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WAC
History
Longview's
WAC program sprang to life under the auspices of the MCC Board of Trustees
who charged a Task Force on Educational Excellence chaired by then
chancellor, Dr. Wayne Giles. The report this task force rendered to the
board included the recommendation that "The teaching of effective
writing be the goal of every course offered by the colleges." The
recommendation was accompanied by a list of specific conditions required
for its implementation. What is perhaps most remarkable about this
document 20 years later is how prescient it is, especially in its
identifying as "conditions" what have since become the hallmarks
of Longview's WAC program and were the basis for receiving the recognition
by Time Magazine and The Princeton Review. These conditions
evolved into an initiative and the initiative evolved into our current
program. Some of those conditions and what grew from them are noted here:
From
the “Report of the Task Force on Initiatives Toward Educational Excellence”
(July, 1985):
Provide
ample opportunities for faculty to master necessary techniques for using
writing as a learning tool
Introductory WAC workshops, meetings/forums for exchanging ideas, ongoing
individual consultations (1986-present)
Provide
professional personnel to support faculty as they learn to teach in this
new way
Part-time WAC Coordinator (1986); Full-time WAC Coordinator (since 1989)
Provide
incentive for faculty members to change approach and spend time with student
writing by providing student help and decrease in other obligations
Writing Fellows Program (established in 1990) and noninstructional pay
units attached
to the teaching of Writing Intensive courses (began in Fall 2000)
Establish
writing center
Writing Center staffed by peer tutors (established in 1988)
Assess
and monitor writing instruction
This directive has evolved into some fairly large-scale and comprehensive
writing assessment efforts throughout Longview's General Education curriculum
beginning with the locally developed tool, General Education Communications
Assessment Tool (GENCAT), in 1994, and continuing with
the locally developed portfolio assessment, Writing Proficiency Across General Education (Writing
P.A.G.E.), in
2003.
Willingness
of the district administration to accept a possible decline in student
credit hours as a result of implementing the WAC program
Under the auspices of Learning Enhancement funding, WI courses are allowed to run at
lower than normal enrollments if necessary.
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