This article reports on a cross-institutional, mixed-methods research study designed to gather data on first year writers' language backgrounds at three North American universities. Researchers administered a language survey to 1,870 first year writing students and led follow-up focus groups with 32 participants. Researchers utilized three methods…

The field of higher education has, until very recently, seldom been invaded by the educational researcher. Efficiency tests and statistical measurements have been applied to the work of lower schools, and the literature recording the results with increasing frequency. The literature of higher education however, is still predominantly of the…