George Mason University2013 Institution Survey
Sites of writing--General Description
What is the institutional home of the writing program or department? (n=248)
English Department
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)
Office of Chief Academic Officer
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)
Office of Chief Academic Officer
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)
English department
If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the graduate writing program? (n=114)
English department
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
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)
Mid-level writing course
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)
No
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)
Data used to encourage faculty to participate in WAC.
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)
Yes
Which changes have taken place in regards to assessment? (n=437)
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=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
Were there changes to the staffing of the writing program or center over the past 10 years? (n=595)
Yes
Which changes to the staffing of the writing program or center have taken place over the past 10 years? (n=412)
Full-time, non-tenure-line teaching positions were added.
Tenure-line teaching positions were added.
Peer tutoring positions were added.
Graduate student tutoring positions were added.
Other
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.
Assessment practices are likely to continue to expand. Curriculum, especially for multilingual writers (new stretch courses, I hope), likely to continue to change/expand. New PhD program in rhet/comp to bring additional TAs, fewer adjunct faculty, perhaps additional tenureline faculty. Writing center peer tutoring to continue to expand. Writing center director may convert to tenure-line; writing center may move report line out of English to Provost.
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
What is your program's placement mechanism?
| FYWS (n=18) | FYC (n=373) | |
|---|---|---|
| SAT/ACT | ||
| AP/IB | Yes | |
| CLEP | ||
| In-house exam | Yes | |
| Directed self-placement | ||
| Portfolio | ||
| Dual enrollment/ transfer | ||
| Other |
First-year writing/English composition--Goals and Assessment
How are the goals for FYW courses assessed?
| FYWS (n=66) | FYC (n=381) | |
|---|---|---|
| Paper portfolio | ||
| E-portfolio | ||
| Random sample | Yes | |
| Exam | ||
| Professor evaluation | ||
| None | ||
| Course evaluation | ||
| Student survey | ||
| Other |
Who participates in the assessment of the goals for FYW courses?
| FYWS (n=53) | FYC (n=326) | |
|---|---|---|
| WPA | Yes | |
| Writing faculty | Yes | |
| Institutional faculty | ||
| Outside evaluators | ||
| English faculty | ||
| Department chair | ||
| Other |
First-year writing/English composition--Curriculum
What is the other content of the FYC requirement?
I suppose "genres" comes close, but I refuse to check a box that has "modes" included in it. As long as instructors' syllabi meet our learning goals, they may choose a theme or a WAW focus if they wish.
First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps
First-year writing/English composition--Staffing
In the 2011-12 academic year, what percentage of FYC courses were taught by: See Note 2a. (n=422)
| 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 | ||||||
| 1-5% | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||
| 6-15% | |||||||||||||
| 16-25% | Yes | Yes | |||||||||||
| 26-35% | |||||||||||||
| 36-50% | |||||||||||||
| 51-60% | Yes | ||||||||||||
| 61-75% | |||||||||||||
| 76-85% | |||||||||||||
| 86-99% | |||||||||||||
| 100% |
Is there faculty or professional development available for those teaching FYC? (n=457)
Yes
What form does the faculty development take for FYW faculty?
| FYWS (n=70) | FYC (n=373) | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 FYC receive additional compensation? (n=411)
Sometimes
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
Admissions office/ student affairs referral
Advisor referral
Faculty referral
Student self-referral
What types of supports are available to those students? (n=489)
Special sections of FYW
Peer tutoring
Professional tutoring, not the WPA or WCD
Tutoring from the WPA or WCD
Workshops
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
Peer tutoring
Professional tutoring, not the WPA or WCD
Tutoring from the WPA or WCD
Workshops
What percentage of the student body is placed into ELL writing courses? See Note 4. (n=160)
2
How are students identified and/or placed into ELL writing courses? (n=239)
Admissions office/ atudent affairs referral
Directed self-placement
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
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)
Yes
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)
Yes
Does your institution require all students to take a mid-level writing course(s)? (n=304)
Yes
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)
No
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
What form of assessment takes place of the WI goals? (n=149)
No assessment takes place
What are the criteria for a WI course? (n=184)
Number of pages or words written
Revision
Time discussing writing In class
Written or verbal feedback from instructor
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
If faculty attend a seminar or workshop, how are they compensated? (n=129)
They do not receive compensation.
