major/writing concentration to include a portfolio (possibly electronic) constructed over the course of the major. 4. We expect to expand the number of full-time, non-tenure track lecture lines in composition with a primary focus on first year writing courses.
We are advocating for a WAC program.
We are currently piloting a new writing assessment; we are hoping to implement writing across the curriculum
We are currently engaged in reforming our general education program. As part of these reforms, we added a writing skills outcome and will be piloting writing enriched courses outside the English dept.
We are currently changing gen ed requirments. Proposals on the table right now both eliminate the second required semester of FYC (this requirement was established in 2006, I believe). If this change is voted in, we are pushing for 1) aWriting Center with prof. tutors as well as student tutors 2) a funded program to develop WI courses 3) support to create a formalWAC program on campus 4) addition of an assistant director of the GCU writing program 5) non-tenure track faculty line(s) for writing courses
We are changing the nature of our required lower-division course (moving from a course that is co-enrolled with a a Social Issues GE course to a stand alone writing course) and adding a new course between the lower- and upper-division requirements for students (particularly transfer students) who need extra writing help.
We are beginning a process of evaluating and change our core curriculum (Liberal Education requirements) and are likely moving toward writing-intensive cross-disciplinary first-year seminars coupled with increased focus on writing in the majors.
We are at the beginning of developing both basic writing and ESL writing instruction. These changes will shape the future of our writing programs.
We are administering writing in the disciplines courses through collaborations with disciplines such as nursing and social work and hope to add instructors and ideally some full-time lecturer positions for these.
We are currently undergoing many changes, starting with the elimination of FYW being replaced by the Common Core. My title, Director of Campus Writing, condensed what previously three separate directorships into one (Writing Center Director, WAC Director, and Director of FYW). The faculty is currently examining whether or not to expand the writing requirements to a second writing intensive course, more WID than WAC.
We are about to embark on regional accreditation, and I know that this will impact a lot of the above marked items. This is one of the reasons why we are beginning assemssment this year of freshmen and senior writing. We have said that as an institution one of our goals for our students is to have strong written and communication skills. We hope to meet that goal by implementing some changes based on the data we gather.
We are in a period of re-development. The administration is responding to faculty requests from across the university to strengthen student writing requirements and support.
We anticipate adding a WPA
We anticipate a number of curricular changes, which may require some staffing chnages.
We advocate consistently for the college to hire a director of the writing center/academic support services. We believe that an administrative position should be created to replace the current system of course relief for faculty.
Upper Administration wants to involve the writing program more directly in collaborations with the Career Center (and the alumni office, which helps identify "Real Readers). The goal is to require professional writing courses for all engineering students, something we piloted last year and are likely to grow over the next few years. With increasing numbers of undergraduates, we have received more pressure to "take over" writing instruction in some majors, something we are very careful not to do. Our goal is to recognize disciplinary expertise and create a collaborative approach to teaching upper-level writing.
We are currently undergoing an extensive review and revision of our Core Curriculum, which will necessarily affect the direction of the writing program.
We are developing assessment projects, and hope to develop a more sustained WAC/WID project across the core. We are also piloting a writing fellows initiative. We also are working to change our staffing for more full-time,benefits-eligible positions. Possibly some Writing Across the Core Initiatives.
University Core Curriculum revision is underway and will likely include a variety of changes to existing Composition courses and the implementation of formal WI-designated courses.
We are implementing a new gen ed program in 2015
We are just starting a writing center-- I anticipate that we will gain peer tutors and reduce professional. We also hope to develop a WAC program
We are in Wisconsin, which has taken enormous budget cuts over the past 5-10 years and have been hardest hit in 2015-2016, so the FYC and WC have needed to contract. For now, faculty and staff positions have remained relatively unchanged, but many drastic cuts or changes are possible. We do not know yet how the FYC and WC will fare in the new budget reality in the coming year(s). The FYC requirement will remain and the WC will not be entirely eliminated, but TT positions are vulnerable, as are class sizes, prof dev, budgets, etc.
We are in the midst of a reorganization across the university. We are also revisiting our FYC outcomes and trying to get more of a requirement for multimodal comp. as part of FYC. Our program assessment is in flux right now, transitioning to a home-grown electronic portfolio site.
We are in the first year of the university's first real writing/communications program. The resolution passed by the faculty senate in 2011 allows for growth in all aspects of the program between now and 2016. Also, the university is working to embed more writing and communication experiences within departments and majors, as well as at the graduate level.
We are in a period of transition, and many details are being worked out. All three of our full professors in rhet comp retired this year. We are exploring all kinds of alternatives.
We are in a period of major transition. I do not know what to expect.
We are hoping to hire a Rhetoric PhD to oversee the writing program//separate from the Creative Writing major/minor of course
We are expanding our writing center and the reach of our writing program to all there campuses (currently we are only on the main campus); also, we are building a more robust program for our ELL students (primarily International students) and we're not sure yet where this will be housed or what it will look like (it might be additional courses, centers, etc).
We are hoping to continue the process of integrating writing instruction throughout the curriculum, first by moving the second semester requirement into the second year and thereafter by working on the articulation between the second year course and the three required "writing intensive" courses that students must take.
We are hoping for these types of changes: an administrative assistant, a consolidation of first-year writing, the Reading and Writing Center and WAC under one roof and program. As I mentioned in a previous answer, the univresity will be requiring that students participate in an Eportfolio. I am advocating for unifying the writing center, WAC, and the comp program into one space. I am advocating for an assistant director for the writing center and WAC.
We are hopeful that writing instruction will become an integral element of a new humanities program of first-year courses, that the writing center will expand physically and will gain both technology for digital composing projects and a new type of staffing to support the expansion.
We are focusing time and resources on our writing program and requirements. We are implementing faculty training in a systematic way and trying to discover an efffective assessment methodology for our writing courses. We have evaluated all writing courses and "re-certified" them. We are collecting a baseline writing sample for an eventual longitudinal study. We emphasize writing at Juniata and are committed to improving the quality of writing education the students receive.
We are exploring a writing minor (and major for future past that); partnerships with outside institutions; additional staffing
We are expanding the Gen Ed part of the curriculum from two years to three.
