ASU Writing Programs Self-Study and Review

In April 2010, ASU Writing Programs hosted a team from the Consultant-Evaluator Service of the Council of Writing Program Administrators. The Consultant-Evaluator visit was the culmination of several months of preparation that included an extensive self-study process whereby Writing Programs faculty and administrators assessed the program from within. A committee comprising members involved in all areas of Writing Programs conducted research about characteristics of the program that included existing curriculum, faculty working conditions, program partners, physical facilities, and more. The committee’s research formed the basis of a report (which can be accessed below) presented to the Consultant-Evaluators in anticipation of their visit.

Dr. Charles Schuster (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Dr. Lil Brannon (University of North Carolina, Charlotte) visited ASU’s Tempe campus for three days at the end of April to evaluate Writing Programs’ greatest strengths and to assess some of the major challenges the program faces moving forward. Drs. Schuster and Brannon held several meetings with Writing Programs teachers, graduate students, English department faculty and administrators, and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences administrators, and used the information they gathered in those meetings to augment their observations. In addition, Dr. Schuster visited an English 102 class and surveyed students about their experiences in Writing Programs’ courses.

Following their visit, the Consultant-Evaluators prepared a report that included their assessments of the program’s strengths and major challenges, and offered suggestions for addressing the challenges in the coming years.  Among their recommendations were: (1) redesigning the program’s administrative structure to strengthen tenure-track faculty members’ contributions to the program, (2) developing additional Writing Programs’ courses for undergraduate and graduate students, (3) designing and putting into practice an ongoing assessment plan to ensure students’ needs continue to be met, (4) developing a research focus for faculty involved in the program, (5) improving both internal and external communication concerning Writing Programs, and (6) improving the visibility of Writing Programs in the university and to outside stakeholders (e.g., other programs, the field of rhetoric and composition, and public audiences).

Since the Consultant-Evaluators’ visit, Writing Programs has begun to develop strategies for meeting and exceeding the recommendations in the report. In Fall 2010, the program took the first steps in building an assessment plan that adapts elements of Bob Broad’s model of Dynamic Criteria Mapping. As well, full-time faculty members are becoming more involved in Writing Programs, including leading Teaching Associate training and teaching Writing Programs classes. And members of the original self-study committee are determining ways to meet other challenges. In the coming months and years, Writing Programs will continue to develop effective strategies for achieving our aspiration to be an exemplar which involves modeling effective practices in writing curriculum and faculty development, conducting research on writing instruction through partnerships with other programs at ASU and with other college writing programs, and performing our values of sustainability, diversity, and community in our program policies and practices.

For any questions about the Self-Study process, the Consultant-Evaluator visit, or ongoing efforts to meet Writing Programs’ goals, feel free to contact Director of Writing Programs, Dr. Shirley Rose.