Writing Across the Curriculum at George Mason University

Assessing the Impact of WAC

Both the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee and the Writing Assessment Group conduct ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of our teaching with writing efforts. The University WAC Committee regularly reviews writing-intensive syllabi to determine compliance with the Senate-mandated requirement. The Writing Assessment Group, with the assistance of the Office of Institutional Assessment, works with faculty across the university to assess student writing competence in the majors. The results of both of these assessment processes inform faculty development work. We gather additional information about the effectiveness of WAC from responses to the questions asked on the Graduating Senior Survey.

The link "Assessing the WI Requirement" leads to descriptions of the cycles of assessment undertaken since the requirement was implemented in 1995 and other relevant materials.

The link "Assessing Student Writing Competence" leads to detailed explanations of the assessment process and the criteria derived by departments.

The link "Students' Perceptions of Writing Experiences" leads to the results of the Graduating Senior Survey on the website of the Office of Institutional Assessment (this site also contains additional information on the work of the Writing Assessment Group). For results, click here.