University has been pouring resources into faculty development and program assessment. I expect this to result in changes to assessment and fine-tuning of the core writing requirement, which is undergoing a review.
Univerisity wants to hugely expand online writing courses. State wants writing outcomes to be the same for all comp. courses across the state.
We are on track to become a department; we will add more NTT lines, we will fill out our admin structure.
The university will be hiring a new assessment faculty member; we are considering online classes; our Writing Studies minior will be in place.
The Writing Center is now a collaboration with Academic Services, but may become freestanding in the next year or two.
The Writing Center Director will be retiring within the next 5-6 years. he is a tenured member the English department. Will this line be filled in a similar fashion?
The Writing Center and Learning Center are both experiencing change. The Writing Center has recently added an undergraduate peer tutoring program while maintaining its graduate tutoring staff. It's also likely to expand it's ESL staff (housed within the Writing Center). The Writing Center and Learning Center may be required to merge into one unit in the coming years under the leadership of the Writing Center.
The WPA position is currently .25 FTE per semester. When I step down, I don't think we'll persuade anyone to take it at that level. I'd like to change it to .50 BEFORE I step down - but whether I succeed or not, I anticipate that it will change eventually. I think you're using "assessment" to mean assessment of invididual students; that may or may not change. But I expect that program assessment will change, though I can't predict what will happen.
The UWC is working with the 7 colleges on campus with its faculty to expand our successful WID intitatives. In this, classes from disciplines now have writing assignmnets where there were none or have enhanced ones if they already existed. The UWC also supplies consultants to all the classes it works with. From this, the disciplines are beginning to access their writing differently. Our UWC continues to grow in student contacts with over 11, 000 last year from undergraduate to graduate. With the live online consulting we are gearing up to offer we anticipate these numbers to grow even more this year.
The University [...] is in the midst of developing a two-tier writing requirement as part of generral education (new to our campus). Currently, the WID/WAC Program and the Writing Center are joined, and a new first-year writing director was hired a year ago. The second-tier requirement will be developed and administered through our WID/WAC Program working with departments [...]. The Writing Center will continue to provide peer writing support available to all students, and in addition has piloted a writing fellows program to support the second-level gen ed writing requirement.
The university is revising its entire general education program over the next 2-3 years. A new Writing Center has just been created.
The Writing Center will expand and be linked directly to the FYS program.
The university is in the process of revising GE in order to reduce the number of credits necessary to graduate to 120. So far, the former "communication" requirements of writing, public speaking, and computer literacy have been changed. A new 3-credit First-Year Seminar has been put into place. The public speaking and computer literacy courses have been removed as requirements, but a new course (and possibly a new campus-wide program) designed to teach "eloquentia perfecta" is in the process of being developed. This year we will engage in discussions specifically focused on the role of writing in preparing first-year students and then students throughout their curriculum.
The state is adopting a new core (general education). Courses are being retooled to comply. Also, we are lobbying to create one or more full-time non-tenure-track lectureships in first-year writing.
The revival of a writing center will probably occur. We are in the midst of change. Hard to predict what the outcome will be, but we see all kinds of changes are coming.
The number of first-year courses will remain the same, but the structures of those courses may change to accommodate the development of a WAC/WID program. The assessment method will change from pre-test, post-test and one formal essay to e-portfolios. Next year, the Core Curriculum requirements will include to writing-embedded courses.
The new [state] Core Curriculum outcomes effective 2014 make writing (comm) a requirement of all core courses, along with 6 other AAC&U (LEAP)-inspired outcomes (like teamwork & critical thinking). In addition, the [state college] System is adopting a similar set of outcomes in Fall 2013 for graduation-level assessment. We will be conducting university-wide assessment of these outcomes in either portfolios or sampling or both. Conversations start this summer. The Center for Faculty Excellence & Assessment Council will be leading efforts to design & implement this assessment & to help faculty with curricular choices re: teaching these outcomes. This should emphasis the importance of writing and is already inspiring talk about a writing fellows program and/or expanding our writing center.
The new GE program going into effect in the fall is going to mean major changes to our present administrative structure; it will also be far better assessed (we hope). Our space is too small, and we have a new Science building/Student Center under construction; I'm hoping to be assigned space there to relieve our present congestion in the Library. I am also hoping that we'll split my present responsibilities between two people, though that may happen after I retire (not too far in the future--6 years at most).
The Writing Center is shifting from the English building to the Student Union. There is a proposal in place to hire a permanent assistant director and undergraduate peer tutors
the writing certificate program will become more academic and more multi-disciplinary--less creative writing oriented; rhetoric will offer more STEM-oriented sections
Total speculation, but I imagine one of the tasks I'll be given as the new Director of Writing is to have a discussion of how to implement some larger scale assessment piece(s)
There's a likelihood that a portion of the developmental writing offerings at [the institution] will undergo change in the next five years. Currently, we offer two levels of developmental writing, one for students with ACT scores under 14, and one for students with ACT scores from 14-17 (Ohio mandates that any student with an ACT score of 18 or higher be placed into Writing 1). We anticipate trying to develop something like a 'stretch' course to replace the one-semester developmental writing course for the students in the 14-17 ACT group. By the way, [the institution is one of three open-access public universities in the [state].
This is really unclear right now. These changes are closely tied to external pressures and funding, so I expect changes, but I'm not sure what they will be exactly. I want to guide these in the best way possible.
This is only the second year that we have had a writing center, so we are still developing it, assessing it. Also, the college is engaging a culture of assessment, so we are discovering our best practices.
This is more a hope, but it has precedent in other programs. With more an more interest in WPA work among graduate assistants, I would like some of them put temporary associate director positions, for assessment, technology, scheduling, and more. Note that these positions would NOT replace our existing Supportive Professional Staff full time Assistant Director and Technology Coordinator Positions. They would be for professional development of PhD students.
This is a dynamic program facilitated and directed by campus faculty, so opportunities for change appear always to be possible.
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.
