Program: Writing Across the Curriculum Program
at the University of Saint Thomas
Institution: University of Saint Thomas –
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Founding Director: Erika Scheurer
Administrative Team:
- WAC Advisory Committee:
- Susan Callaway: ex officio, Center for Writing
- Kevin Mummey: Adjunct faculty representative
- Greg Vandegrift: College of Arts and Sciences Division 1
- Sue Myers: College of Arts and Sciences Division 2
- Brooke Vetter: College of Arts and Sciences Division 3
- Jessica Hodge: College of Arts and Sciences Division 4
- Erica Diehn: Opus College of Business
- Liz Fogarty: School of Education
- Ali Ling: School of Engineering
- Amy Hedman-Robertson: College of Health
- Louis Porter: Dougherty Family College [two-year college]
Year Started: 2009
Program Website: Core Curriculum | University of St. Thomas – Minnesota
Established in 2009, the WAC program at the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) takes a unique tri-partite approach, offering Writing Intensive, Writing to Learn, and Writing in the Discipline courses. With a 16-credit graduation requirement across these three types of WAC courses, students receive intensive instruction and practice with “learning to write” pedagogy early in their college careers as well as later in the major, and with “writing to learn” courses infused throughout. The second distinctive quality of UST-WAC is that faculty, not courses, are WAC-certified. Twice a year, faculty cohorts of 20 participate in a highly interactive one-week seminar qualifying them to teach WAC-flagged courses. Afterwards, they may choose to teach course sections as Writing Intensive (capped at 20 students), Writing to Learn (capped at 25), or Writing in the Discipline (capped at 20). The parameters for WI and WID courses include feedback from faculty on drafts in progress, ensuring close, individual attention to student writing. Finally, UST-WAC was founded to integrate the core curriculum, creating a culture of writing that unites diverse disciplines. The program continues to thrive because the faculty and administration are invested in sustaining this culture of writing.