• Examine a writing program at schools other than NDSU.
• Assess the program according to its weaknesses and strengths.
• Assess the program according to its feasibility at NDSU from an administration point of view, based on the relevant yet limited knowledge we had acquired previous to examining the program.
• Assess the program according to its feasibility at NDSU by comparing and contrasting the characteristics of the school which we examined versus those of NDSU.

The schools of which writing programs were examined are as follows:

• University of Manitoba – Manitoba, Canada
• Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa
• University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• South Dakota School of Mines and Technology – Rapid City, South Dakota

Iowa State University – Iowa State uses the Learning Communities approach to teaching English. Learning communities allows students who are in the same disciplines to be grouped and placed together in classes and living arrangements. It allows English classes to be taught to students with the same interests and academic goals.

University of Pennsylvania –The university of Pennsylvania uses what is referred to as the WATU, or writing across the university as a program to teach English courses. This program focuses mainly on writing about literary topics designated by the professor. Only two courses need to be taken to meet the graduation requirements.

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology - The writing in the disciplines, or WID, program is again evident at this school. SDSM&T is primarily a science and engineering school, so the English requirements are composed of one basic English course, and two technical communications courses, which delve into the technical writings of science and engineering.

• The University of Pennsylvania and North Dakota State University have roughly the same size student body.
• The University of Manitoba and Iowa State are also roughly about the same size where student body is concerned.
• The Learning Communities program is similar to the Writing in the Disciplines program in that they both use material within, or closely related to the student’s discipline.
• Most of the programs prepare by using a basic English course that every student takes.
• The University of Manitoba, Iowa State University, and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology all offer a practical approach to English courses in that they all relate to the way a student would use English skills in the real world.

Differences:

• The Writing in the Disciplines program and the Learning communities program would both require minimal staff increases, while the Writing Across the University program entails leaving staff arrangements as they are.
• South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a much smaller school than North Dakota State University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Manitoba, and Iowa State University.
• South Dakota School of Mines and Technology offers a small number of majors compared to the other schools examined.
• Learning Communities would promote more student-to-student group work than other programs.

It was interesting to learn how other colleges and universities utilize English programs. Knowing the demographics was useful in determining the possible success at a school like North Dakota State University. Knowing the options for majors at other schools was also important because it gave a guideline to determine if the select program could benefit the options for majors at North Dakota State University. Exact specifics of how English composition is taught in learning communities would warrant more exploration, because we found ourselves unsure of the complete details some of the time. This could be achieved by talking to somebody who attends Iowa State University. More research could be done to find more differences between the writing program in place at the University of Manitoba and the one in place at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Performing this research helped each of us learn more about what to look for, and how to design a good writing program that will work for North Dakota State University.

Back to 120 index