University of Alaska Fairbanks2013 Institution Survey
Sites of writing--General Description
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for first-year writing? (n=377)
English department
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for WAC? (n=227)
Other
Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=679)
Yes
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the writing center? (n=487)
English department
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
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
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 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
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/ACT | Yes | |||
| AP/IB | Yes | |||
| CLEP | Yes | |||
| 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
First-year writing/English composition--Goals and Assessment
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
First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps
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 Faculty | Full-Time, Tenure Track Writing Faculty | Full-Time, Tenure Track Other Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track English Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track Writing Faculty | Full-Time, Non-Tenure Track Other Faculty | Part-time English Faculty | Part-time Writing Faculty | English Graduate TAs | Writing Graduate TAs | Other Graduate TAs | WPA | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| 1-5% | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||
| 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 WPA | Yes | |||
| Required faculty development workshops | ||||
| Optional graduate pedagogy course | ||||
| Optional faculty development workshops | Yes | |||
| Individual meetings with the WPA/WCD | Yes | |||
| 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
Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Support for English Language Learners
What type of supports are available for ELLs? (n=412)
Targeted optional writing courses
Summer bridge program
Peer tutoring
Professional tutoring, not the WPA or WCD
Tutoring from the WPA or WCD
Workshops
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
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Minor
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Graduate Programs
Does your institution offer a masters degree (M.A.) in writing, other than creative writing? (n=656)
No
Does your institution have a Ph.D. program in writing, other than creative writing? (n=654)
No
Writing centers--General description
Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=676)
Yes
Administrative structures
Who has primary responsibility for administering first-year writing requirement? (n=565)
FYWD
To whom does the FYWD report? (n=272)
Chair of the department
CAO
Associate dean or provost
Faculty committee
What is the teaching load for writing administrators?
| Average faculty member (n=501) | FYWD (n=265) | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-0 | ||
| 0-1 | ||
| 1-1 | ||
| 1-2 or 2-1 | Yes | |
| 2-2 | ||
| 2-1-2 | ||
| 2-2-2 | ||
| 2-3 or 3-2 | ||
| 3-3 | Yes | |
| 3-1-2 | ||
| 3-1-3 | ||
| 3-4 or 4-3 | ||
| 4-4 | ||
| Other | ||
| Varies |
What are the job responsibilities for writing administrators?
| FYWD (n=267) | |
|---|---|
| Teach courses in the first-year writing program | Yes |
| Teach courses in the writing program/department (Not FYW) | Yes |
| Teach courses outside the writing program/department | Yes |
| Assess all or some aspects of the writing program | Yes |
| Assess the development of student writing on campus | Yes |
| Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplines | Yes |
| Conduct TA training | Yes |
| Consult with individual faculty across the disciplines | Yes |
| Consult with departments across the disciplines | Yes |
| Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.) | |
| Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer) | |
| Hire professional staff | |
| Hire tutors | |
| Schedule writing courses | Yes |
| Schedule writing center | |
| Place students into writing courses | Yes |
| Facilitate placement exam | |
| Oversee curriculum development | Yes |
| Train professional staff | |
| Train peer tutors | |
| Advertise program | |
| Oversee program budget | |
| Tutor students | |
| Plan events | Yes |
| Serve on university committees | Yes |
| Maintain program website | |
| Serve as an academic advisor | Yes |
| Offer student workshops | Yes |
| Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit | Yes |
| Other |