Describes programs offered by a university English department that both improve the department's public image and enrich the cultural life of the school and the community. (AEA)

Reviews current department efforts to emphasize the service functions of English. Suggests that the search for students must be tempered with the demand for quality in instruction and performance, whether the pursuit be of literacy or of literature. (MM)

Reports on the program for the inservice training of secondary school English teachers, conducted at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and offers it as a model for similar efforts by college English departments. (RL)

This conference report on the preparation of junior college English teachers presents programs inaugurated at three schools in the fall of 1969. Offered in a 2-year program at the University of Arizona is the Master of Arts degree in English (M.A.) with an Arizona Junior College Certificate. The University of Nevada's Master of Arts in the…

Designed primarily for English faculty at two-year colleges in California, "Inside English" includes articles on major instructional, curricular, administrative, and employment issues of concern to teachers in the field as well as information on the activities of the English Council of the California Two-Year Colleges (ECCTYC). The Fall 1977, and…

A survey, completed by 15 professors of English, indicated a fundamental lack of student critical thinking skills within their department, and a 90 percent discrepancy in teacher training with only 10 percent of teachers having received formal training. This paper describes a workshop designed to educate and motivate the English professors in a…

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…

To describe and evaluate current practices in college composition programs, a study was conducted of the 19 California State University campuses. English department chairs completed a short survey on courses, staffing, and special projects, and structured interviews were conducted with these chairs and various other program coordinators from a…

The English department at North Carolina State University faced a rapid, large-scale transition of a number of its professional writing courses from traditional classes to online courses. Recognizing that numerous barriers, including unresolved administrative issues, faculty resistance, and lack of training could impede this process,…

In this study, English departments in colleges affiliated with the United Presbyterian Church (USA) were surveyed to determine the opinions of departmental chairmen on matters of faculty responsibility and training, required English courses, English programs for future English teachers and liberal arts English majors, and the general role played…

Examines the question of teaching literature in the composition class in terms of an ideological gap between composition and literature which is maintained for political reasons, and reflected in the tenure process. (MM)

John Gardner, of the National Resource Center for The First Year Experience and Students in Transition, addressed academic librarians at the ACRL meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, in April 2003, urging librarians to become more actively involved in First Year Experience courses. Susan J. C. Bissett responds in this article, citing the…

Standardized tests of writing ability have individual and shared limitations and deficiencies that should be acknowledged by test designers and users. Most institutions use the portions of standardized tests that test ability to proofread and edit, but they do not use the optional essay sections that actually require students to write. To assure…

This monograph reviews theory and procedures of evaluation as reflected in the professional literature and in correspondence from chairmen of departments of English and the Humanities. Introductory comments are followed by chapters on: the evaluation of teaching; teaching and values; student evaluation of faculty and courses; observation of…

Designed primarily for English faculty at two-year colleges in California, "Inside English" includes articles on instructional innovations and major curricular, administrative, and employment issues of concern to teachers in the field as well as information on the activities of the English Council of the California Two-Year Colleges (ECCTYC). The…