English- Writing Option

Assessment Plan

To assess the extent to which these goals are being met, the English Department will establish a plan which examines:

1)      The extent to which these goals are being addressed in the courses required for the Writing Option.

 a)      Annual review of syllabi to ensure that they clearly state goals and objectives which support the overall mission of the Major/Option as well as elaborate specific strategies and/or assignments through which these goals and objectives will be met over the course of a given semester.

b)       Periodical review of curriculum and scheduling to ensure that course offerings reflect a breadth and depth commensurate with Major/Option goals and objectives.

2)      Indirect measures -- student reports of their own progress toward meeting these goals.

   a)      Course evaluations shall include questions which direct students to reflect on the goals of the course/program and the degree to which they are supported in achieving these goals.

  b)     Exit questionnaires with selected graduating seniors and/or alumni will guide and document student reflection about their experiences in the Major/Option and will help to assess whether/to what degree our objectives have been met.

3)      Direct measures -- representative portfolios of student writing collected and reviewed yearly by writing faculty.

  a)    Portfolio Assessment Procedure -- Writing faculty will collect final course portfolios from students in selected representative writing courses (on a regularly rotating basis) such as Creative Writing, Technical Writing, Scriptwriting, Journalism, Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry Workshops and Advanced Writing Workshops.  Faculty will select exemplary portfolios as well as average ones.  They will attach course syllabi and other relevant materials to the portfolio(s) to place the work in the context of the course.  The portfolios will be kept on file in the office of one of the writing faculty.