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Major
The undergraduate and graduate writing major and minor--Description of Undergraduate Minor
What areas of writing can students specialize in as part of the minor? (n=312)
Rhetoric/ composition
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)
Yes
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)
English department
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
How are the goals assessed? (n=423)
Student feedback forms
Center usage statistics
Other
What services does the writing center offer? (n=610)
Face-to-face consultations
Online tutoring via Skype or instant messaging (synchronous)
Online feedback via e-mail (asynchronous)
Tutoring in other subject areas
Other
What other services does the writing center offer?
Workshops, Invited presentations, weekly write-ins for graduate student thesis and dissertation writers, tutoring support for writing retreats, tutoring for multilingual writers provided by ESL specialist tutors
Writing centers--Consultations
How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=440)
2,521
How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Spring of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=440)
2,119
How many face-to-face consultations were conducted in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=428)
506
How many online consultations were conducted in the Fall of 2011? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=427)
507
How many online consultations were conducted in the Spring of 2012? See Note 2b & 4. (n=427)
467
How many online consultations were conducted in the Summer of 2012? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=425)
156
What percentage of the undergraduate student body had a writing center consultation during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=316)
8
How many writing center consultations did your center conduct with graduate students during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=184)
1,624
What percentage of the graduate student body had a writing center consultation during the 2011-12 academic year? See Notes 2a & 4. (n=122)
3
What is the average length of a consultation or tutorial session offered? (n=574)
45 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
During the fall of 2011, what percentage of the writing center consultants were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=449)
33
During the fall of 2011, what percentage of the writing center consultants were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=228)
67
During the spring of 2012, what percentage of the writing center consultants were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=450)
33
During the spring of 2012, what percentage of the writing center consultants were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=228)
67
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the fall of 2011 were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=448)
10
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the fall of 2011 were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=227)
20
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the spring of 2012 were undergraduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=449)
10
How many consultants who worked in the writing center during the spring of 2012 were graduate students? See Notes 2b & 4. (n=227)
20
How are consultants working in the writing center initally trained?
| Undergraduate students (n=505) | Graduate students (n=251) | |
|---|---|---|
| Full-credit course | ||
| Half-credit course | Yes | |
| Weekly meetings | Yes | |
| Monthly meetings | ||
| Workshops before the semester | Yes | Yes |
| No training required | ||
| Other |
What on-going professional development opportunities are offered for consultants working in the writing center?
| Undergraduate students (n=461) | Graduate students (n=237) | |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance at national conferences | ||
| Attendance at regional conferences | Yes | Yes |
| Presenting at national conferences | ||
| Presenting at regional conferences | Yes | |
| Reading professional journals | Yes | Yes |
| Outside speakers | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly meetings | ||
| Semester inservice or workshop | Yes | Yes |
| Written reflections on daily and/or semester work | Yes | Yes |
| Meet with director | ||
| No opportunities available | ||
| Other | Yes |
How are consultants working in the writing center compensated?
| Undergraduate students (n=509) | Graduate students (n=263) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly wage | Yes | |
| Stipend | Yes | |
| Tuition waver | Yes | |
| 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
Administrative structures
Who has primary responsibility for administering first-year writing requirement? (n=565)
FYWD
Who has primary responsibility for administering the writing center? (n=546)
Separate writing center director or coordinator (WCD)
What is the teaching load for writing administrators?
| Average faculty member (n=501) | FYWD (n=265) | WAC director (n=62) | WCD (n=387) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-0 | ||||
| 0-1 | ||||
| 1-1 | Yes | |||
| 1-2 or 2-1 | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2-2 | Yes | |||
| 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 | ||||
| Other | ||||
| Varies |
What are the job responsibilities for writing administrators?
| FYWD (n=267) | WAC director (n=63) | WCD (n=392) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teach courses in the first-year writing program | Yes | Yes | |
| Teach courses in the writing program/department (Not FYW) | Yes | Yes | 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.) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer) | Yes | ||
| Hire professional staff | Yes | Yes | |
| Hire tutors | Yes | ||
| Schedule writing courses | |||
| Schedule writing center | Yes | ||
| Place students into writing courses | |||
| Facilitate placement exam | |||
| Oversee curriculum development | Yes | ||
| Train professional staff | Yes | ||
| Train peer tutors | Yes | ||
| Advertise program | Yes | ||
| Oversee program budget | Yes | Yes | |
| Tutor students | |||
| Plan events | Yes | Yes | |
| Serve on university committees | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Maintain program website | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Serve as an academic advisor | |||
| Offer student workshops | Yes | ||
| Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit | Yes | ||
| Other | Yes | Yes |