Student Perceptions of the Value of WAC

Abstract

Introduction Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) programs in colleges and universities are generally implemented because of faculty concerns about student writing (Young, 1994). Although the impetus for WAC programs may be concern about student writing, the programs themselves are frequently based on a faculty development model (Gorman, 1986; Russell, 1992; Walvoord, 1996), often through workshops that introduce faculty to the theory and practice of teaching with writing. This faculty development serves several purposes, the most basic of which is to have an impact on students by changing the attitudes and practices of their teachers (Young, 1994; Young & Fulwiler, 1986). The assumption behind these cross-curricular writing programs is that education is essentially delivered to students through faculty (Gorman, 1986; Walvoord, 1996). With the spread of WAC through increasing numbers of colleges and universities, there has been a corresponding increase in questions about WAC outcome. At the simplest possible level, WAC directors can count numbers of workshop participants in order to demonstrate campuswide impact. Somewhat more sophisticated evaluation efforts look at faculty satisfaction. Such studies typically show high participant satisfaction with WAC workshops (Hughes-Wiener & Jensen-Cekalla, 1991; Smithson & Sorrentino, 1987). Faculty often report an intention to make changes in their classrooms, and, in many cases, follow-up surveys indicate that these changes have been implemented (Bureau, 1993; Smithson & Sorrentino, 1987). Researchers find that it is possible to measure progress toward faculty development goals and that such goals, in fact, are apparently being met. It is comparatively easy to describe the impact of faculty development on faculty; it is much more difficult to examine how developing faculty affects their students (Walvoord, 1996). Furthermore, there are other complications common to any study of student outcome. For example, how do we isolate the impact of WAC from normal maturation? Student Perceptions of the Value of WAC