There's a lot of talk about how we need more than one writing course. The University used to have two courses, but that was reduced and diffused: we have a basic English course (Eng 100) that students take for 2 hours of credit, although it's taught as a 3 hr course; we have English 101 as the college-writing course; and we have English 103 as a 5 hr (taught as 6) course that combines Eng 100 with 101. Students take just one of those courses. We also have a new GE director, and I think that with this combination of feelings and personnel changes, we may very well see a change to the writing requirement.
There will be expansions with the Writing Intensive requirement rather than changes.
The Writing Program, although not the Writing Center, will likely move out of the CTLR
There is ongoing discussion about pushing remedial English and math courses into online coursework, possibly adminstered through an outside vendor. It is unclear what changes will be implemented.
There is a possibility that the FYE seminars will be identified as a component of the Writing Program. There is also a possibility that "W" classes might be required of all students, contingent on support from faculty across the curriculum. There is also a possibility that a writing minor might arise. But it is also possible that none of this will happen.
There is a planned expansion of the Writing Center to include additional staff positions and to launch a pilot WAC/WID program under the Writing Center auspices.
There is a learning communities initiative, now in it's third year, that now involves some basic writing/first-year writing classes but that will probably expand. There has also been some experimentation with accelerated learning that may expand. We are working on a program-wide digital portfolio initiative that will dovetail with a campus-wide digital portfolio initiative; both will change the way we assess writing. We are also updating our goals/objectives for our basic/first-year courses and will be making some small curricular changes.
There has been some discussion about incorporating the Writing Center with other tutorial centers on campus into a "Learning Resource Center."
There are changes occurring at the highest levels that will impact FYC especially, based on goals of administration for writing/gen ed
The years 2012-2014 were years of major change. A campus-wide writing center was added (outside of the Writing Studies Department), a tenured WPA was added, and changes were begun regarding the structure of the writing program.
We are likely to expand university-wide WAC efforts, which will most likely include additional writing requirements in upper-division courses.
We are planning to add an undergraduate concentration in Rhetoric & Composition, we're adding ePortfolio assessment, and plans to develop a WAC program
The first-year composition courses need to be overhauled. In addition, there may be a writing-in-the-major requirement at the junior and/or senior level.
We will be adding a Writing and Speaking Center to a remote campus.
We'll implement university-wide writing assessment before our accreditation visit. We'll also implement a new program-wide assessment (within first-year writing). I also anticipate changing the reporting structures for our writing center, first year writing program, and WAC program to make them more integrated/collaborative.
We'll be adding a writing major in the next 2-3 years; we'll be increasing online and hybrid courses that are writing intensive, perhaps under collaborative management; assessment is becoming more systematic with a new office of academic assessment on campus
We'd like to develop an official Writing Program with a Writing Program Director separate from the Chair of the English department
We will probably add more assessment than we have been doing.
We will expand ELL efforts through our writing center.
We will be rewriting the general education requirements over the next 2-3 years, and I have been asked to join that committee with an eye toward expanding the scope of writing on campus.
we will add speaking to our dept on a temp/pilot basis. We hope to add on WA teams on a pilot basis.
We're due for a major curricular review and, I suspect, series of changes. We're an assessment-heavy university, so there are always additions and modifications going on in this area. We just developed a campus-wide critical thinking rubric, and its integration will be active and deep. That will change writing in different ways. We'll likely move to something that sort of looks like a learning commons but will probably only involve relocation and perhaps shared budget/reporting line. Administrative structure at the unit level will likely stay intact.
We want to engage more full-time faculty in teaching writing across the discipines.
We rely on undergraduate peer tutors to provide all writing tutoring, but there is a growing demand for professional tutoring in writing.
We plan to integrate academic support and the library into a learning commons. Although the writing center is now located in the library, it is part of academic support. The rest of academic support is housed in another building and operates separately from the library. Creating a learning commons will integrate library and academic support services; each will retain its own director.
We plan to develop a large-scale assessment of student writing in the program and across campus. We plan to place Writing Specialists in departments and programs to support writing in those locations. We will implement a new employment structure for Writing Program lecturers to provide opportunities for promotion.
We may soon require a writing placement test for all new students to the College
We may go to a university-wide portfolio assessment program in the future (it's being talked about).
We're 18 months away from rolling out a new general education program and the same time away from implementing our new QEP. Combined, the two new curricula establish a comprehensive writing and communication across the disciplines program.
We're hoping to add a writing fellows program. And we're reevaluating the administrative structure of the program. Currently the program is run by a single director, but we're looking at ways to add assistants or other people into the hierarchy.
We may create a campus teaching and learning center. We may add oral communication skills to the Writing Lab's explicit services and change our name.
With a new graduate seminar in Writing in the Disciplines, there will be more collaboration among disciplinary faculty and the graduate faculty and graduate students in Rhet/Comp.
Writing in the disciplines will be expanded.
writing center may be more closely associated with a new center for excellence in teaching and learning/expanded/formalized program for multilingual students in planning stages/writing center mission expanding to include faculty development and services for new graduate programs, possible addition of post-docs to teach writing, assessment across the college is under review
writing center is in process; staffing will have to change with the addition of the writing center
Would like to see Writing Fellows program grow--will depend on institutional support
With the recent move to the College of Liberal Arts, the writing center has expanded to include speaking, visual respresentation, and research. The College of Liberal Arts has had 3 new deans in the past year and a half, who all seem supportive. The conversation includes adding writing in the disciplines and writing intensive courses in the Core Curriculum. I am hopeful.
With an upcoming accreditation process looming, I foresee administration asking for continual assessment of our FYC. Over the past four years, administration has tried to cut the reassigned time for the director from 1/3 to 1/4. There are also worries that the pedagogical component of the director will be diminished and more of the emphasis and work load of the "program" will be shifted to our FYC coordinator who is not faculty. As incoming director, one of my goals is to expand our writing program so that it includes advanced composition. I'd like to see more of a concerted effort to tie-in this program with our major/minor (though I am not sure what that would look like at the present).
While writing assessment occurs in some departments, it's not as common as we'd like. We are also working with departments to develop specific student learning outcomes for writing (some have them, but we'd like all departments to develop them).
We're moving toward a portfolio assessment system.
