University of Alaska Fairbanks2013 Institution Survey

Sites of writing--General Description

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

Yes

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)

English department

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

Yes

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

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for WAC? (n=227)

Other

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

No

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

No

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

No

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)

English department

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

Yes

Is the basic writing program part of the writing program or department? (n=357)

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the basic writing program? (n=249)

Independent program

Sites of writing--Writing Requirement

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

Yes

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

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

Writing-intensive courses that are located throughout the curriculum (W courses)

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

Yes

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

A senior capstone/thesis for some or all students 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)

Yes

How does your writing program use the NSSE data? (n=425)

I don't know.

We do nothing with the data.

Data used for other purposes.

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

I don't know

Sites of writing--Changes to Writing Program

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

Yes

Were there changes to the writing requirement in the past 10 years? (n=585)

No

Were there changes to the assessment of writing at your institution over the past 10 years? (n=589)

No

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

Yes

Which administrative structures of the writing program or the sites of writing changed? (n=396)

A full-time WPA or WCD position was added.

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)

A writing center was merged with a learning commons.

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

No

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

No

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

Yes

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

Changes to the curricular structures or writing requirement

Changes to assessment

Changes to the administrative structures

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

Changes to the types of staffing

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

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.

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)

2

By when must the second semester course be completed? (n=316)

By graduation

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

Other

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

Does your institution allow students to place out of other first-year requirements? (n=35)

Yes

What is your program's placement mechanism?

FYWS (n=18)FYC (n=373)FYS (n=13)Other (n=20)
SAT/ACTYes
AP/IBYes
CLEPYes
In-house exam
Directed self-placement
Portfolio
Dual enrollment/ transfer
Other

Does your institution accept transfer credit for other first-year writing requirements? (n=41)

Yes

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

WPA

Department chair

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

Are there explicit goals for other first-year writing requirements? (n=42)

No

First-year writing/English composition--Curriculum

What is the content of the other first-year requirement? See Note 5. (n=41)

Literature

Other

What is the other content of the other first year requirement?

critical thinking inquiry-based

Is there a common syllabus other first-year writing courses? (n=42)

Yes

First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps

What is the enrollment cap for honors sections of other types of FYW? (n=22)

15

What is the enrollment cap for regular sections of other types of FYW? (n=40)

25

What is the enrollment cap for basic writing sections of other types of FYW? (n=23)

20

First-year writing/English composition--Staffing

In the 2011-12 academic year, what percentage of other types of FYW courses were taught by: See Note 2a. (n=37)

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

Is there faculty or professional development available for those teaching other first-year writing courses? (n=41)

Yes

What form does the faculty development take for FYW faculty?

FYWS (n=70)FYC (n=373)FYS (n=55)Other (n=35)
Requried pedagogy course taught by the WPAYes
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 other types of FYW receive additional compensation? (n=32)

Yes

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)

Directed self-placement

Placement test

Admissions office/ student affairs referral

Advisor referral

Faculty referral

writing center tutor referral

Student self-referral

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

Summer bridge program

Professional tutoring, not the WPA or WCD

Workshops

Other

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

Summer bridge program

Peer tutoring

Professional tutoring, not the WPA or WCD

Tutoring from the WPA or WCD

Workshops

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

Yes

How are students identified and/or placed into ELL writing courses? (n=239)

SAT/ACT/TOFEL

Placement test

Admissions office/ atudent affairs referral

Directed self-placement

Faculty referral

Advisor referral

What is the institutional home of the ELL writing courses? (n=241)

English department

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

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)

No

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

Administrative structures

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

FYWD

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

TT

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

English

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

Chair of the department

CAO

Associate dean or provost

Faculty committee

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

Yes

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

No

What is the teaching load for writing administrators?

Average faculty member (n=501)FYWD (n=265)
0-0
0-1
1-1
1-2 or 2-1Yes
2-2
2-1-2
2-2-2
2-3 or 3-2
3-3Yes
3-1-2
3-1-3
3-4 or 4-3
4-4
Other
Varies

What are the job responsibilities for writing administrators?

FYWD (n=267)
Teach courses in the first-year writing programYes
Teach courses in the writing program/department (Not FYW)Yes
Teach courses outside the writing program/departmentYes
Assess all or some aspects of the writing programYes
Assess the development of student writing on campusYes
Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplinesYes
Conduct TA trainingYes
Consult with individual faculty across the disciplinesYes
Consult with departments across the disciplinesYes
Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.)
Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer)
Hire professional staff
Hire tutors
Schedule writing coursesYes
Schedule writing center
Place students into writing coursesYes
Facilitate placement exam
Oversee curriculum developmentYes
Train professional staff
Train peer tutors
Advertise program
Oversee program budget
Tutor students
Plan eventsYes
Serve on university committeesYes
Maintain program website
Serve as an academic advisorYes
Offer student workshopsYes
Oversee exemption and/or transfer creditYes
Other