CSUDH Writing intensive (WI) policy survey University writing committee (UWC) Faculty forums: March 7 & 13, 2019

Why revise the wi policy? Existing policy at CSUDH 2 course graduation requirement WI policy is currently NOT implementable Not all departments offer WI courses Instrumentalist Impact on students Intensive, discipline-based writing instruction WI course coding National norms and standards in higher ed

WI Policy faculty survey History Development Survey launched Fall 2018

Survey Response 156 respondents 150 completed surveys Hundreds of additional detailed comments

Survey results: should csudh have a wi requirement? The vast majority of respondents favor maintaining a WI graduation requirement 57% favor 2-course WI requirement 31% favor more than 2 course WI requirement

Comments: should csudh have a wi requirement? Virtually all respondents indicated the importance of writing and sustained writing instruction across all of the years of a student’s academic career Many faculty members expressed concern about the quality of student writing and the need for a WI requirement that can help address students’ needs systematically Numerous comments indicated that a preferable model would require students to take a WI course in GE and a second upper division WI course in the major Numerous respondents also expressed the need for more writing and writing instruction in nearly all courses— not just WI courses—in order to provide students with the skills and experience they need to become competent, successful disciplinary writers

Survey results: Prereqs to WI courses Virtually all respondents (more than 90%) believe satisfaction of the lower division GE written communication requirement (ENG 110, ENG 112, or ENG 108-109) should be a prerequisite to WI courses

Survey results: lower division wi courses The majority of respondents (more than 70%) favor allowing lower division WI courses in the major with lesser requirements for the number of pages produced (65%)

Survey results: WI course caps The vast majority of faculty (more than 97%) believe that WI courses with one instructor of record should be capped at no more than 25 students Even if WI instructors and students are supported by a GTA or embedded tutor, the majority of respondents (65%) still believe WI courses should be capped at no more than 25 students

Survey results: types & number of assignments Respondents indicated that many different assignments, genres, and modes of writing should “count” toward the total number of pages required in a WI course, with genres/types/modes of accepted writing tied to disciplinary conventions and expectations More than 93% of respondents agree that WI policy should allow multiple short writing assignments to be combined into a longer paper or project in WI designated courses

Survey results: Feedback & assessment More than 87% of respondents believe that instructor feedback and revision should be required on at least 50% of the total required pages produced in a WI course with at least one required rough draft per assignment The majority of respondents (81%) agreed that WI courses should require the use of a rubric to assess student writing

Survey results: portfolio methodology More than 80% of respondents indicated they would be likely to use portfolio methodology in a WI course if they received training in portfolio teaching Conversely, more than 62% of respondents indicated they would be unlikely to use portfolio methodology in the absence of such training

Alternative models Writing-Enriched Curriculum (WEC) Infuses significant, discipline-specific writing experiences in both lower- and upper division courses throughout the curriculum WI Requirement & Writing Pedagogy Include more specific requirements or stipulations regarding the discipline-based teaching (versus assigning) of writing

Q & A Your questions? Additional feedback or commentary Next steps

Wi policy Survey: Drawing winners! Melissa Chan: $100 Amazon gift card Ed Curammeng: $50 Amazon gift card Doreen Delgado: $50 gift card to the DH Bookstore Kari Pederson: $25 Starbucks gift card Hyo Joon Chang: $25 Starbucks gift card Bin Tang: $25 Starbucks gift card

Thank you for participating in the UWC faculty forums! Contact: Siskanna Naynaha, UWC Chair & WAC Coordinator LIB 5506 x3359 snaynaha@csudh.edu