While the writing center and English department are collaborating more, we are not merging. The English department is in the process of revamping their curriculum, assessment processes, and other elements. The CLR (including the Writing Lab) is adding online tutoring and engaging in supplemental instruction.
When different directors are assigned to the composition program, they make decisions about who will teach Composition 101 and 102. Some years, part-time instructors teach 102, and other years, graduate teaching assistants teach 102.
We're working on adding a WID req. to the gen ed
We're seeing increasing numbers of students (more than 40%) coming in with first year writing equivalency, so our enrollments in first year writing are declining. Many students in our state complete dual enrollment courses in high school. We're not sure yet how this will impact our curriculum, but we need to do more thinking about the focus of our FYC course. We're also looking into more collaboration with area high schools providing these courses.
We're revamping our Gen Ed program, which will change some aspects of writing, and it's possible the Writing Intensive courses may be added, though they were voted down the first time.
We're on a general assessment push, so it's a given that assessment methods will evolve. Currently, the writing program has no administration other than the Dean's office (which is massively overburdened), so it seems as though something will have to change there.
We may create a more formal writing program in the English and/or Communications Department. We will also change the location of the Writing Center.
We just instituted these changes. Already, we are seeing a need to rethink how courses will be taught in our Gen Ed--too many of our upper division gen ed courses are being taught by non-tenure line, adjunct faculty. To get students fired up about learning, we decided that all First Year Seminars should be designed and taught by full time, tenure line faculty. However, this creates staffing shortages at the upper end of the Gen Ed and stretches us thin in our individual majors. We're not sure how this is going to resolve--we think it is important to have fully credentialed faculty teaching at all levels, but we are too small to do that right now. We haven't yet done our first portfolio review, but I fully expect there to be changes after the first few years, and there may also be changes to how we handle the writing and oral comm requirement. It's very new--check back with us in a few years!
We are poised to go to a full on WAC program, which will unite all our Gen Ed areas and will offer departments the opportunity to develop a programmed writing element in the majors. This is being made possible by the appointment of an Assistant VP of Academic Affairs with sole oversight of Gen Ed, and because the person appointed is ENGL faculty, he has great plans. WAC/WID will alter our writing requirement to, most likely, a requirement of four or five WI courses rather than ENGL 101 + WI courses. That will expand the writing program significantly, and I've been promised an expanded and rehoused Writing Center as well. I think there will have to be sufficient changes to staffing to help with this transition and momentum, but I'm not sure yet what that hiring picture will look like. Our assessment will have to broaden out to a WAC/WID assessment model.
We are still a growing campus in many respects.We are adapting our GE Assessment to assess writing, along with other core areas, at all stages of a student's career, and I imagine we will eventually have specific WAC/WID & GWAR positions in place. We will also have an MA in English that includes a comp/rhet emphasis as an option.We are hoping that both the WPA and WCD positions will become tenure track. At this point both positions are held by lecturers with 3 yr contracts.
We are working to develop an ePortfolio requirement for all students that will enable us to complete longitudinal assessment.
We are working on developing an undergraduate major in writing. With the coming of first-year comp., we have added a FYW director and developed assessment measures for the program. We are in the process of revising our junior-level writing courses to better serve students and programs. Finally, we have added graduate-level courses in the WRIT rubric (formerly in Literature) and in the next five years will try to gain permission to grant a Master's degree in Comp/Rhet.
We are working on a Quality Enhancement Plan to infuse writing across the university in a WAC/WID program. We know this will affect curriculum, but we don't yet know how.
We are undergoing general education assessment this fall. I suspect more discipline-specific writing courses will be added.
We are undergoing curricular revision at this time and expect to implement those changes the fall of 2015. Included will be a tiered approach to writing where students will take a First Year Seminar, second semester composition course, one or more WID courses, and the senior capstone. Additionally, we hope to add a mid-career course that combines disciplines and skills (writing, communication, critical thinking, and quantitative analysis). We expect to hire four more full-time, tenure-track faculty in the Writing & Rhetoric Department.
We are trying to establish a writing center and a WAC program.
We are seeking a new Director of Writing and will probably hire at entry or advanced assistant level (currently the position is for a Full Professor). In addition, the college is scaling back administrative assistant funding.
We expect to establish a separate Graduate Writing Center with a full-time director and additional disciplinary writing consultants.
We are revising the curriculum, and the GEC credit requirements are being reduced. It's also important to note that these two events are not directly related. They are simply happening at the same time.
We are revising our undergraduate curriculum and writing is an important part of the new plan.
We are reviewing our WI requirement and will next year launch an assessment.
We are reimaginig our Writing Center to a "Center of Writing" that will incorporate tutoring and creative writing, new media training, etc.
We are proposing a Writing Intensive mid-level requirement. We hope for graduate writing fellow(s) in the next few years. Our fellows are all undergraduates.
We are proposing a graduate degree.
WE ARE WORKING TO REQUIRE WRITING INTENSIVE COURSES IN THE SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR YEARS SO THAT STUDENTS HAVE WRITING REQUIREMENTS BEYOND THE FRESHMAN AND SENIOR YEARS
We have a part-time WPA for the 1st time ever and admin interest in understanding what's happening with writing across curriculum.
We just had a WPA evaluation which recommended the creation of a WAC Director and implementation of electronic portfolios for assessment.
We have started a Writing Across the Curriculum group, who apply, are selected, and are paid a tiny stipend of $500.00 to meet, study, and plan for more writing in the disciplines. We also have a Director of Comp, but it's not "official" and the person has no real power.
We just had a WPA Evaluation and hope to use this report to spur needed changes for more advocacy and resources and positions for students and writing.
We hope to move the facility to a larger, more central campus location.
We hope to increase the writing requirements. Our writing tutoring continues to expand, and we are seeking professional staffing support.
We hope to hire more tt faculty, as a number of existing faculty are retiring/have retired. Assessment requirements are expanding significantly. We hope that as budget improves, class sizes will reduce, our new major in rhetoric & writing studies will grow, and we will hire more tt faculty and lecturers.
We hope to create more systematic assessment practices in first-year writing and in writing across the university. We also need to continue to develop resources to support basic writers/readers and second-language learners. Finally, our writing center may move to a new, more central location.
