What is a Writing Plan?
A Writing Plan is an undergraduate curricular initiative, faculty-driven, and facilitated by a Writing Program faculty member that expresses an academic unit’s values, priorities, and plans for developing a writing-infused curriculum.
Writing Plans result from a systematic, faculty-driven, curricular overview of the state of writing within a department, program, or even within a single major within the discipline in collaboration with a Writing Program faculty member. This year-long process of analysis, research, and reflection aims to stimulate lasting and sustainable curricular change. The collaborative process results in the production of a Writing Plan that will identify areas of both strength and need and generate recommendations for transformative curricular reforms.
Who is typically involved in the work of developing a Writing Plan?
The chair, director, and/or Director of Undergraduate Studies, as well as three or four departmental faculty. Leaders of the department/program are necessary in order to signal to the unit the importance of the Writing Plan. Faculty participants are typically those who have experience or interest in teaching courses that are either formally identified as earning a Writing-Intensive Hub requirement or include writing as a crucial element in student learning. The Writing Program’s Faculty Consultant also participates in guiding the process.
Who serves as Faculty Consultant?
The Faculty Consultant is a Writing Program faculty member. Dr. Jessica Kent is a veteran lecturer in the CAS Writing Program who has experience working with various units on developing Writing Plans. They have worked successfully with the Undergraduate Program in Neuroscience, the Economics Department, and the Mathematics & Statistics Department to develop Writing Plans for these units. Dr. Max White is consulting with the World Languages & Literature department in 2024-2025 to develop this department’s first writing plan.
What is the Faculty Consultant’s role?
The Faculty Consultant plays a critical role in helping the unit develop the Writing Plan by facilitating the year-long process. The Faculty Consultant attends and leads all the meetings for the Writing Plan; helps with surveying students, faculty, and professional affiliates; helps the unit envision a range of curricular possibilities; and guides the committee in clarifying its priorities. As a facilitator, the Faculty Consultant does not write the Writing Plan, but helps the unit with creating that document, as well.
What’s the process of developing a Writing Plan?
See Developing a Writing Plan for the process that the academic unit undertakes.
Are faculty compensated for participating in the Writing Plan?
Yes. Faculty, who are members of the subcommittee, receive $1000 stipends from the Simpson-supported WID program, and the Center for Teaching & Learning matches these stipends with an additional $1000.
Why would we spend time doing this work?
Your students, both majors, who are taking courses throughout the discipline, and non-majors, who are learning about the discipline, benefit from having a clearly articulated understanding of the writing skills that are needed in the discipline. The Writing Plan provides a plan for infusing writing into the curriculum and, thus, gives faculty and students clarity and transparency about the writing skills that students are expected to demonstrate and that faculty are expected to teach.
Writing plans are, also, a valuable tool for departments and programs when they wish to make arguments about the kinds of resources a unit needs for implementing curricular goals. For example, the Neuroscience Writing Plan helped provide the rationale for funding and hiring new post-baccalaureate academic fellows.
Is the Writing Plan part of the Hub?
No. The Writing Plan aims to help an academic unit develop a curricular plan and align its pedagogical goals with student learning and student writing. To the extent that the Hub requires all students to complete two courses with Writing-Intensive (WIN) Hub units, participation in a Writing Plan can help a unit make informed, faculty-driven choices about which courses are best suited for the WIN Hub requirement. But a Writing Plan is much more than simply identifying WIN classes for the Hub.
How can my unit get involved?
There’s a simple application process in which you can express interest in participating.
How can I learn more?
Please contact Associate Director for Writing in the Disciplines, Dr. David Shawn, wid@bu.edu.