Identifying the gWPA Experience Talinn Phillips, Paul Shovlin, Megan ...

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Talinn Phillips, Paul Shovlin, Megan L. Titus. Appendix A: Survey. 1. This survey asks questions about the experience of
(Re)Identifying the gWPA Experience Talinn Phillips, Paul Shovlin, Megan L. Titus Appendix A: Survey 1. This survey asks questions about the experience of graduate student writing program administrators. Note that you may complete the survey for the program you are part of now or for a graduate program you’ve been part of in the last three years. You may even complete the survey more than once to represent different programs that you’ve been part of. From which perspective are you completing this survey? 1. current or former graduate student WPA 2. current or former graduate student (but have not held an administrative position) 3. tenured, faculty WPA (and no longer a graduate student) 4. tenure-track (not tenured) faculty WPA (and no longer a graduate student) 5. faculty member (have not held an administrative position and no longer a graduate student) 6. non-tenure-track faculty WPA (and also no longer a graduate student) 7. non-tenure-track faculty (and also no longer a graduate student) 8. WPA (non-faculty and also no longer a graduate student) 9. Other, please describe (Responses to question 1 determines the flow of the questions.) 2. Who typically holds the following positions at this institution? (Extenuating circumstances, e.g. a graduate student serving as interim director during a job search for that position, will be covered in the coming questions). Please try to accurately represent the total number of positions offered at your institution, but also please try to offer an accurate representation of who can hold each position. You may fill in as many “X’s” as necessary.

A graduate student

Director of a Composition Program Assistant in a Composition Program Director of a WAC Program Assistant in a WAC Program Director of a WID Program Assistant in a WID Program Director of a Student Writing Center Assistant in a Student Writing Center Director of a National Writing Project Site Assistant in a National Writing Project Site Head of a Faculty Development Program (other than those listed above)

Full-time staff (as all or part of staff member’s duties)

Contingent faculty

Contingent staff

Untenured (but on tenuretrack) faculty

Tenured Faculty

This position does not exist

Assistant in a Faculty Development Program (other than those listed above)

3. What are the requirements for graduate students to apply for, and be offered, these positions? (Please check all that apply.) 1) be enrolled in the Rhetoric and Composition (or comparable) program 2) be enrolled in a particular year of graduate school (i.e., second year or above) 3) write a letter of application 4) submit letter(s) of recommendation 5) have completed particular courses (if so, which ones?) 6) be ABD 7) other (please explain) 4. In your experience at this institution, do graduate students ever become “interim directors”— either officially or unofficially—during a job vacancy, extended illness, etc? 1) yes, this regularly happens 2) yes, this sometimes happens 3) yes, but this rarely happens 4) no 5. What level of participation are graduate students typically expected to enact for the WPA positions they hold? Participate with Limited Input

Participate with Significant Input Expected

Co-Lead the Activity

Lead the Activity, but with Supervision and

Lead the Activity with Little/No Supervision or Mentorship

Mentorship Participate in Meetings and Committee Work Mentor Graduate Students (TAs, graduate WPAs, Tutors, etc.) Design Curriculum for Faculty Development Experiences Lead/Facilitate Faculty Development Experiences Assess Writing Programs Assess Student Writing Assess Other TAs Assess Other Faculty Represent the Writing Program to Other Departments/Units and/or Liaise with Those Groups Represent the Writing Program to University Administrators (Deans, Provosts, etc.) and/or Liaise with Those Administrators Write Grants to Support the Writing Program’s Work Budget for the Writing Program Compose Reports on the Status of the Writing Program Complete Other Administrative Tasks, including creating the schedule for composition courses, writing descriptions of the program, etc.

If there are other duties a graduate student is expected to perform, please explain those duties

(along with the expectations of work) here: 6.

How many hours are graduate students expected to work in their WPA capacity? 1) 0-5 hours/week 2) 6-10 hours/week 3) 11-15 hours/week 4) 16-20 hours/week 5) 21+ hours/week

7.

How many hours do graduate students actually work in their WPA capacity? 1) 0-5 hours/week 2) 6-10 hours/week 3) 11-15 hours/week 4) 16-20 hours/week 5) 21+ hours/week

8.

How are graduate students compensated for the WPA work? 1) Monetary and a course release 2) Monetary only 3) Course release only 4) Other (please explain)

9.

Does this graduate program offer a course in writing program administration? 1) yes 2) no

10.

