The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee writing program is collaborative, not divisionary, as some, such as Jeanne Gunner, have suggested. Three terms are useful in understanding the relationships and ethics governing operations at Wisconsin-Milwaukee: (1) authority and collaboration; (2) hierarchical difference; (3) professional respect. "Authority and collaboration" are combined under one heading because in the writing program at Wisconsin-Milwaukee they function together. Some of the authority normally granted to the writing program administrator is shared with a part-time instructor. This "shared authority" in decision making has been instrumental in the program's successful assessment of more than 1,500 student portfolios each semester for the last 3 years in English 112. There is often an exchange of ideas between part-time staff and the writing administrator before decisions are made. While "Hierarchical differences" do exist--there is nothing, for instance, to keep the program administrator for making decisions about textbooks unilaterally--a spirit of collaboration and cooperation prevails. The smooth functioning of the writing program at Wisconsin-Milwaukee brings up the issue of "professional respect." Should the program administrators committed to cooperation receive the kind of professional recognition that they deserve? The answer is clearly "yes." Yet, professional respect is an issue for writing program administrators as well as for part-time instructors and teaching assistants, all of whom live with uncertainty concerning the survival of their jobs in the face of budget cuts and dropping enrollments. (TB)