We hope to coordinate writing across curriculum and advise on writing in the disciplines
We have made several changes. The greatest change is to identify the Writing Program as a site of local and national research production. Locally, we are leading assessment work on our campus and are committed to staying involved in assessment, especially assessment related to writing. We also have launched a 5-year longitudinal study of student writings, following a cohort for four years on campus and one year post-graduation. Further, we have hired a new Associate Director, having led the search for a scholar with expertise in multilingual writers. We also have shifted away from a model of course direction to a curriculum and assessment team. We also have annual strategic planning meetings and an implementation team. Further, we are emphasizing teacher development as central to our mission, and we are expanding our mentoring toward that mission.
We have applied for and are hoping to receive a grant to exapand the services of our academic support center
We have long-standing (30+ years in some cases) non-tenure faculty who teach writing and who will be retiring or are already on phased retirement. As they retire, we are collaborating with the Dean's Office to hire writing faculty in tenure-track rather than NTT lines. We also are increasing our incorporation of multimodal reading and production for students. Likely we will see changes in the the administrative structure since we are currently in only the first five years of trying out the co-chair model with one of those two being also the Director of Writing.
We have just received funding for enhanced ESL client training and servicing.
We have hired one peer tutor and expect to hire more in the future.
We have currently revised the entire curriculum, expanded the program assessment of FYC, and are beginning to reach out across campus to initiate cross-curricular discussions and work on assessing and teaching writing. I anticipate that the writing center will continue to expand, and I know that the director of FYC has plans to change assessment and the curriculum.
We have begun a student perceptions survey before English First-Year Composition requirements and a Faculty Evalauated Portfolio of Student Writing
We have been in the midst of a complete overhaul for the last three years. This new program should come to faculty vote in the Fall.
We have been given a part-time WPA position to start in Spring 2014 which will work on adjunct training, curriculum development, assessment, and WAC relations
The focus has previously been on composition courses at the 100-level, but we have upper-administrative (Dean, Vice-Provost, Provost) support for developing a WAC/WID program and have started with a 200-level course. Additionally, I'm collaborating this year to pair our 200-level course with a disciplinary research methods course. I'm hopeful that this will have curricular and assessment impacts.
The English Department might move from many adjunct faculty teaching writing, to a fewer number of full-time instructors of writing, supervised by the new Director of Composition.
A campus wide assessment group has evaluated senior-level writing proficiency and issued a report with the recommendation to add a 'WI' requirement for students after the first year. There is also campus wide discussion of changes to the first-year writing seminar program. We have also implemented a pilot writing fellows program. We are concerned that despite these changes there will be few resources allocated to the writing department. We lost a full time tenured faculty member, and our request for a replacement tenure line was denied.
Faculty in the department are working more closely on curriculum, and may align developmental, 1st course and 2nd course materials more clearly; administration is interested in eliminating an assessment done during orientation day for freshmen, so the English faculty are proposing to use ACT/SAT for placement (or an online assessment in case such scores are unavailable; the current one-credit workshop offering may at some point either be expanded, or be folded into the writing center offerings, depending on enrollment (changes are anticipated because it has become a pass-fail option); developmental courses may require more instructors, and adjunct instruction may be turned into full-time position, if enrollment warrants, and administration agrees
Hope to hire a full-time professional staff person to direct the WC. Also hoping to create satellite locations for the WC and maybe online tutoring.
goal is to refine curricular offerings and develop a paracurricular studio model to support students for all 4 years
Future hire or hires will be designed to include leadership of the first-year writing program and WAC; current leadership of first-year writing within the English Dept. will likely change hands.
Full institution of the WAC program; expanded site for the campus writing center; hopefully expanded support at the graduate level beyond our graduate writing center for the college of education and leadership
first year seminars may shift out of the First Year Program to the Academic Dean's Office and/or the Writing Program.
Faculty just voted to accept a new Core curriculum, and the role of writing across the university will change. Also, the university is looking to establish a Learning Commons, which the Writing Center will be a part of.
Expansion of physical space for the writing center.
Hoping to convert an admin assistant position (hourly, mostly IT duties, no degree/experience required) to a assistant/associate coordinator (director) position (exempt, with BA minimum and WC/tutoring experience) to make up for the Writing Center coordinator position having been eliminated three years ago. We'll see...
Everything here is new and organic. Last year was the first year our Writing Center had a director, and we not only gained visibility on campus, but were well supported by administration and able to demonstrate significant usage by students. We are encouraged to continue development, and we are only hampered by budgetary constraints. That said, I foresee changes in the next several years...more consultants, different space, experiments with consulting venues and staffing...it's an adventure!
Elimination of two course sequence.
Elimination of development writing is a possibility. The Academic Support Center may come under departmental control eventually.
Due to budget pressures, it is possible that the writing center could be eliminated in favor of an off-campus vendor, such as Net Tutor. The university does not have a plan to do this, but considering other recent changes to academic support services on campus, it would be the next step.
Disciplinary assessment will be part of program assessment.
developing co-requisites for remedial and first-year writing courses
Hopefully the writing program will expand
I am finished as director of composition as of this year, and we have just hired a new director with expertise in assessment. We plan to hire an expert in professional/technical communication to restructure the English major's current "professional" emphasis. This may involve the creation of a separate major.--That was Jodie Nicotra/ and now Diane Kelly-Riley is following up with this as the new WPA--two years in.
Current WPA is also the Director fo the Writing Center. A new hire will be the Director of Writing and the WC director will no longer hold both offices.
I anticipate that the Writing Program Director will soon supervise the first-year course; there is much discussion of moving the Writing Center to the library. The Writing Program Director will also sit on the college committee for faculty development.
I foresee more coordination between the first-year writing program and the interdiciplinary writing program, with a clearer articulation of the distinctions and overlaps between them.
I fear that when I retire as WC director, the center will be placed in the all-purpose tutor center. Currently I report to an academic dean & the center is stand alone.
I expect the Cornerstone course to continue development and perhaps take up most of our core curriculum's FYC teaching. We are also planning to move toward WAC/ WID. Both of these require strong assessment data and, if either are implemented, will result in staffing changes and revision of curricula.
