AA/32/AS/24/UEPC - Pilot Writing Assessment Program

Effective Fall 2024

Pilot program, Creation of a Graduation Writing Assessment Committee

Purpose of the Graduation Writing Assessment Committee, GWAC

The main purpose of GWAC is to better understand, as a campus, what our students’ writing looks like at or near graduation to build and refine campuswide support for students and faculty teaching WP courses. The work of GWAC will also ensure that the university is engaging in writing assessment practices that keep us compliant with directives from the CO and with WASC but to do so in a way that implements best practices and a WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum) framework. In this way, GWAC can help departments, disciplines, and programs better understand the writing undergraduates are doing, to support faculty teaching writing courses, and to support writers across campus by utilizing findings to develop and inform campus resources.

The pilot program will be a one-year program that assesses student writing in four departments (2 departments in Fall 2024 and 2 departments in Spring 2025). Upon completion of the pilot the ad hoc GWAC committee will submit a report to UEPC that summarizes the process, lessons learned and changes that are needed to implement this program to assess student writing at or near graduation. UEPC will then share with the Academic Senate for approval of the program.

Charge of the Pilot Graduation Writing Assessment Committee:

1. Review writing at the department level according to guidelines laid out by the department/discipline under review

2. Work with departments to identify writing assignments to be collected and develop review criteria as appropriate.

3. Provide findings to departments

4. Provide generalized report to the campus community to be used to develop support for students and writing faculty.

5. Submit a year-end report to the UEPC, to include a summary of the year’s events and recommendations for next steps

Pilot Committee Membership:

• GWAR Coordinator (committee chair; standing member)
• Writing Program Director (standing member)
• Writing Center’s WAC (Writing Across the Curriculum) Coordinator (standing member) representing CAHSS just for the pilot.
• One member from each of these colleges: COS, CBA and COEKSW. Members will be full-time faculty who have experience teaching WP courses.

Implementation Timeline of One-Year Pilot & Institutionalization

Spring 2024

Present to Academic Senate for approval for the pilot program

Formation of GWAC Ad Hoc Pilot Committee, CoC will identify pilot committee members to receive released time in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.The ad hoc committee membership will be made up of one member from each college (COS, CBA and COEKSW, with the WAC coordinator representing CAHSS.)

The pilot committee will recruit a volunteer department from each College to submit materials. Two (1 and 2) volunteer departments will submit writing samples from Spring 2024 classes for Fall 2024 review. Then, the two other departments (3 and 4) will submit materials from Fall 2024 classes for Spring 2025 review. Departments will submit samples of writing from students who are at or near graduation. The GWAR Coordinator will be responsible for anonymizing collected materials and preparing them for review. The pilot committee will consult with the volunteer departments on writing assignment instructions and rubrics or guidelines for grading.

Fall 2024 (Pilot Semester 1)

• Review student writing samples from departments 1 and 2
• Generate findings and share with departments 1 and 2
• Gather feedback from departments 1 and 2 about process, experience, etc.
• Fine-tune processes and procedures to be applied in Spring 2025
• Compile a summary report for UEPC
• Collect materials at end of Fall 2024 semester from departments 3 and 4

Spring 2025 (Pilot Semester 2)

• Review materials from departments 3 and 4
• Generate findings and share with departments 3 and 4
• Collect feedback from departments 3 and 4 about process, experience, etc.
• Fine tune processes and procedures to be applied in Spring 2025 (point of institutionalization)
• Finalize revisions to the proposal based on committee and departmental feedback

Fall 2025

• Submission of a writing assessment program to UEPC for approval. This proposal will include a description of the process that will be used to determine what departments will participate in subsequent reviews.
• Submission to Academic Senate for approval to be extended beyond the pilot
• Add GWAC to CoC list and acquire membership as a sub-committee of UEPC for Spring 2026. This will require a constitutional change, so request goes to FAC and UEPC.

Fall 2026

• GWAC launches with full university support and three additional faculty members who are at large, full time and have taught WP courses.

Resources Needed for One-Year Pilot

The GWAR coordinator

• Will be responsible for collecting and anonymizing writing samples from WP courses.
• Will maintain records and correspondence.

Funding for pilot faculty

• 6 WTUs for Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 for 3 faculty: one from COS, CBA and COEKSW; the WAC and GWAR coordinator will be representing CAHSS. Release time support will be reassessed at the end of year one based on time and labor spent doing the work of this committee. A total of 18 WTUs are needed for the pilot. The pilot will result in a report at the end of AY 24-25 to present to UEPC with a recommendation for formation of the GWAC as a standing subcommittee of UEPC with membership drawn from the faculty through governance process. Each WTU is equivalent to 40 hours of work for a semester.
• Full funding for the pilot will be from existing one-time funds previously allocated to the WPST.

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