Considers that ever since distance learning technology has enabled colleges and universities to offer courses to students who might otherwise not be able to earn college credit, resistance has emerged on pedagogical or fiscal grounds. Notes that most students in distance learning composition classes indicate that they would participate in such a…

Offers guidelines that specify the kinds of information that will assist faculties in identifying and rectifying problems in their graduate programs. Directs attention to eight areas: department goals; graduate admissions; retention and attrition of students; financial support for students; preparing students for careers within and outside the…

Traces the historically optimistic view of college-secondary school cooperation. Asks why such optimism has faded in recent years. Considers how college-level departments of English can collaborate with high school English programs, such as in collaborative conferences. (HB)

Describes how the English department at Roger Williams University set out to revise and revive the English major under difficult circumstances during the 1988-89 school year. Shows how the faculty redesigned the curriculum, recruited new majors, and established support programs. (HB)

Considers how departments of English can evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and teaching throughout the entire program. Outlines the way that the joint English department at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University developed a full-scale assessment program for the undergraduate major. (HB)

Provides guidelines and practical advice for planning and running a computer lab for writing. (NKA)

Offers advice to graduate students studying English and those studying foreign languages, covering issues relevant to candidates for master's degrees or doctorates. Suggests questions to ask when selecting a graduate program, including those related to investigating the program and inquiring about employment and financial assistance, teaching…

Discusses the job market for technical communication graduates and the process for setting up a college degree program in technical communication. (AEA)

Describes the Modern Language Association (MLA) teacher education project. Hopes that the departments participating in the project would develop different exemplary programs appropriate to their departmental and institutional missions, faculty commitments, student needs, and state and local requirements concerning the preparation of secondary…

Recounts the process and narrates the steps taken by the English department at Ursinus College, Pennsylvania, in its major renovation of its outdated English curriculum. Describes the working conditions of the department and the newly devised curriculum. (HB)

Offers basic principles for English department fundraising: know why people should give money to the department; identify several colleagues who can help represent the department to potential givers; involve alumni; work on getting grants while pursuing private gifts from donors; create a print representation of the department; and cultivate a…

Describes the author's department goals with three main principles: to build departmental community, to harness rather than dissipate energy, and to address multiple audiences simultaneously. Discusses how she communicates to the college as a whole what the department does well and finds ways in which caring for the department's interests might…

Discusses the changes in dynamics that have taken place over the past 10 years at institutions like the University of Iowa and discusses the reasons behind and the ramifications of those changes. Claims the University of Iowa risks losing its uniqueness as it seeks top-ten status. (NH)

Discusses ways to help students see that the pleasures of the text that led them into the study of language and literature can also lead them to rewarding work contexts. Considers curricular issues and the ways small college English departments make decisions about what to cover and what to leave out in an expanding discipline. Appends advice on…

Honors Phil Smith for his outstanding contribution to the English profession. Notes that as chair of his department, Phil Smith understood the social complexity of the organization he administered, and his example is particularly instructive when it reveals the thoughtfulness with which he addressed the issue of work for all his colleagues. (SG)