2006-2008 WAC Survey Questions

Below please find the text to the 2006-2008 National WAC Survey. This survey is currently closed. For further information on the status of this project, please contact Tara Porter at tsporter@ucdavis.edu

 

We would appreciate your taking a few minutes of your time to complete the following set of questions about the present or past involvement of your institution in WAC-related activities. This survey is being sent to almost all institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Canada, our aim to derive a fuller picture of WAC program activity than at any previous time. (A separate survey is being conducted among higher education institutions in other countries.) When survey results are published, they will help institutions and faculty understand trends in program design, emphasis, and administration.

As of June 2008, we have received almost 1,300 responses to this survey. If your institution has multiple campuses (and you feel that your responses vary across campuses), please tell us.

1.    Does your institution have an initiative or program dedicated to student writing across disciplines, e.g., WAC or “writing in the disciplines” (WID)?

___Yes ___No

2.    Did your institution have in the past an initiative or program dedicated to student writing across disciplines, e.g., WAC or “writing in the disciplines” (WID)?

___Yes ___No

3.    Type of Institution:

___Community College (cc)

 ___M.A.-granting university (MA)

 ___Four-year College (4 yr)

___PhD-granting university (PhD)

___Other:

4.    If you said “yes,” please complete the rest of the survey or give it to the most appropriate

person. If “no,” does your institution have plans to begin such a program?

___Yes ___No

5.    Comments:

6.    Contact Information:

7.    Contact name:

8.    Title (e.g., director of):

9.    Department:

10. Institution (required):

11. Address:

12. Phone:

13. Email:

14. Number of Students in Institution

15. Name(s) of Your WAC-relevant Program(s):

16. Web Address of Relevant Program(s):

17. Program leader primarily reports to:

___Department Chair

 ___Academic Vice President

___College or Division Head

 ___Other:

18. Program category at present (check all that apply):

___Writing across the curriculum

___WAC emphasis in writing center

___ Writing in the disciplines

___WAC in course models

___Writing and speaking across the curriculum (CAC)

            ___Other:

19. Number of years program has been in existence:

___Just starting

___1–5 years

___6–10 years

___11–15 years

___more than 15

20. Number of years current director has led program:

21.  Course release for program leader. Course(s) per year:

22. Academic rank of program leader:

___Associate/Full Professor

___Administrative Faculty

___Assistant Professor

___Part-time, Non-tenure line

___Full-time, Non-tenure line

 ___Other:

23. Program emphases (check all that apply):

___Writing and/or speaking to learn

___Applying new technologies to learning

___Learning disciplinary conventions

___Critical thinking of writing and/or speaking

 ___Proficiency in standard written English

___Preparing students for the workplace

 ___Other:

24. Sources of program funding (check all that apply):

___Internal—department

___External—government agency

___Internal—college or division

___External—foundation or private donor

___Internal—central administration

___Internal—cross-college system

___Other:

25. Components of faculty development (check all that apply):

___A faculty seminar

___Collaborative faculty research projects

___Faculty workshops

___Informal but regular gatherings

 

 ___Program-sponsored travel to conferences

___Follow-up interview or meeting with faculty

 ___In-house program-related publication(s)

 ___Other:

26. Participation in program by (check all that apply):

___Writing center

___Writing Fellows or TA’s

___An all-university writing and/or writing and speaking committee

___Writing and/or writing and speaking committee with internal and external members

___Technology support and instruction

___Library/research instruction

___Other:

27. Importance of electronic technology in teaching in your program:

___Important in the institution but not essential in your program

___Important in the institution and essential in your program

___Not important in the institution but essential in your program

___Minimally or not important

28. Curricular elements of WAC program

a.     WAC or CAC first-year composition course

___Now

 ___At one time

 ___None

b.     Lower-division writing-intensive courses taught in other departments (including first

year seminars):

___Now

___At one time

___None

c.     Upper-division writing-intensive courses taught by English Department or composition

program faculty for students across disciplines

___Now

___At one time

 ___None

d.     Upper-division writing-intensive courses taught in other departments

___Now

 ___At one time

 ___None

e.     Writing classes attached to courses in other discipline

___Now

___At one time

 ___None

f.      Other:

___Now

 ___At one time

 ___None

29. Program assessment (check all that apply):

 

___Ongoing formal assessment by institutional committee

___State or regional mandated assessment

___Assessment explicitly targets student writing proficiency

___Assessment explicitly targets faculty development components

___Other:

30. Comments (optional):

31. Thank you! Would you like to be notified of results when published?

___Yes

 ___No

All survey responses are confidential, for data-gathering purposes only. If researchers wish to use names of institutions or names of specific respondents in reporting any data from the survey responses at conferences or in publications, permission will be asked and received from the particular respondents before the names may be used.