Little attention has been paid in composition journals and professional conferences to the practical problems associated with a writing program director's efforts to introduce an innovative composition curriculum within a traditional English department. A collaborative, problem solving approach to curriculum change is a practical way to proceed…

Describes the writing evaluation of an 11th-grade English class in which precourse and postcourse samples are graded by a team of English teachers. (EL)

Describes the Washington, D.C. Center's internship program for political science and English majors. (AEA)

In response to burgeoning nontraditional student enrollments in freshman composition at the University of New Orleans, the entire English faculty has begun to teach all levels of composition courses. Benefits from this development have included student appreciation, an improvement in faculty morale, and a tightening of academic standards. (DF)

Presents an address by the chairman of the Conference on College Composition and Communication, which reflects on the changing state of composition teaching and how it compares to the 1960s, an era when many composition teachers came of age with the discipline of composition and rhetoric. (TB)

Explores issues, problems, and procedures involved in large English departments which use portfolio assessment and where part-timers and full-timers need to collaborate in this process. Offers recommendations involving the relationship of part-time and full-time teachers in such programs. (SR)

Examines the restructuring of first-year composition at Iowa State University. Discusses the exodus of tenure-track faculty from first-year composition in the late 1970's and early 1980's; why upper administration is now mandating tenure-track faculty's return; why the department of English is cooperating; and potential risks in cooperating or not…

Despite what institutions and departments are doing to make adjunct instructors feel valued and a part of the college community, there are always two groups: the full-time faculty and the adjuncts. To feel valued, what an adjunct instructor might need more than a mentor, a name tag, or even a raise in pay, is to be considered a professional equal…

The English department faculty training program at Purdue University-Calumet, Indiana, designed a program that would provide their entire staff with the skills necessary to use computer-assisted instruction and word processing to teach all levels of writing. Phase one of the program was a semester-long class designed for regular faculty, beginner…

Recognizing that English majors need some preparation for a wider choice of employment opportunities, the Michigan State University English Department initiated an internship program in 1979 to offer students work experience, vocational advice, and practical tips for securing permanent employment. Although the choices for English intern positions…

Discusses the issue of hiring part-time faculty to teach college English courses. Describes how the English department at Pennsylvania State University was forced to deal with this problem. (MM)

At Wayne State University, a two-year research and curriculum effort, the Professional Writing Project (PWP), showed that English departments can better prepare students to write effectively for the workplace and increase writing faculty's research and teaching capabilities through collaborating with industry to plan a professional writing…

This paper paints the overall picture and contextualizes a project on K-16 articulation in southeastern Massachusetts. The paper first describes the project and then addresses three broad areas: the state climate in higher education in Massachusetts; the regional context of such a project within the southeastern area of the state; and the…

Discusses Ross Winterowd's pioneering efforts in establishment of graduate rhetoric programs; his efforts in training future high school teachers of writing; his high school textbook; founding of the Rhetoric Society of America; relations between the English department and the Rhetoric, Linguistics, and Literature program at the University of…

Discusses a process of acculturation in three stages by which fledgling Writing Program Administrators can be transformed into change agents: (1) critically reading the program to locate key allies, potential advocates, and proven adversaries; (2) implementing changes on an infrastructural level to convert positive relations among colleagues into…