The Online Writing Program Administrator (OWPA)

2017 ◽  
pp. 188-201
Author(s):  
Jessie C. Borgman
Keyword(s):  
Writing Programs ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Online Writing ◽  
Teaching Online ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Program Administrator ◽  
Online Writing Instruction ◽  
Writing Program Administrator ◽  
Writing Instructors

This chapter explores issues specific writing program administration considering the huge influx of online writing courses across the country. The author argues that a pedagogical shift has occurred that requires a change in administering writing programs: teaching online is different that teaching face-to-face. Considering this influx and pedagogical shift, the author argues that in the age of MOOCs, focusing on faculty support and the development and maintenance of online writing courses (OWCs) becomes imperative. The central idea of the chapter is that in order for online writing instructors to focus on what they do best (teaching), they need to be led by someone with online writing instruction (OWI) experience, who is trained and qualified to lead a writing program that includes OWCs. The author argues for the development of a new WPA role, an Online Writing Program Administrator (OWPA), in order to distinguish a brand (a concept from Keith Rhodes, 2010) of OWI, which is distinctly different than the instruction and content offered by MOOCs.

Conducting Programmatic Assessments of Online Writing Instruction

2017 ◽  
pp. 385-405
Author(s):  
Nicki Litherland Baker ◽  
Elisabeth H. Buck
Keyword(s):  
Writing Instruction ◽  
Position Statement ◽  
Effective Practices ◽  
College Composition ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Online Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Online Writing Instruction ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

Individuals seeking to evaluate the efficacy of online writing instruction (OWI) within a larger writing program must consider the unique challenges and opportunities of this method of teaching. This chapter describes the use of the Conference on College Composition and Communication's “A Position Statement of Principles and Example Effective Practices for Online Writing Instruction” (2013) as a framework for assessment. The discussion focuses on the methodological process that led to the implementation of these principles in a local programmatic study, as well as the results of this analysis. This chapter ultimately argues that the application of the CCCC's principles can be particularly beneficial for administrators seeking an accessible heuristic for assessing fully online and hybrid writing courses.

scholarly journals The Writing Program Administrator as Interstitial Radical

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 27-37
Author(s):  
Frank Farmer
Keyword(s):  
Personal Experience ◽  
Research University ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Program Administrator ◽  
Critical Scholarship ◽  
Neoliberal Ideology ◽  
Writing Program Administrator ◽  
The One

Drawing upon personal experience as a writing program administrator at a research university, and marshaling a body of critical scholarship that examines how neoliberal ideology in the academy might be opposed, the author discusses interstitial resistance in the form of a curricular alternative--namely, the outsider genre of zines. Because zines typically embody a "worldview dramatically at odds with the [one] cultivated and reinforced by institutions of higher education," zines offer students an alternative point of view not usually found in standard writing curricula.While the author uses zines as a central illustration, the purpose here is to encourage readers to find the "cracks and fissures" in their own institutions so that the insinuations of neoliberal policies might be resisted through teaching and administrative initiatives.

Arguing for Proactivity

2017 ◽  
pp. 106-122
Author(s):  
Patricia Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Composition Studies ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Online Writing ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Proactive Approach ◽  
Online Writing Instruction

The field of composition studies has come to value online writing instruction's potential because it has matured theoretically. Despite its status as a viable means of instruction, research shows that those who teach it fail to comply with the obligation of accessibility and inclusivity in their online courses. When meeting ideals for accessible and inclusive online writing instruction remains unimportant and difficult to put into practice, instructors fail students with disabilities. The author argues that instructors need to advocate for a proactive approach at their institutions to address the issue of not providing accessible and inclusive online writing courses. A proactive approach supports instructors in attending to the online learning environment before launching a course so that it meets the needs of students with disabilities. This essay offers ideas for framing a conversation to address the issue described above and to encourage establishing a culture of proactivity, and it provides a vision for the features of a proactive culture.

Crowdsourcing the curriculum

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie White-Farnham ◽  
Carolyn Caffrey Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Student Performance ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
First Year Writing ◽  
Writing Assignments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Literacy Outcomes ◽  
Writing Program Administrator ◽  
Writing Instructors

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale, process and results of an integrated curricular intervention for information literacy instruction in a first-year writing program. Design/methodology/approach – The information literacy coordinator collaborated with writing instructors and the Writing Program Administrator on the initial design of information literacy outcomes. The librarian and instructors created a modular curriculum with multiple lessons and activities aligned to each outcome. The curriculum was housed in the course management system for easy updating and distribution. Finally, instructors taught the embedded information literacy activities for two semesters and measured student improvement through a pre-/post-survey and a rubric-based assessment of students’ citation and documentation. Findings – Students saw significant gains over the course of the semester in their ability to use Boolean operators, identify the purpose of sources and understand citation styles. As a related and valuable measure, writing program assessment results showed an improvement in students’ performance in citation and documentation in researched writing assignments after a one-year implementation of the intervention. Writing instructors reported an increased awareness of information literacy pedagogy and intentionality in their teaching. Finally, the librarian was able to leverage this collaboration to highlight the teaching roles of librarians beyond the one-shot. Originality/value – Well-known temporal and logistical limits exist in regard to embedded, one-shot and multi-shot approaches to information literacy. The latter two are especially unsustainable when implemented at scale, such as within a first-year writing program that serves hundreds or thousands of students each semester. This study documents a faculty development approach in which writing instructors integrate information literacy (IL) into their own instruction. This offers a model that makes explicit IL processes and skills to writing instructors, results in high student performance and allows especially the small college librarian to manage his/her other strategic information literacy partnerships.

scholarly journals MAKING IT AS A FEMALE WRITING PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR

2021 ◽  
pp. 245-263
Author(s):  
Angela Clark-Oates ◽  
Bre Garrett ◽  
Magdelyn Hammond Helwig ◽  
Aurora Matzke ◽  
Sherry Rankins-Robertson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Writing Program ◽  
Program Administrator ◽  
Writing Program Administrator

Undergraduate Technical and Professional Writing Programs: A Question of Status

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald H. Cunningham ◽  
Jeanette G. Harris
Keyword(s):  
Creative Writing ◽  
Technical Writing ◽  
Professional Writing ◽  
Writing Programs ◽  
Writing Program Administration ◽  
Writing Program ◽  
Writing Courses ◽  
Certificate Programs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Wide Range

The results of our recent survey of the membership of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Associated Writing Programs, and the Council of Writing Program Administration indicate the relative health of undergraduate writing programs (major, concentration, or certificate programs, not service courses) in American four-year universities and colleges. During the past five years there has been a significant increase in the number of undergraduate writing programs, including technical and professional writing. But responses to our survey also suggest that while undergraduate technical and professional writing programs comprise the second largest group of programs (behind creative writing) they are not increasing as rapidly as a new kind of undergraduate writing program—a broad-based program that students can complete by taking a wide range of creative writing, composition, journalism, and technical and professional writing courses. The future seems unclear for traditional undergraduate technical and professional writing programs, and faculties need to examine their options in designing or redesigning their programs.

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