2013 Four-Year Institution Survey

Switch to Advanced Search

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=220)

Previous Question Next Question

Results

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 currently undergoing an extensive review and revision of our Core Curriculum, which will necessarily affect the direction of the writing program.
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.
We anticipate a number of curricular changes, which may require some staffing chnages.
We anticipate adding a WPA
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 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 at the beginning of developing both basic writing and ESL writing instruction. These changes will shape the future of our writing programs.
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 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 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 currently piloting a new writing assessment; we are hoping to implement writing across the curriculum
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).
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.
We are expanding the Gen Ed part of the curriculum from two years to three.
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 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 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 to hire a Rhetoric PhD to oversee the writing program//separate from the Creative Writing major/minor of course
We are implementing a new gen ed program in 2015
We are in a period of major transition. I do not know what to expect.
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 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 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 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.
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.
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 Writing Program, although not the Writing Center, will likely move out of the CTLR
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 university is revising its entire general education program over the next 2-3 years. A new Writing Center has just been created.
The university will be hiring a new assessment faculty member; we are considering online classes; our Writing Studies minior will be in place.
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 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 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 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 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 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 Center will expand and be linked directly to the FYS program.
the writing certificate program will become more academic and more multi-disciplinary--less creative writing oriented; rhetoric will offer more STEM-oriented sections
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.
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.
There are changes occurring at the highest levels that will impact FYC especially, based on goals of administration for writing/gen ed
There has been some discussion about incorporating the Writing Center with other tutorial centers on campus into a "Learning Resource Center."
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 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 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 will be expansions with the Writing Intensive requirement rather than changes.
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].
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'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.
This is a dynamic program facilitated and directed by campus faculty, so opportunities for change appear always to be possible.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 may go to a university-wide portfolio assessment program in the future (it's being talked about).
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 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 rely on undergraduate peer tutors to provide all writing tutoring, but there is a growing demand for professional tutoring in writing.
we will add speaking to our dept on a temp/pilot basis. We hope to add on WA teams on a pilot basis.
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 probably add more assessment than we have been doing.
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'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'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 moving toward a portfolio assessment system.
We just had a WPA evaluation which recommended the creation of a WAC Director and implementation of electronic portfolios for assessment.
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'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 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.
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.
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.
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).
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).
Would like to see Writing Fellows program grow--will depend on institutional support
writing center is in process; staffing will have to change with the addition of the writing center
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 in the disciplines will be expanded.
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 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 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 have a part-time WPA for the 1st time ever and admin interest in understanding what's happening with writing across curriculum.
We are reimaginig our Writing Center to a "Center of Writing" that will incorporate tutoring and creative writing, new media training, etc.
We are reviewing our WI requirement and will next year launch an assessment.
We are revising our undergraduate curriculum and writing is an important part of the new plan.
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 trying to establish a writing center and a WAC program.
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 undergoing general education assessment this fall. I suspect more discipline-specific writing courses will be added.
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 to develop an ePortfolio requirement for all students that will enable us to complete longitudinal assessment.
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 expect to establish a separate Graduate Writing Center with a full-time director and additional disciplinary writing consultants.
We have applied for and are hoping to receive a grant to exapand the services of our academic support center
We hope to move the facility to a larger, more central campus location.
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
We have begun a student perceptions survey before English First-Year Composition requirements and a Faculty Evalauated Portfolio of Student Writing
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 hired one peer tutor and expect to hire more in the future.
We have just received funding for enhanced ESL client training and servicing.
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 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 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 hope to coordinate writing across curriculum and advise on writing in the disciplines
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 increase the writing requirements. Our writing tutoring continues to expand, and we are seeking professional staffing support.
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 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.
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.
Hopefully the writing program will expand
Disciplinary assessment will be part of program assessment.
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.
Elimination of development writing is a possibility. The Academic Support Center may come under departmental control eventually.
Expansion of physical space for the writing center.
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
first year seminars may shift out of the First Year Program to the Academic Dean's Office and/or the Writing Program.
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
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.
goal is to refine curricular offerings and develop a paracurricular studio model to support students for all 4 years
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.
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...
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 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.
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 am hoping we will institute WAC/WID in an official (as opposed to voluntary) capacity.
I am not giving up on the development and implementation of a WAC program.
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 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 anticipate a new, staff-only position without teaching duties to help run workshops, conduct assessment, and develop online content.
I anticipate pressure to standardize the junior level writing courses as has been applied to FYC.
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 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 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.
developing co-requisites for remedial and first-year writing courses
Current director of Writing Center and coordinator of the WAC Program is about to retire; this retirement is instigating major changes in staffing.
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.
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.
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 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 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 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 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 vertical writing experience is under consideration. If approved it will add nine hours of courses with WAC or WID elements.
adding a writing major, refocusing the grad writing program more towards comp/rhet
Adding multilingual writing support
adding WID and Writing Fellows program.
Adding writing intensive components to our upper division literature classes
Additional peer tutors will be added.
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
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
Another full-time position will be added. Presently, the department has three full-time positions. The department will have a writing major.
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.
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.
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.
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 the writing center expands, there is a possibility of additional administrative staff positions in the Writing Center.
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.
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.
Beginning AU 2014, we should begin offering a concentration in Writing, Rhetoric, and Literacy within the English major.
changes to Writing center administration and structure
Continued assessment will produce results that will prompt change in curriculum and programs.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 FWP and our GNOWP are going to bind together to create a new Writing Institute.
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 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 writing program, honestly, seems to be in a constant state of flux; yet, simultaneously, little seems to actually change.
Plan more "community-based" writing courses where students actually work with high school students (both groups receiving credit).
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.
QEP
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.
substantial changes to state General Education requirements coming 2015. Staffing changes with continued growth of program.
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.
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.
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 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 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.
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 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 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 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 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.
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 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).
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.
In next five years, we may eliminate the sophomore-level proficiency exam.
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 think my position was created to enhance the culture of writing on campus.
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'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'm saying "yes" here because the plans to expand are in the annual reports, but I actually feel expansion is a low priority here.
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'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.
If the QEP is successful, its approach will probably be extended to writing in the majors.
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.
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 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.
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.
New requirements and new leadership with different goals are shifting most curricular, assessment, staffing, and gen-ed structural configurations.
Increased emphasis on university student learning outcomes: emphasis on writing across the curriculum, evidence of writing competencies, probably addition of upper division writing requirement
Increased involvement of departments across campus in FYWS
Increasingly, part-time and non tenure-track faculty are replacing tenure-track faculty.
Institution is in a state of flux; improvement committes are at work looking at all areas of operation.
Intend to add undergraduate minor, major, graduate certificate in Writing Studies
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.).
Looking to create a WAC / WID director position. Changes to assessment is college-wide.
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.
more online tutoring and possibly more faculty tutoring
move WCD from staff to tenure faculty
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.
Writing Intensive Program was approved and will be implemented in 2014; may add a Writing Fellows Program at the Writing Center to support WI

Basic filters may be applied to this question; advanced filters are unavailable.