Ball State University Department of Journalism
Journalism Writing Center
Annual Report 2012-2013
Submitted to: Professor Mark Massé, JWC Director
Submitted by: Matt Hawkins and Daniel Pearson, JWC Coaches
Date: April 30, 2013
Journalism Writing Center (JWC) Operations
In the 2012-2013 academic year, the JWC provided coaching services to 263 students,
representing 286 appointments (285 undergraduate and 1 graduate). Of the 286 appointments,
eight were with international students. These statistics indicate a 7 percent increase in
appointments (267 to 286) compared with the 2011-2012 academic year. Sixty-seven more
students were coached in 2012-2013 (196 to 263), a 34 percent increase from 2011-2012.
Coaching services included AP style, inverted pyramid/news judgment, lead and nut paragraph
writing, reference citations, sentence structure, word usage, use of quoted material, transitions,
active and passive voice, research, cover letter writing, story organization, adding detail, and
redundancy. Grammar and punctuation were often the focus of coaching for the Language Usage
Proficiency Exam (LUPE).
Fall 2012
In fall 2012, the JWC coaches tutored 123 students and recorded 136 appointments (all
undergraduate). Of the 136 appointments, five were with international students.
Spring 2013
In spring 2013, the JWC coaches tutored 136 students and recorded 148 appointments (147
undergraduate and one graduate). Of the 148 appointments, three were with international
students.
Language Usage Proficiency Exam (LUPE) Analysis
In the fall and spring terms, students from seven journalism department sequences and
telecommunications department “News” track students who were enrolled in J101, plus a
selected number of students from other courses, took the mandatory Language Usage Proficiency
Exam (LUPE), a 100-question grammar and language skills test. Achieving a passing score of 70
was required for these journalism and telecommunications students to successfully advance in
their departmental studies.
Students were encouraged to visit the Journalism Writing Center (JWC) before the test to receive
coaching and to enhance their performance; however, many students did not take advantage of
available resources at the outset. Typically their low test scores reflected insufficient preparation.
These students were considered at-risk of not advancing in their departmental coursework.
2
During the fall 2012 and spring 2013 terms, students were allowed up to five opportunities to
pass the Language Usage Proficiency Exam, and the test format included two different versions
based on the order of questions. The content of the questions was unchanged. The first
opportunity was a mandatory (hard copy) group test administered by JWC coaches. Subsequent
opportunities were offered once a week online via InQsit.
In fall 2012 and spring 2013, 147 and 71 students, respectively, took the Language Usage
Proficiency Exam during the initial group testing period, as noted on the accompanying charts.
An analysis of their performance reveals a mean score of 66 for fall 2012 and 68 for spring 2013.
The fall and spring term pass rates for the initial test (i.e., first-time pass rates) were 34 percent
and 45 percent, respectively. The first-time pass rates (a decrease from 2011-2012 of 21 and 5
percent, respectively) indicated a significant number of students who were at risk and in need of
coaching services at the JWC.
Language Usage Proficiency Exam Analysis
Term: Fall 2012
Skill Tested
Agreement
Case (who/whom)
Grammar and Language Skills
News Judgment
Parallel Structure and Clarity
Punctuation
Spelling
Word Use
Average Proficiency
Summary
Students who took initial group test
Students who passed
Pass rate for initial test
Mean score for initial test
Term: Spring 2013
Skill Tested
Agreement
Case (who/whom)
Grammar and Language Skills
News Judgment
Parallel Structure and Clarity
Punctuation
Spelling
Word Use
Average Proficiency
Proficiency
72%
57%
76%
83%
43%
74%
62%
76%
68%
147
50
34%
66
Proficiency
72%
56%
59%
86%
46%
78%
60%
79%
67%
3
Summary
Students who took initial group test
Students who passed
Pass rate for initial test
Mean score for initial test
71
32
45%
68
Coaching At-Risk Students
An at-risk student is one who has failed the initial Language Usage Proficiency Exam (receiving
a score lower than 70 percent). If the student does not pass the test during subsequent retake
opportunities, then the student will not meet established course prerequisites for future
departmental coursework.
Those students who fail the Language Usage Proficiency Exam on their first attempt are referred
to the JWC for remedial coaching before attempting a retake. In the coaching sessions, a JWC
tutor provides feedback on areas of testing weakness, assists students with practice interactive
quizzes, and offers PowerPoint instruction and other resources.
For fall 2012, of the 127* students who failed the LUPE on their first attempt, 63 came to the
JWC for coaching. These 63 students raised their final scores an average of 12 points in direct
comparison to their initial test scores. Of these 63 students, 42 had failed the LUPE twice and
received mandatory coaching. Thirty of these 42 students passed on subsequent attempts. Their
average score increased 12 percentage points. Eight students improved their scores by a
minimum of 20 points after coaching. Fifty of the 63 students eventually passed the LUPE.
