Whatcom Community College2013 Institution Survey
Sites of Writing--General Description
What is the institutional home of the writing program or department? (n=97)
English Department
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for WAC? (n=43)
Independent Unit
Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=219)
Yes
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the writing center? (n=171)
Other
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the basic writing program? (n=136)
Other
Sites of Writing--Writing Requirement
What does the writing requirement at your institution consist of? (n=106)
First-year composition predominately taught by English and/or Writing department (FYC)
Writing-intensive courses that are located throughout the curriculum (WI courses)
Are there curricular requirements that are not part of the writing requirement but that have writing as an explicit goal? (n=211)
No
Sites of Writing--College Writing Goals
Who administers the assessment?
| Students take an essay exam. (n=43) | Students submit a portfolio. (n=28) | Writing proficiency determined when students take writing-intensive courses. (n=45) | A longitudinal study is conducted. (n=30) | Other (n=24) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writing program director | Yes | ||||
| Writing center director | |||||
| Associate dean | |||||
| Faculty committee | Yes | Yes | |||
| Registrar | |||||
| Chair of the department | |||||
| Other | Yes | Yes |
Who participates in the assessment?
| Students take an essay exam. (n=43) | Students submit a portfolio. (n=28) | Writing proficiency determined when students take writing-intensive courses. (n=55) | A longitudinal study is conducted. (n=32) | Other (n=29) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Writing program director | Yes | ||||
| Writing center director | Yes | ||||
| Writing program faculty | Yes | ||||
| English department faculty | Yes | Yes | |||
| Faculty from disciplines other than Writing and English | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| Readers outside the institution | Yes | ||||
| Associate dean | |||||
| Registrar | |||||
| Other |
Sites of Writing--Community College Survey of Student Engagement
Does your institution administer the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)? (n=219)
Yes
How does your writing program use the CCSSE data? (n=139)
Assessment
Argue for additional resources
Promotion of writing program
Support curricular changes
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=219)
Yes
Were there changes to the assessment of writing at your institution over the past 10 years? (n=194)
Yes
Which changes have taken place in regards to assessment? (n=133)
A college-wide assessment was expanded.
Were there any changes to the administrative structures of the writing program or the sites of writing over the past 10 years? (n=195)
Yes
Which administrative structures of the writing program or the sites of writing changed? (n=100)
Other
Was the writing program changed in the past 10 years to expand or eliminate areas? (n=191)
No
Were there changes to the staffing of the writing program or center over the past 10 years? (n=194)
No
Were there any additional changes to the writing program or the sites of writing at your institution not already mentioned? (n=193)
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=217)
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=151)
Changes to the curricular structures or writing requirement
Changes to assessment
Changes to expand the writing program or sites of writing on campus
Changes to eliminate or consolidate aspects of the writing program or sites of writing on campus
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.
Our English 100 course—transitional between ESLA (academic), developmental writing, and FYC—has been eliminated as of Fall 2015 due to state mandate; the consequences are far reaching: We are redesigning FYC to meet the needs of more students who presumably are less "college ready," we are redesigning our placement process to include multiple measures and DSP, we are expanding our Accelerated Learning Program courses (FYC + developmental writing), we are helping to redesign developmental writing courses (integrated reading and writing), helping to redesign ESLA capstone course, and providing alternate routes to college-level courses (such as removing all pre-requisites for 100-level literature courses). All of this will require an integrated assessment process coordinated across different departments and our IR people.
First-Year Writing/ English Composition--General Description
Does your institution have a first-year writing requirement, whether explicit or embedded? (n=217)
Yes
First-Year Writing/ English Composition--Placement and Transfer
Does your institution allow students to place out of the first semester first-year writing requirment? (n=134)
Yes
Does your institution allow students to place out of the second semester of first-year writing requirment? (n=105)
Yes
Does your institution accept transfer credit for first semester first-year writing requirements? (n=139)
Yes
Does your institution accept transfer credit for second semester first-year writing requirements? (n=121)
Yes
First-Year Writing/ English Composition--Goals and Assessment
How are the goals for FYW courses assessed? (n=124)
Random sample
Professor evaluation
Other
Who participates in the assessment of the goals for FYW courses? (n=116)
WPA
Writing faculty
Other
First-Year Writing/ English Composition--Curriculum
What is the "other" content of the FYW requirement?
The content is college-level writing: our program is based on the principles of analytical writing laid out in Writing Analytically, by Rossenwasser and Stephen
If two semesters of FYW are required, is the content of the second course the same as the first course? (n=104)
No
If the content of the second FYW course differs from the first course, what is the content of the second course? See Note 5. (n=60)
Other
What is the "other" content of the second semester FYW requirement?
The second course has a larger research compoenent requried
First-Year Writing/ English Composition--Enrollment Caps
If there is a second semester FYW requirement, what is the enrollment cap for honors sections? (n=46)
12
If there is a second semester FYW requirement, what is the the enrollment cap for regular sections? (n=119)
25
What is the enrollment cap for sections of basic writing of the FYW requirement? (n=133)
25
If there is a second semester FYW requirement, what is the the enrollment cap for basic writing sections? (n=101)
25
First-Year Writing/ English Composition--Staffing
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by full-time, tenure-line faculty in the English Department? See Note 4. (n=105)
43
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by full-time, tenure-line faculty in the rhetoric/composition department or program? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by full-time, tenure-line faculty from departments besides English and rhetoric/composition? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by full-time, non-tenure line faculty in the English Department? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by full-time, non-tenure line faculty in the rhetoric/composition department or program? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by full-time, non-tenure line faculty from departments besides English and rhetoric/composition? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by part-time faculty hired by the English Department? See Note 4. (n=105)
57
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by part-time faculty hired by the rhetoric/composition department or program?
