Writing Across the Curriculum Program Annual Report
Fall 2004/Spring 2005
Prepared by Dan Melzer, University Reading and Writing Coordinator and
Writing Across the Curriculum Program Director
Narrative Summary of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) Activities
Campus-wide Activities
In Fall 2004/Spring 2005, the WAC program continued to serve faculty and students
through ongoing faculty development workshops, thesis writing workshops, thesis
writing groups, classroom presentations, a newsletter published twice each semester, and
a website with reading and writing resources. In addition to these activities, the WAC
program began two new activities: an annual Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
half-day conference and a two-day faculty development retreat to be held August 22 and
23 at the Alumni Center.
Departmental and College Outreach
In 2004/2005, the WAC program presented workshops for CBA, Health and Human
Services, and EOP. The WAC program gave classroom presentations for instructors in
EOP, Freshman Seminar, Educational Leadership, McNair Scholars, Sociology, Criminal
Justice, and Civil Engineering. A new program, Tutoring in the Disciplines, was
implemented for Civil Engineering and Social Work. The Tutoring in the Disciplines
program provides discipline-specific tutoring in reading and writing for a department or
college: the WAC program supports five hours of tutoring, which is matched by the
department or college. Social Work and Civil Engineering will continue to participate in
the program in 2005/2006, and CBA will participate beginning Fall 2005. The WAC
program is currently working on helping departments develop student writing guides.
With the help of WAC Fellows (Writing Center tutors hired by the WAC program to
assist with WAC projects), Civil Engineering, Social Work, Nursing, and Theatre and
Dance will be completing student writing guides by Fall 2005.
Community Outreach
Dan Melzer, director of the WAC program, is involved in faculty development for the
Early Assessment Program (EAP). EAP is a program supported by the CSU Chancellor’s
Office whose purpose is to implement a college prep reading and writing course, along
with faculty development activities, for high school teachers across California. Dan
Melzer is also part of a team of Sac State instructors creating a non-profit community
literacy center, GiantINK. GiantINK will begin free tutoring at Sacramento High School
in Fall 2005. In addition to these outreach activities, Melzer presented a two-day WAC
workshop for Humboldt State University, a half-day WAC workshop for Natomas
Charter Middle School, and a WAC workshop for the Sacramento Valley Writing
Collaborative (a high school teacher’s network).
Collaboration
The WAC program has collaborated with a number of campus units in Fall 2004/Spring
2005. The WAC program collaborated with the Center for Teaching and Learning and the
library to present a workshop on preventing plagiarism. WAC collaborated with Graduate
Studies to present two thesis writing workshops. WAC collaborated with CBA to present
a workshop on responding to student writing.
Initiatives for Fall 2005/Spring 2006
In Fall 2005/Spring 2006, the WAC program will look to expand existing programs as
well as implement a number of new initiatives. One new initiative will be the Faculty
Writing Groups program. This program will provide faculty the opportunity to form peer
writing groups and receive feedback on writing projects: articles, books, conference
presentations, etc. Another new resource will be the creation of a faculty handbook for
reading and writing. In addition to creating these new resources, the WAC program will
look to expand current programs. The 1st Annual Reading and Writing Across the
Curriculum Conference was campus-wide, and the plan for Spring 2006 is to begin to
expand the conference so that it is regional. The Tutoring in the Disciplines program,
which is currently in a pilot stage, will be advertised more widely as a resource for
departments and colleges. Currently the WAC program supports two discipline-specific
tutors, and would be able to support six tutors under its current operating budget. Another
area that the WAC program will look to expand is a research project involving surveying
Sac State alumni who are working in the Sacramento area to find out what kinds of
writing and how much writing they do on the job.
Number of Faculty and Students Served, Fall 2004/Spring 2005
Number of faculty served
Campus-wide workshops: 80 participants
Departmental and College-wide workshops: 60 participants
Spring 2005 Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum Conference: 50 attendees
2005 Faculty Retreat (August 2005): 45 attendees
Total number of faculty served: 235
Number of students served
Thesis writing workshops: 90 attendees
Classroom presentations: 160 students
Disciplinary tutoring: 30 tutoring sessions
Total number of students served: 280
Workshops, Conferences, and Classroom Presentations
Campus-wide Workshops and Conferences
“Writing, Reading, and Critical Thinking: Improving Student Learning in any Discipline.” Twoday retreat. To be held August 22 and 23, 2005.
“Using Technology to Improve Student Reading, Writing, and Research.” March 15, 2005.
“Writing a Thesis.” February 11, 2005 and September 24, 2004.
“Preventing Plagiarism.” November 11, 2004.
“Handling the Paper Load.” September 22, 2004.
“Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum: Resources for Students and Faculty.” CSUS New
Faculty Orientation. August 24 and 25, 2004.
“Designing Successful Writing Assignments.” Freshman Programs Convocation. August 24,
2004.
Departmental and College-wide Workshops
“Responding to Student Writing.” College of Business. November 8, 2004.
“Designing Successful Writing Assignments.” Health and Human Services. October 28, 2004.
“Tutoring Techniques for Freshman Students.” Educational Opportunities Program. August 20,
2004.
Community Outreach Workshops
“Assigning, Responding, and Grading: Improving Student Learning in Any Discipline.”
Humboldt State University. January 11 and 12, 2005.
“Responding to Student Writing: Tips and Techniques for Teachers in any Discipline.”
Sacramento Valley Writing Collaborative. November 9, 2004.
“Assigning and Responding to Student Writing.” Natomas Charter Middle School. October 4,
2004.