For spring 2013, of the 72** students who failed the LUPE on their first attempt, 36 came to the
JWC for coaching. These 36 students raised their final scores an average of 12 points in direct
comparison to their initial test scores. Of these 36 students, 15 had failed the LUPE twice and
received mandatory coaching. Thirteen of these 15 students passed on subsequent attempts.
Their average score increased 12 percentage points. One student raised his score by 26 points
with two coaching sessions. Twenty-five of the 36 students eventually passed the LUPE.
* 97 students who took the mandatory group test and 30 who took their first test in the JWC or
on InQsit.
** 39 students who took the mandatory group test and 33 students who took the test in the JWC
or on InQsit.
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Average Points Increase for LUPE
Scores AFTER Coaching
Session(s)
Points
14
12
10
8
6
4
Fall 2012
Spring 2013
Term
Mean Scores
Language Usage Proficiency Exam
(LUPE) Mean Scores (Initial Test)
74
72
70
68
66
64
62
60
Term
5
Pass Rates (Percent)
Language Usage Proficiency Exam
(LUPE) Pass Rates (Initial Test)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Term
6
Student Survey Analysis
After each coaching session, JWC tutors asked students to complete an online survey evaluating
the coaching services on the four criteria below. A total of 281* surveys were completed based
on 286 appointments.
(*Five students did not complete surveys.)
1.
2.
3.
4.
This session.
The coaching.
I would return to the Journalism Writing Center.
I would recommend the Journalism Writing Center to others.
1. This session:
Was not very
helpful.
Was somewhat
helpful but could
have been better.
No opinion.
Was helpful.
Was very helpful
and better than I
expected.
1
5
4
123
148
Met all of my
needs.
***Five students did not respond
2. The coaching:
Did not provide
what I needed.
Was OK but could
have been better.
No opinion.
2
6
2
Met some of my
needs but not all of
them.
42
229
***Five students did not respond
3. I would return to the JWC:
Definitely not
again.
Probably not
again.
No opinion.
Probably.
Definitely.
2
4
3
79
193
***Five students did not respond
4. I would recommend the JWC to others:
Definitely not.
Probably not.
No opinion.
Yes, probably.
Definitely yes.
0
2
7
85
187
***Five students did not respond
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In addition to the standardized survey responses, students provided supplemental written
comments about their satisfaction with coaching services at the JWC. Selected comments
included:
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I came in without an appointment and was helped quickly without a problem.
This was my first experience with the writing center and it was a very positive one. I
walked away with very constructive criticism.
Very helpful and kind toward mistakes I made in my paper.
Great advice and very helpful.
Matt gave me great advice on where to place quotes within my story.
Great help, as always!
It helped clear a lot of things up.
Help me understand things much clearer and helped me with the sentence structure as
well.
He was very helpful and explained what I was confused on.
Very helpful and concise, improving grammar and structure. Would definitely return
again and recommend.
I feel more prepared to take the LUPE test the next time around.
It was great. It really helped me to take another look at my story from a different view
and overall will make it better. Thank you! I came in without an appointment and was
helped quickly without a problem.
It's a really useful tool to have someone taking time out of their day to be able to edit
your work before turning it in. Daniel was extremely nice and offered great advice! I'm
actually really happy that Professor Strauss made us come here because it opened my
eyes to what a great opportunity this is. Thanks!
Great session. Daniel was very helpful and took time to explain things thoroughly.
Dan was extremely helpful and provided a lot of positive feedback.
Thank you, I'm always impressed with how hard they work, and its always helpful.
Very helpful to what areas I needed to improve in.
Great job!
Dan was very friendly and incredibly helpful.
Great job and it really assisted me. Hopefully this will allow me to pass the test.
I found this session to be extremely helpful as it met all of my needs. My coach was
extremely helpful and very presentable and personable and I would recommend him to
anyone.
Matt went above and beyond in helping me to give my paper the voice of a news story
instead of an essay.
Dan gave me some suggestions on a couple of things I hadn't considered such as
wordiness of paragraphs and punctuation.
Thanks so much for the help! I feel more confident and ready to pass this time. Your
services help many people that take advantage of it, so please continue!
I've never used the JWC before, but I feel that it is valuable resource to journalism
students. I will definitely refer to the Center in the future with any writing-related
situations.
Matt was a good coach and I’ll definitely come back here soon!
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JWC Student Appointment Analysis
Professor/Instructor/Organization
Bremen
Cardinal Communications
Ginter
Hammock
Heifetz
Internship
Kuban
LUPE
Massé
McDonald
Steffen
Strauss
Study abroad scholarship
Thesis
Underhill
Willis (online)
Number of Student Appointments
8
4
4
1
2
1
1
159
1
1
8
90
1
2
1
2
____
286