I expect that the program's curriculum and perhaps the College's writing requirements will be revised. I also expect that the program will add additional directorial positions. We currently have one director, one associate director, and one associate director for ESL.
I believe that we will be staffing more ESL resources and adding more tutors in order to offer increased support for students increasingly less prepared to encounter our challenging core curriculum
I as WCD will be retiring; we are examining possible changes in writing program administration--hopefully- expanding the administration.
I anticipate pressure to standardize the junior level writing courses as has been applied to FYC.
I am hopeful that we will improve the dire situation for our TAs. I also expect to transition out of the WPA position in the coming years, and expect the new person will make changes as s/he sees fit, as for better or worse, our WPA position is fearly autonomous.
I anticipate a new, staff-only position without teaching duties to help run workshops, conduct assessment, and develop online content.
I am working to formalize a WPA position, which I expect to have in place by Fall 2015. We expect to institute an exit assessment from first-year writing, probably a portfolio. Once the WID pilot we are working on proves successful (which it appears to be doing so far), I expect the university will implement an upper division writing in the major requirement, which will expect the writing program. I expect that we will add another composition tenure line. I am currently working with the director of Academic Support and Advising to establish an official faculty liaison position, which will probably be absorbed as part of the WPA position.
I am working on developing a writing major and minor. We already have self-designed writing majors and minors, so I hope that faculty will accept an official major and minor.
I am sincerely hoping that we can hire a full-time TT Writing Center Director. Currently I am the WPA and I direct WAC, the WC, FYW, and the Writing Studies certificates, minor, and internships. With an additional WPA, I feel that we could really change and improve the culture of writing on the campus.
I am not giving up on the development and implementation of a WAC program.
I am hoping we will institute WAC/WID in an official (as opposed to voluntary) capacity.
Currently focusing on assessing FYS/W, and how to revise both the focus on writing and our ongoing assessment. Several options on the table for 2013-2014.I expect our WC to become embedded in our Academic Success Center.
Current hiring freeze has prevented us from hiring more writing faculty, but upper administration has indicated this is a postponement rather than a freeze. We are also in the early stages of developing a writing major and a revisioned writing minor.
I hope to move toward full-time non tenure track instructor positions to eliminate the need to repeatedly hire new contingent faculty. My WAC/WID anwers might be confusing because we are in the early stages of developing a WEC Program, inviting departments to meet to determine how they can enhance the writing assignments offered in the courses.
adding a professional writing component
After much consolidation of positions in the past we are looking at re-engaging a previous structure that replaces lost positions and re-hires a tenured director of the Writing Prgoram. After much consolidation in the past this is good news.
Additional peer tutors will be added.
Adding writing intensive components to our upper division literature classes
adding WID and Writing Fellows program.
Adding multilingual writing support
adding a writing major, refocusing the grad writing program more towards comp/rhet
A vertical writing experience is under consideration. If approved it will add nine hours of courses with WAC or WID elements.
Another full-time position will be added. Presently, the department has three full-time positions. The department will have a writing major.
A second tier of writing in the disciplines courses (non-requirement fulfilling) will be added. Curriculum and assessment review is ongoing. Plan to convert full-time lectureships into long-term NTTs.
A search for a full-time WPA will commence in the next month or so. This, as I understand it, is a new faculty/administrative position.
A proposal is currently under way to replace the rising junior timed essay test with rising junior portfolio. Another proposal is currently under way to replace the graduate-studies timed essay proficiency test with a Graduate Writing Intensive course in every program.
a multi-year revamping of gen ed curriculum was rejected by the faculty senate two years ago; new multi-year revamping of gen ed curriculum is just getting underway
A lot has been discussed, from WAC/WID to e-portfolios for all students. Nothing has been implemented yet, and questions remain as to what will actually be implemented.
A Faculty Committee on Writing Pedagogy spent a year studying the issue and recently submitted a report to our Provost. They are recommending a portfolio system and a writing director.. They are also recommeding changes to the number of courses and types. Our curriculum commitee will receive and discuss the recommendations next year.
An increase in international students will necessitate ESL and "Basic" writing and more writing support; I believe FYW will be collapsed into first year Seminars taught by faculty across the curriculum
As of next year, we will have a new Core Director, a new Core Committee, and new mandates from the English Department to contend with (specifically, an end to the policy of having FT English faculty teach FY Composition). All three developments will surely mean changes to our program, its staffing, and to assessment.
Current director of Writing Center and coordinator of the WAC Program is about to retire; this retirement is instigating major changes in staffing.
Beginning AU 2014, we should begin offering a concentration in Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy within the English major.
Core Curriculum is under revision by task force, may emphasize WAC or writing-intensive requirement; assessment began three years ago, continues to be evaluated (process, results); English deparment revised its curriculum to categorize certain electives as the Writing Program, and we have used the terminology First Year Writing Program, with more regular "programming" to establish cohesion and collaboration among FYW instructors and adjuncts
conversion of tenure-track first-year writing WPA to full-time non-tenure track position
Continued assessment will produce results that will prompt change in curriculum and programs.
changes to Writing center administration and structure
Changes to expand loading of WPA
Both curricular and structural changes to the first-year composition program are underway.
Because of the very issues that your survey is raising, we are in the midst of a review looking at how we teach and assess writing . We are looking specifically at a WAC program.
As our college adds online courses /degrees, as well as non-traditional programs, our writing center will need to adjust on location tutoring to online formats.
At some point the administration is going to have to provide some sort of organizational structure - reporting, etc. - to the learning center. The State [...] is also requiring basic reading and writing to be presented in a single integrated course; cut scores for developmental English (and reading) are also changing.
Assessment practices are likely to continue to expand. Curriculum, especially for multilingual writers (new stretch courses, I hope), likely to continue to change/expand. New PhD program in rhet/comp to bring additional TAs, fewer adjunct faculty, perhaps additional tenureline faculty. Writing center peer tutoring to continue to expand. Writing center director may convert to tenure-line; writing center may move report line out of English to Provost.