If answered “yes” to Question 3:

10a. How often is the course offered? 1) Once a term

2) Once a year 3) Once every second year 4) Once every third year 5) Other (please explain): 10b. Is this course a requirement for students in the subfield of Rhetoric, Composition, Writing Studies, etc. 1) Yes 2) No 10c. Please briefly describe the course content (an example reading, an assignment, course goals, etc.) For graduate students only: 11. To what extent do you believe your graduate coursework has prepared you for writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 12. To what extent do you believe any graduate positions you have held (instructor, tutor, TA, WPA, etc.) have prepared you for writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 13. To what extent do you believe that mentoring from faculty and staff in your program has

prepared you for WPA work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 14. To what extent do you believe your faculty and administrators are committed to mentoring you in preparation for writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 15. To what extent do you believe that the field of rhetoric and composition has accurately theorized your writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so For faculty/staff only: 16. To what extent do you believe your program’s graduate coursework prepares students for writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so

17. To what extent do you believe the graduate positions offered to students (instructor, tutor, TA, WPA, etc.) prepare students for writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 18. To what extent do you believe that mentoring from faculty and staff in your program prepares graduate students for WPA work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 19. To what extent do you believe that the faculty and staff in your department are committed to mentoring graduate students in preparation for writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so 20. To what extent do you believe that the field of rhetoric and composition has accurately theorized your writing program administrative work? 1) Not at all 2) A little 3) Somewhat 4) Very much so

For all participants: 21. Please choose the boxes that best represent your institution: Location: 1) USA—Northeast 2) USA—Southeast 3) USA—Midwest 4) USA—South Central 5) USA—Northwest 6) USA—Southwest 7) Alaska/Hawaii/Other US. Territory 8) Canada 9) South America 10) Europe 11) Asia 12) Australia 13) Africa Type of College: 1) Two-Year College 2) Four-Year College, Public, Non-Advanced Degree-Granting 3) Four-Year College, Private, Non-Advanced Degree-Granting 4) Four-Year College, Public, Advanced Degree-Granting 5) Four-Year College, Private, Advanced Degree-Granting Population of College: 1) less than 2000 students

2) 2001-5000 students 3) 5001-10000 students 4) 10000-20000 students 5) more than 20000 students 22. If you are willing to volunteer for an email/telephone interview to further discuss this subject, please include your name and email address here. Appendix B: Representative Topic List for Interviews Background 1) Would you define yourself as a WPA? Why or why not? Defining that WPA position 1) Why did you choose to take this position? 2) How was this position described to you? Would you recommend this to a friend? Or, how did you explain it to the person following you? 3) If graduate students hold WPA positions at institution, what kind of positions they hold, the process by which they apply for positions, and the compensation Facts Regarding the Experience Material Perspective 1) How are your position, job duties, benefits, etc. different than those of non-Graduate Student Administrators? (Describe work environment in comparison with non-GSAs: (own office, shared with fewer people, computer access, printer access, location of office relative to where the work has to be done, travel funding?) 2) Visibility/non-visibility—how visible is/was your WPA identity, and how visible is/was the job requirements for that position?) Relationships

1) Describe relationships with other grad students and/or faculty—how did they change when you became a WPA? 2) To what extent do/did you feel protected in your position? 3) Tell us about the mentoring you’ve received in your WPA positions 4) Who became your support system in this WPA position? Effect of Experience 1) How satisfied are you in your WPA position? 1) Benefits and drawbacks of current (and any past) WPA position? 1) How the current (and/or past) WPA position impacts work and colleagues’ work? 2) How the position impacts one’s WPA self-identity? 3) How the position impacts other’s perceptions of the WPA and of the discipline in general? 4) Extent to which your WPA identity is represented in the scholarship 5) If you are on, or recently have been on, the job market, how do you frame your WPA experience? 6) To what extent would you be willing to accept another WPA position—either before or after tenure, in a graduate student identity, or as a non-TT faculty/staff? Preparing Future WPAs 1) Reflection on preparation for the role? 2) What other aspects of WPA work were you exposed to but didn’t necessarily have to do? 3) What aspects of these [liminal] definitions resonate with you and why? What aspects of these definitions strike you as particularly off or unrepresentative of your experiences? Why?

4) What does the field need to do in order to better prepare future WPAs? Four definitions of a WPA position (please read prior to interview): 1) a WPA position that is going through a shift, phasing in or out a position or center at an institution, and thus often GSA or non-credentialed non-diploma'ed individuals are hired. The institution or hiring committee might not have a background in composition and rhetoric or knowledge of what a specialist might bring to the position. 2) a position taken by GSA or non-credentialed non-diploma'ed individual for a temporary period of time. 3) a position in which a GSA or non-credentialed non-diploma'ed individual is expected to engage in WPA-like (full blown WPA) work. 4) a GSA or non-credentialed non-diploma'ed individual's state as they learn real WPA work by engaging it from their disempowered point of view, rather than through curriculum that directly related to WPA work.