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What the hell is a WPA, anyway?

2/3/2014

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Here is a sample overview of a day's worth (or so) of the Writing Program Administrators Listserv. Even though it was a weekend, my colleagues in the field of Rhetoric and Composition were very busy posting to the list. The hot topic was in relation to a post by a newish faculty member wondering if she should take a WPA job while untenured. I can imagine what many of you thought about as you read this: What is a WPA? What's the big deal about tenure? And how is it possible this many people have this many different ideas about whether or not this woman should take the job?

The WPA web page: http://wpacouncil.org/taxonomy/term/1550

Well, this particular topic is interesting to me because of all of the issues that come up. Being tenured is a big deal (I'll talk about it in class), and some institutions treat work like writing program administration (what a WPA does) as more like service--so you do it, but don't get credit for it. Also, I WAS an untenured WPA. And it really turned out pretty well for me. I got tenure (because at BSU doing a good job in a quasi-admin job means something--service generally means something here). Also, it opened up a lot of professional doors for me. On the down-side, I did not publish as much as I would have liked and so now it would be difficult for me to move to a different school if I wanted to. These are all points that get mentioned in the discussion of whether or not Pontefacto should take the job. 

Picture
The shameful mess I call an office. Who has two thumbs and coordinates a campus writing program? The one taking this picture.

We see a lot here--stuff about the brief history of Rhet/Comp. Stuff about Rhet/Comp in English departments. Stuff about working in higher ed generally--and how it looks very different in different places (an R1 versus a teaching institution like BSU with a 4/4 load). Stuff about tenure. Stuff about labor issues. How is this about teaching writing? No, seriously, I'm asking you, class, how is this about teaching writing? 

Other things got talked about: how much reading is it OK to assign. I thought you guys might be more interested in that discussion. I am a big advocate of teaching reading and not just assigning reading if first year writing. Also: job postings, calls for papers (presentations and publications), help with research surveys. 

Here is the original post that started the conversation. . . 

First time posting, so forgive me for barging into the discussion-- but I was hoping I could consult everyone here with a question concerning the specifics of reasonable release time for modest WPA responsibilities.   I've been offered a jWPA/assistant professor position at a small liberal-arts college (enrolls ~500 students per year) with a two-course first-year writing sequence with ~25 sections per semester (mostly taught by adjuncts).  It's a new position-- previously the WPA was carried out ad-hoc by chairs of English, the last of whom was recently denied tenure.   The administrators seem vaguely dissatisfied with the current state of the program (which is currently entirely standardized, taught from a cobbled-together master syllabus) and are looking for someone to rationalize both the curriculum and the assessment.  

Here's the rub: they are very, very firm that they can offer only one course release in connection with this position, which given the existing 4:4 load brings the teaching responsibility to 3:4.  I believe I would be well qualified to undertake the duties, but I've read a lot of frightening stuff about the terrible prospects for jWPAs who end up being undersupported with release time.  I have young children, so an insane 24/7 workload will not be a possibility either in the short or long term.   But the position is culturally and geographically very attractive, so I would like to undertake it if it has a chance of being doable.   

My question, then: for those of you with direct experience in the day-to-day business of WPA,  does this sound suicidal, in career terms?  Would I be well-advised to pass it up, even in the absence of immediate alternatives?      

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    This blog is a reactionary overview of the daily posts to the Writing Program Administrator's listserv. One day; one blogger; lots of reactions. 

    By blogging daily about the list we hope to better understand what a Writing Program is and what Writing Program people care about. 

    It's part of a larger assignment where we will talk to individuals working in the field (latitude and longitude of a discipline).

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  • Home
  • ENGL 226 policies
    • 226 Discussion Board space
    • ENGL 226 syllabus
    • ENGL 226 PORTFOLIO
    • ENGL 226 PARTNER INTERVIEW MINI-PAPER
    • ENGL226 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
    • 226 BLOG INFORMATION
    • ENGL 226 Writing Studies Timeline Project
    • ENGL 226 Professional Writing Project
    • ENGL 226 SUPER FAST CAREER PRESENTATIONS
    • ENGL 226 Writing As Art
  • Previously Taught Classes
    • ENGL 301 >
      • ENGL 301 SYLLABUS >
        • PARTNER INTERVIEW ENGL 301
      • ENGL 301 Discussion Board When We Need it
      • ENGL 301 PORTFOLIOS
      • ENGL 301 READING JOURNALS (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 INTERVIEW WITH A TEACHER (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 BOOK CLUB (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 FLASH MENTOR TEXT MEMOIR (assignment)
      • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (assignment) >
        • ENGL 301 RESEARCH IN TEACHING DIVERSE POPULATIONS (instructions & sample annotations)
      • ENGL 301 ASSIGNMENT DESIGN (assignment)
    • ENGL102 >
      • ENGL 102 Class Discussion Board
      • ENGL102SYLLABUS
      • ENGL102 PORTFOLIOS/Research Notebook
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Class Profile Page
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENTS: Reading Journals
      • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROJECT >
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: POSITIONING YOURSELF
        • ENGL102 ASSIGNMENT: Locating & Evaluating part I
    • ENGL 202 BIZ Com >
      • ENGL 202 Business Writing SYLLABUS
    • ENGL 227 INTRO TO CNF WORKSHOP
    • ENGL 298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
    • ENGL406 RESEARCH IN WRITING STUDIES
    • ENGL 493 THE PERSONAL ESSAY
    • ENGL 493 Seminar in Writing & Writing Studies: The History of First Year Composition >
      • ENGL 493 Assignments: Annotated Bibliography & Presentation
    • ENGL 511 Reading & Writing Memoir
    • DURFEE Engl101
  • BSU Homepage