As we move to a 4-year University, the addition of required writing courses will necessitate a Director of Writing, as well as faculty development in the teaching of writing. We are moving to a new 4-year program (adding first-year comp) and this means adding many courses. Part of the GE adoption will be writing intensive courses and a portfolio assessment model.This will most likely change and expand writing center services.
As we institute a Core 30 requirement across all public institutions in [the state], and as early college/dual college programs proliferate, there are bound to be changes in the curriculum of writing and in assessment. We are moving one of our second writing courses from 100 to 200 level starting in spring, mainly as a response to this Core 30 initiative. We also would like to see our Writing Center Director become a tenure-line position. We would like to see more full-time positions in Writing.
As the writing center expands, there is a possibility of additional administrative staff positions in the Writing Center.
As part of our Academic Program Review taking place during this year and next, we plan to evaluate our current writing curriculum and staffing. Also we are requesting a WPA/WAC director position, which we've never had.
As part of a revamp of the English major, we are likely to create a Writing major and/or minor in the next 3 years.
I foresee the possibility of the WCD merging with responsibilities for other kinds of tutoring and curricular support.
I left the director position, so they will be figuring out whether or not to replace the tenure line position; currently it is filled by a nontenured faculty member.
The English department is pushing for more WID/WAC courses. In order to fulfill their wish, they will need to hire a full time position.
Over the past five years, our writing center has doubled the number of writers we see each year. I imagine we will continue to grow to met demand, contingent on financial support from the university.
QEP
Possibly a restructuring of the core curriculum, which is bound to involve writing. Also, possibly the addition of a staff member specializing in ELL if we aggressively recruit international students.
Plan to begin an assessment program comparing writing in first year seminars to writing in senior capstone project.
Plan more "community-based" writing courses where students actually work with high school students (both groups receiving credit).
perhaps add a graduate certificate (MA level) for writing/rhetoric to appeal to high school teachers
particularly in relation to distance education and online writing instruction
Our writing program, honestly, seems to be in a constant state of flux; yet, simultaneously, little seems to actually change.
Right now the writing center does not have its own director who focuses only on writing. The faculty member in charge of freshman writing serves as a liaison to the writing center, making connections between the faculty and tutors.
Our revision of the FYC requirement is the first step in what the Dean wants to be a multi-step process of upgrading writing on campus. Other changes currently under discussion: a WAC/WID program, Writing Intensive class designations, a Writing Fellows program, intermediate-level writing classes, and writing as an explicit (and supported) goal of the senior seminar.
Our QUEST program is becoming a major feature of our university. We have had significant numbers of students who previously needed basic writing courses, and we have developed ways to incorporate methods into Composition I that render a separate basic writing course unnecessary.
our new General Education program is just beginning its implementation and assessment - as we continue both processes, I anticipate a need for additional/different resources and organization
Our FWP and our GNOWP are going to bind together to create a new Writing Institute.
Our funding from the state and enrollment numbers have decreased and our institution is experiencing huge financial difficulties. I expect more assessment and significant changes to the structures of all programs on campus.
Our faculty has just voted in a new general education curriculum, which will go into effect next year. This curriculum will do away with our two-course writing requirement and add an explicit WAC focus, including a 4-course WAC core and a 4 year eportfolio requirement which will enable us to have explicit wriitng goals and assessment of those goals. We will hire a full-time portfolio director who will begin next year, and we hope to have WAC directorship as a portion of the duties of a full-time faculty from a department outside of Writing.
Reorganization of all academic support services which may change the mission of our Reading/Writing Center
Seems like writing is expanding as a focus within the English department: more writing classes are offered at levels other than "remedial" (new in the past five years), and potential new hires with comp/rhet backgrounds. There is also talk of curricular overhaul that would explicitly require WAC-certified courses.
Our campus is in a major transition over the next few years because of shifts in upper-level administration. We have a strong culture of writing on our campus, but we are not sure what is to come with certain challenges.
The Core Curriculum is undergoing a review and revision; also, there is an upcoming shortage in tenured Rhet/Comp faculty that will affect administration of Core Writing
The Disciplinary Communication requirement will need to be assessed. It's unclear as to who will conduct this assessment since these classes are no longer the purview of the Writing Program.
The development of UG writing major (or writing track within Engl major); possible WI requirement added to gen ed requirements
The department will propose a major in writing & rhetoric.
The Dean [...] is looking to institute WRs beyond the first year some time in the next two years, so there's lots of energy and momentum there. There's very little program assessment or writing assessment happening right now, and that needs to change. I think that there will be expansion of the WP and sites of writing to go alongside the expansion of the WRs. Finally, I'm interested in changing staffing some -- or at least exploring it. I think that we need to be reaching out to the graduate programs and employing at least some graduate students That's complicated, though, because of the funding structure and union issues.
The curriculum changes in Developmental Writing are in pilot stage & will be reviewed in several years. If successful, the program will be expanded to a branch campus.
The current funding model for the writing center is unsustainable (we provide university level services but are not given funds to support that work).
The College of Liberal Arts will begin this year a broad assessment of student learning outcomes (including outcomes related to writing) in general education courses. Also, I anticipate the beginning of a Teaching and Learning Center which will, I expect, support writing instruction.
Since [the university] does not have a WAC or WID program, it's my hope that the work we've done with faculty in departments over the years will result in at least a de facto program of this sort. Since [the university] is extremely decentralized and flat in its organizational structure, anything coming from the top down is highly unlikely.
The college is adding graduate professional programs, but has only undergrad tutors. Some changes will have to be made to accomodate these new grad areas, and also on-line courses/programs.
The assessment of WAC is still evolving, as is the Writing Center, which is now moving into the library and will likely branch out across campus. It's my great hope that we will find ways to put many of the part-time faculty who teach first-year writing on better-paying full or nearly full-time lines, as well as that their position on the job market will be enhanced by a certificate program we hope to develop in Teaching First-Year Writing, in which all non-tenure line faculty would be supported to enroll.
The ad hoc WRAC committee seeks formal administrative structure within the College, which may affect assessment, writing requirements, etc.
