During the last four years, the English Department at Idaho State University embarked on an ambitious program of change in their writing program. The English Department established a cross-curricular writing course as a new, required course to bridge the gap between the freshman and junior years; a remedial writing course as a new, required course…

Compares the structure of the headship of an English department with that of a chair, and then discusses the implementation of a chair.

In the past 5 years, the University of Hawaii (UH) English Department has undergone significant changes in curriculum, staff, and students. Freshman English was formerly taught by lecturers, but is now the shared responsibility of all professors on the English faculty. The maximum class enrollment has been decreased from 25 students to 20.…

English department members at Augustana College decided to make writing a college-wide concern. They began by attempting to change the perceptions of the faculty, including that of the English department, which consisted of members trained entirely in literature rather than in composition. The approach to the rest of the faculty began with an…

Addressing the issue of testing and evaluation in English at the university level, this paper focuses on the development and use of the English Placement Test developed by the California State University system. The discussion of this testing program is placed within a framework of four testing principles: testing is an essential part of learning…

Writing teachers at the University of Oregon have established working relations in three different ways with teachers outside their department. First, they have set up sections of a required composition course to be taught in conjunction with courses in other disciplines; workshops to develop skills in handling students' writing are conducted for…

Although writing today generally is perceived as process, college English departments are still deeply rooted in the concept of writing as product. Hiring depends upon product in terms of letters of inquiry, vitae, and credentials; retention, promotion, and merit raises rest on product in the form of publications, grants, awards, and teacher…

Following a discussion of the advantages of having everyone in an English Department--teaching assistants, junior faculty, and senior staff--teach composition courses, specific qualities desired in a composition instructor are suggested in this speech. These instructors should include: (1) those willing to insist that students emerge from…

Presents a skeptical perspective on the English teaching profession and the educational system in general. Argues that the alleged educational crisis is in fact an encompassing social crisis, necessitating teachers to teach from a social and political perspective. (MM)

English department heads often find themselves walking a tightrope, trying to keep the various elements of their departments in balance. Yet despite the diversity of interests, English departments should maintain a united house. In fact, separating disciplines--such as writing and literature--into different departments would be negative for both…

The advantages of cooperative education for English departments and the role of the faculty member as a consultant for the program are discussed, based on the experience of Northeastern University. Attention is directed to starting this type of program in the English department, the consultant's role as a catalyst, placing English majors, and…

Three common policies used by English departments in Kuwait universities to accommodate the students in appropriate course types and levels are discussed and compared from a practical perspective. The three policies are concerned with placement tests and remedial courses and are intended to: (1) place students with high scores on the standardized…

The role of high school English department heads as active leaders and departmental advocates, as well as their role in improving their departments' composition programs, is examined in this paper. The first section provides an overview of department heads' basic responsibilities, noting the need for them to have an active role in setting…

This paper provides the results of a survey, conducted in 1991-92, on the use of adjunct faculty in the English and business departments at all 64 campuses of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. A total of seven English department chairs and eight business department chairs responded to the survey. It was found that, on average, the…

The English Department at the Allegheny Campus of the Community College of Allegheny County, in Pennsylvania, has implemented standards for recruiting, training, and providing development opportunities for part-time faculty. To ensure high quality instruction and a continuity of standards between full- and part-time faculty, the same criteria for…