Texas A&M University-Commerce2013 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)

Other academic department

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)

Other academic department

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

No

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)

Yes

Is the graduate program part of the writing program or department? (n=157)

No

If not part of the writing program or department, what is the institutional home for the graduate writing program? (n=114)

Other academic department

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)

Other

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)

Other

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)

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)

There are other requirements where writing is 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)

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)

Yes

Which changes have taken place in regards to assessment? (n=437)

Other

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

No

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

No

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)

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 expand 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.

We are reimaginig our Writing Center to a "Center of Writing" that will incorporate tutoring and creative writing, new media training, etc.

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)

Second semester, first year

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

FYC

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

What is your program's placement mechanism?

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

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

Yes

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

Registrar

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

Are there explicit goals for FYC? (n=463)

Yes

Are FYC goals informed by the WPA Outcomes Statement? (n=416)

Yes

First-year writing/English composition--Curriculum

What is the content of the FYC requirement? See Note 5. (n=456)

Writing About Writing (WAW)

Is there a common syllabus for FYC courses? (n=457)

Yes

First-year writing/English composition--Enrollment Caps

What is the enrollment cap for honors sections of FYC? (n=261)

20

What is the enrollment cap for regular sections of FYC? (n=451)

22

What is the enrollment cap for basic writing sections of FYC? (n=286)

>12

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 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%YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
1-5%
6-15%Yes
16-25%
26-35%
36-50%YesYes
51-60%
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 WPAYes
Required faculty development workshopsYes
Optional graduate pedagogy courseYes
Optional faculty development workshopsYes
Individual meetings with the WPA/WCDYes
OtherYes

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

Placement test

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

Peer tutoring

Other

Identifying and supporting diversely-prepared students--Basic Writing

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

Yes

What percentage of the student body is placed into basic writing? See Note 4. (n=164)

20

How are students placed into basic writing? (n=207)

Placement test

How do students exit basic writing? (n=207)

Other

Is there a director of basic writing? (n=209)

No

What is the structure of the basic writing program? See Glossary for terms used. (n=205)

Studio model

How many levels of basic writing do you have? (n=197)

1

What is the curriculum of the basic writing courses? (n=203)

Reading and writing

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)

No

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

Peer tutoring

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)

No

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

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)

Other

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

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

Yes

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

Yes

How are the goals assessed? (n=423)

Center usage statistics

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

Face-to-face consultations

Online feedback via e-mail (asynchronous)

Assistance with Powerpoint or other presentation software

Assistance with new media

Writing centers--Consultations

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

Yes

Writing centers--Course-based Peer Tutoring

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

No

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)

Other department

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

Chair of the department

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

No

If the FYWD director was not hired for this position, how did he/she assume these responsibilities? (n=128)

Previous director retired or left the position.

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

Yes

If others help to administer the FYW program, how many? (n=347)

1

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

Separate writing center director or coordinator (WCD)

To whom does the WCD or LCD report? (n=402)

Chair of the department

FYWD

Was the WCD or LCD director hired for this position? (n=401)

Yes

Are there others who help to administer the writing center? (n=403)

Yes

If others help to administer the writing center, how many? (n=326)

4

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
1-1Yes
1-2 or 2-1
2-2Yes
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)WAC director (n=63)WCD (n=392)
Teach courses in the first-year writing program
Teach courses in the writing program/department (Not FYW)
Teach courses outside the writing program/department
Assess all or some aspects of the writing programYes
Assess the development of student writing on campus
Conduct faculty development with faculty across the disciplines
Conduct TA trainingYesYes
Consult with individual faculty across the disciplines
Consult with departments across the disciplines
Supervise professional staff (writing center director, asst.director, admin asst.)Yes
Supervise tutors (professional and/or peer)
Hire professional staff
Hire tutorsYes
Schedule writing coursesYes
Schedule writing centerYes
Place students into writing courses
Facilitate placement exam
Oversee curriculum developmentYes
Train professional staffYes
Train peer tutorsYes
Advertise programYes
Oversee program budget
Tutor students
Plan eventsYesYes
Serve on university committeesYes
Maintain program websiteYes
Serve as an academic advisorYes
Offer student workshopsYes
Oversee exemption and/or transfer credit
OtherYes