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by the WPA? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
In the 2013-14 academic year, what percentage of sections of the first semester writing course were taught by other? See Note 4. (n=105)
0
Is there faculty or professional development available for those teaching in the first-year writing program? (n=129)
Yes
What form does the faculty development take for first-year writing faculty? (n=107)
Optional faculty development workshops
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=220)
Yes
Writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing beyond the first year--General Description
Does your institution have a WAC/WID program and/or a writing requirement beyond the first year? (n=203)
Yes
Does your institution require all students to take writing courses taught by the English or Writing department for students in other departments? Does not include the first-year writing requirement. (n=35)
No
Does your institution require all students to take writing-intensive (WI or W) courses taught by departments other than English or Writing? (n=36)
Yes
Writing across the curriculum (WAC) and writing beyond the first year--Writing-Intensive Courses
What form of assessment takes place of the WI goals? (n=10)
Professor evaluation
Other
What are the criteria for a WI course? (n=12)
Number of pages or words written
Revision
Other criteria
Who certifies that a course fulfills the WI designation? (n=12)
Curriculum committee
Which incentives are offered to faculty to teach WI courses? (n=5)
Smaller class size
Other
Is there professional development available for those teaching in the WAC program? (n=35)
Yes
What form does that faculty development take? (n=35)
Optional faculty workshops
Individual meetings with faculty members
Writing centers--General description
Does your institution have a writing center or learning center with writing tutors? (n=219)
Yes
Is the writing center free-standing or part of another institutional unit? (n=157)
Part of another institutional unit
If the writing center is not free-standing, what larger institutional unit is it a part of? (n=105)
Learning center
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=157)
Academic building
What services does the writing center offer? (n=155)
Face-to-face consultations
Online feedback via e-mail (asynchronous)
Assistance with oral presentations
Assistance with Powerpoint or other presentation software
Assistance with new media
Other
Writing centers--Consultants
How are consultants working in the writing center initally trained?
| Undergraduate students (n=90) | |
|---|---|
| Full-credit course | |
| Half-credit course | |
| Weekly meetings | Yes |
| Monthly meetings | |
| 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=78) | |
|---|---|
| Attendance at national conferences | |
| Attendance at regional conferences | Yes |
| Presenting at national conferences | |
| Presenting at regional conferences | |
| Reading professional journals | Yes |
| Outside speakers | Yes |
| Weekly meetings | Yes |
| Semester inservice or workshop | |
| Written reflections on daily and/or semester work | |
| Meet with director | Yes |
| No opportunities available | |
| Other |
How are consultants working in the writing center compensated?
| Undergraduate students (n=96) | |
|---|---|
| Hourly wage | Yes |
| Stipend | |
| Tuition waver | |
| Course credit | |
| Faculty salary | |
| Release time | |
| Other |
Writing centers--Course-based Peer Tutoring
Does your institution have a writing fellows program (course-based peer tutoring)? (n=143)
No
Administrative Structures
Who has primary responsibility for administering the first-year writing requirement? (n=127)
Chair of the English department
Who has primary responsibility for administering the WAC Program? (n=36)
WAC director
If the WAC director was not hired for this position, how did he/she assume these responsibilities?
Previous director retired or left the position.
Who has primary responsibility for administering the writing/learning center? (n=139)
Separate writing center director or coordinator (WCD)
If the WCD or LCD director was not hired for this position, how did he/she assume these responsibilities? (n=32)
Previous director retired or left the position.
What is the teaching load for writing administrators?
| All full-time faculty (n=97) | FYWD (n=11) | WAC director (n=6) | WCD (n=79) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-0 | ||||
| 0-1 | ||||
| 1-1 | ||||
| 1-2 or 2-1 | ||||
| 2-2 | ||||
| 2-1-2 | ||||
| 2-2-2 | ||||
| 2-3 or 3-2 | ||||
| 3-3 | ||||
| 3-1-2 | ||||
| 3-1-3 | ||||
| 3-4 or 4-3 | ||||
| 4-4 | ||||
| 4-5 or 5-4 | ||||
| 5-5 | ||||
| 6-6 | ||||
| Other | Yes | Yes | Yes |
What are the job responsibilities for writing administrators?
| FYWD (n=14) | WAC director (n=8) | WCD (n=85) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach courses in the first-year writing program | Yes | Yes | |
| Teach courses in the writing program/department (not FYW) | Yes | Yes | |
| Teach courses outside the writing program/department | |||
| Assess all or some aspects of the writing program | |||
| Assess the development of student writing on campus | |||
| Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplines | Yes | ||
| Consult with individual faculty across the disciplines | Yes | Yes | |
| Consult with departments across the disciplines | Yes | Yes | |
| Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.) | |||
| Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer) | Yes | ||
| Hire professional staff | |||
| Hire tutors | Yes | ||
| Schedule writing courses | |||
| Schedule writing center | Yes | ||
| Place students into writing courses | |||
| Facilitate placement exam | |||
| Oversee curriculum development | |||
| Train professional staff | |||
| Train peer tutors | Yes | ||
| Advertise program | Yes | ||
| Oversee program budget | |||
| Tutor students | Yes | ||
| Plan events | Yes | ||
| Serve on university committees | Yes | Yes | |
| Maintain program website | Yes | ||
| Serve as an academic advisor | |||
| Offer student workshops | Yes | ||
| Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit | |||
| Other | Yes |