This presentation shares the process an online college undertook to build college-wide consensus and create a Writing Across the Curriculum program in response to identified needs. It shares this program’s evolution from a model centered on strategically placed writing-enhanced courses to one that seeds writing best practices throughout the curriculum.
Presentation outcomes are as follows:
- Describe use of the VALUE Rubric to conduct a college-wide student writing assessment.
- Explain the process undertaken to build consensus across schools and stakeholder groups.
- Share the steps taken to create a WAC program.
- Explore the supports and resources needed to implement a successful WAC program.
This presentation shares the journey of an online non-profit college to create a Writing Across the Curriculum program in response to identified needs for improvement of student writing. It shares this program’s evolution from a model centered on strategically placed writing-enhanced courses to one that seeds writing best practices throughout the curriculum. Many steps were undertaken to build college-wide consensus and move forward. These steps will be shared, with lessons learned.
In 2012, a not-for-profit online degree-completion college, conducted a comprehensive assessment of student writing using the AAC&U Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) rubric. This assessment revealed areas for improvement in the writing abilities of graduates. In response, the college created a Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) committee, tasked with developing initiatives to support student writing at the college. The group faced several challenges in addressing this need. First, the committee needed to obtain buy-in from five largely autonomous schools and create a shared vision for WAC. Second, since the college is a transfer-friendly degree completion college and students could transfer most of their degree credits, interventions needed to ensure students were exposed to writing best practices. Third, resources needed to be acquired to support our work.
Developing our WAC program entailed four phases. In the initial phase, the college brought together all stakeholders to find common ground and to develop a vision all could agree upon. Research into teaching and learning best practices around writing were gathered and examined in the context of this college’s student population. Phase two, the group’s first venture, involved assembling a team of invested faculty from across the college to develop Writing Enriched Courses within their largest degree programs. The third phase, begun in 2018 and currently underway, seeks to expand the vision for WAC well beyond Writing-Enriched Classes to include strategically placed writing opportunities into all classes at the college. Given the college’s credit-aggregation model and low residency requirement, this was seen as the only way to ensure that all students receive a solid grounding in written communication. This phase has four pillars:
- Redesign required writing courses to scaffold into Writing in the Disciplines focused activities located throughout degree curricula.
- Train faculty, staff, and administrators in WAC best practices, especially in Writing in the Disciplines, with support of grant funding.
- Hire a dedicated Writing Center director to work closely with faculty to support integration of writing best practices in their courses.
- Collaborate with the award-winning Excelsior Online Writing Lab to develop student-facing writing resources and integrate them into the college’s online classes.
This presentation will be interactive. We will tell our story and will invite attendees to share theirs. Attendees will have the opportunity to brainstorm strategies they can use in their own institutions to support improved student writing and robust faculty feedback. Attendees will receive resources to support their own WAC work.