T here is consideration of consolidating our various writing programs (Academic Writing, Developmental Writing and the tutors) into a more collaborative team. Proposals are also underway for a more common assessment of writing across the campus, from the portfolio review after the academic writing course sequence to a more standardized assessment of the written portion of the senior projects.
Support for ELLs, ESL/EFL writers seems to be coalescing around the Writing Center. Programmatic, admin, curricular, and staffing will all likely see some changes.
substantial changes to state General Education requirements coming 2015. Staffing changes with continued growth of program.
Our current FYW sequence (two courses) is difficult to staff on an ongoing basis, and we have just completed a three year review of that sequence. Although no decisions have been made, I expect that we will need to consider the sustainability of the two-course FYW model. There is also some interest in revitalizing the writing intensive courses for the SO and JR years.
Other includes adding an ESL component to FYC and perhaps other writing initiatives.
I plan to ask for a WPA position for our FYC program, which currently is run by the department Chair, since I am the only resident Comp/Rhet expert. We need a FYC WPA and don't have one. We are also starting a Writing Center and WAC program as part of our QEP reaccreditation.
I'm saying "yes" here because the plans to expand are in the annual reports, but I actually feel expansion is a low priority here.
Implementation of stretch composition, further development of writing fellows, further development of WAC/WID, hiring additional writing faculty
If the university goes to 4-credit courses (rather than 3), this might reduce our current 2-course composition requirement to 1 course. I foresee assessment changes to align assessment with the Written Communication requirement within the Essential Learning Outcomes.
If the QEP is successful, its approach will probably be extended to writing in the majors.
If all goes well, Faculty Writing Coordinator positions will be created for each Academic Division, to oversee new, required second-semester writing in the disciplines courses.
I've just begun as the new WAC director. The expectation is that I will revitalize all aspects of the program and create new opportunities for writing instruction. In addition, [the college] has begun to institute a new core curriculum, which means that the curricular writing requirements will soon be reevaluated and revised.
I've been working with the Dean to create an official Writing Coordinator at the university. Currently, I'm to try that position for the upcoming year, and if the results are good the position should be instituted for the 2014-15 academic year.
I'm pushing to add new writing courses to accommodate more student populations; we currently don't even have 1 200-level writing course; I'm also working with specific programs to create writing courses they feel comfortable requiring.
In addition to the (ongoing) hiring of a full-time Writing Center Director, we have also been working towards defining "writing intensive courses" and possibly instituting a writing requirement that involves both core courses and courses in the majors.
I'd like to see us deveop an undergraduate writing certificate (more focused on writing practice than our minor) for non-majors, and with it a 200-level and 300-level course in composition. I'd like to switch to directed self-placement for FYW. I'd also like to see us develop a WAC program and hire someone on the tenure line to direct that program. We should be able to accomplish some/all of this within the next 6-7 years.
I think that within three years we'll overhaul the general education requirements, and I'm hoping that that will include an expansion of the writing requirement. (No way to tell.) I'm also hopeful that the WPA and possibly WCD positions will be converted to tenure-line, although I think that's unlikely. Assessment is an ongoing puzzle, but one we're thinking about deliberately at the moment.
I think our WID program will necessarily have to expand to WAC or at least to a WID/WAC hybrid
I think my position was created to enhance the culture of writing on campus.
I predict that after I am done being WPA, no tenure-line faculty member will be willing to do it unless we hire from the outside. Next director will likely be NTT if this happens.
I predict a department-based writing requirement and am hoping to establish a communication across the curriculum program to integrate writing, speaking, quantitative reasoning, and visual communication.
in 2014-2015, we converted the WP administrative structure into three positions: A WPA, a coordinator of FYC, a coordinator of SYC, and added composition course scheduler. All positions carry course releases. WPA position is tenured
In next five years, we may eliminate the sophomore-level proficiency exam.
Next tenure track hire will likely expand to digital rhetoric
More centralized assessment processes and use of digitized products like Pearson's to "tutor," measure, and share campus-wide student social and learning behaviors and outcomes.
New requirements and new leadership with different goals are shifting most curricular, assessment, staffing, and gen-ed structural configurations.
New Core LS Program wil incorporate writing for all four years of undergradaute program. Portfolios will be included, but working on details.
My goal is to shift from a first-year composition course model taught solely by the English department to one taught by faculty from across departments.
move WCD from staff to tenure faculty
more online tutoring and possibly more faculty tutoring
more online hiring
Major changes are underway and will be implemented in the next 2-4 years. Proficiency exam will be replaced with a portfolio, guidelines for writing intensive courses will be revised, a new faculty member and I will implement a professional writing program (at least a minor, possibly an interdisciplinary major), the new faculty member will teach technical writing courses previously taught by adjuncts, a long-term assessment plan will be put in place for the university, an assessment plan for the writing center is under development, first-year writing outcomes should be revised according to WPA and other statements of best practices, technology will be better integrated into classroom practices and assignments, we will wrestle with defining what counts as "writing" as some of us integrate multi-modal communication in our classrooms (which may change Writing Intensive course descriptions), we will make changes in response to a program review, and we will figure out how to teach some of these courses online or in hybrid settings.
In the move to reduce students' total number of hours required for graduation, there is discussion regarding elimination of the prerequisite for the second course in the writing sequence.
Looking to create a WAC / WID director position. Changes to assessment is college-wide.
Last year the university revised its shared governance structure; this year the university is revising its general education program. Both processes have motivated healthy change for the writing program. During the shared governance revision, we changed the NTT WPA position to TT and successfully argued for another TT line in the Writing Program. As a part of the revisioning gen ed process, we have added a portfolio requirement that crosses colleges and years (sophomore, junior, etc.).
Intend to add undergraduate minor, major, graduate certificate in Writing Studies
Institution is in a state of flux; improvement committes are at work looking at all areas of operation.
Increasingly, part-time and non tenure-track faculty are replacing tenure-track faculty.
Increased involvement of departments across campus in FYWS
Increased emphasis on university student learning outcomes: emphasis on writing across the curriculum, evidence of writing competencies, probably addition of upper division writing requirement
Writing Intensive Program was approved and will be implemented in 2014; may add a Writing Fellows Program at the Writing Center to support WI

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