Trinity College2013 Institution Survey

Sites of writing--General Description

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

Yes

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

independent program

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

Yes

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

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for first-year writing? (n=377)

Independent program

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Yes

Is writing in the disciplines part of the writing program or department? (n=265)

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for writing in the disciplines? (n=184)

Other

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

No

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

Yes

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

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the undergraduate minor? (n=246)

Independent program

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

No

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

Yes

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

No

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

Independent program

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

No

Sites of writing--Writing Requirement

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

Yes

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

First-year seminars taught by faculty across the curriculum (FYWS)

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

Writing in the major

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

Yes

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

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

The first-year seminar has writing as an explicit goal.

Sites of writing--College Writing Goals

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

No

Sites of writing--National Survey of Student Engagement

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

No

Sites of writing--Changes to Writing Program

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

No

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

Yes

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

Other

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

Yes

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

Changes to assessment

Changes to the administrative structures

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

Changes to the types of staffing

If you foresee changes to the administrative, curricular, or support structures of the sites of writing at your institution over the next five years feel free to explain.

first year seminars may shift out of the First Year Program to the Academic Dean's Office and/or the Writing Program.

First-year writing/English composition--General Description

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

Yes

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

1

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

FYWS

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

Does your institution allow students to place out of FYWS? (n=69)

No

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

Yes

What is your program's placement mechanism?

FYWS (n=18)FYC (n=373)
SAT/ACTYes
AP/IB
CLEP
In-house exam
Directed self-placement
Portfolio
Dual enrollment/ transfer
Other

Does your institution accept transfer credit for FYWS? (n=69)

No

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

Yes

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

WPA

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

Are there explicit goals for FYWS? (n=75)

No

First-year writing/English composition--Curriculum

What is the content of the FYWS requirement? See Note 5. (n=73)

WAC/Topic Based

Is there a common syllabus for FYWS courses? (n=73)

No

First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps

What is the enrollment cap for regular sections of FYWS? (n=72)

15

First-year writing/English composition--Staffing

In the 2011-12 academic year, what percentage of FYWS courses were taught by: See Note 2a. (n=70)

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

Is there faculty or professional development available for those teaching FYWS? (n=69)

Yes

What form does the faculty development take for FYW faculty?

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

Do those attending faculty development for FYWS receive additional compensation? (n=65)

No

Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--General Description

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

Yes

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

Faculty referral

Student self-referral

Other

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

Peer tutoring

Workshops

Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Basic Writing

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

No

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

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

Yes

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

Yes

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

Targeted optional writing courses

Peer tutoring

Workshops

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

No

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

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

Yes

Does your institution require all students to take lower-division writing courses taught by the English or Writing department for students in other departments? Does not include the first-year writing requirement. (n=302)

No

Does your institution require all students to take upper-division writing courses taught by the English or Writing department for students in other departments? (n=303)

No

Does your institution require all students to take a mid-level writing course(s)? (n=304)

No

Does your institution require ALL students to complete a senior thesis or other writing-intensive capstone experience? (n=306)

Yes

Is the senior thesis an explicit part of the college writing requirement? (n=92)

Yes

Writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing beyond the first year--Writing-Intensive Courses

Does your institution require all students to take writing-intensive (WI or W) courses taught by departments other than English or Writing? (n=303)

Yes

How long has the WI requirement been in existence? (n=186)

10-15 years

How many WI courses are required beyond the first-year requirement? (n=185)

1

When do WI courses need to be completed? (n=187)

By graduation

Are there explicit goals for the WI courses? (n=189)

No

What are the criteria for a WI course? (n=184)

Number of pages or words written

Other criteria

Who certifies that a course fulfills WI designation? (n=183)

WPA/WAC director

Is there professional development available for those teaching in the WAC Program? (n=298)

Yes

What form does that faculty development take? (n=216)

Optional faculty workshops

Individual meetings with faculty members

On-campus speakers

If faculty attend a seminar or workshop, how are they compensated? (n=129)

They do not receive compensation.

They receive food at the event.

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

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

No

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

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

Yes

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

Professional writing

Technical writing

Rhetoric/ composition

Creative writing

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

Writing

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

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

No

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

No

Writing centers--General description

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

Yes

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

Part of another institutional unit

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

Rhetoric/writing department or program

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

Academic building

Library

Multiple locations

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

Yes

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

No

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

Face-to-face consultations

Writing centers--Consultations

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

266

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

185

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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

What percentage of the undergraduate student body had a writing center consultation during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=316)

14

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

Yes

How many writing center consultations did your center conduct with graduate students during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=184)

10

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

30 minutes

Writing centers--Consultants

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

Yes

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

No

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

No

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

No

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

No

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

No

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

100

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

100

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

24

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

22

How are consultants working in the writing center initally trained?

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

What on-going professional development opportunities are offered for consultants working in the writing center?

Undergraduate students (n=461)
Attendance at national conferences
Attendance at regional conferencesYes
Presenting at national conferences
Presenting at regional conferences
Reading professional journalsYes
Outside speakers
Weekly meetings
Semester inservice or workshop
Written reflections on daily and/or semester work
Meet with directorYes
No opportunities available
Other

How are consultants working in the writing center compensated?

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

Writing centers--Course-based Peer Tutoring

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

Yes

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

20+ years

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

Writing program budget

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

Students work both as writing fellows and writing center tutors.

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

No

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

4

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

Hourly wage

Administrative structures

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

Solo writing administrator

Are there others who help to administer the FYW program? (n=586)

No

Who has primary responsibility for administering the WAC program? (n=263)

CAO

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

Solo writing administrator