Using a Faculty Survey of College-Level Reading and Writing Requirements To Revise Developmental Reading and Writing Objectives. Kellogg Institute Final Report, Practicum 1999.

The report discusses the findings of a study on the reading and writing demands of college-level courses at Maryland's Charles County Community College (College of Southern Maryland as of July 1, 2000). The Language and Literature Department wanted to determine whether its developmental courses were actually preparing students for the reading and writing demands in college-level classes. The results of the survey were used to re-evaluate and revise the developmental English and reading course objectives. Data from a survey of all full-time and part-time faculty revealed that students are expected to perform a significant number of sophisticated reading and writing tasks at the freshmen and sophomore levels. Information about writing assignments revealed that of the 216 faculty respondents, 36 percent required research papers, 14 percent journals, 28 percent essays, and 19 percent summaries. The survey revealed various other issues that should be addressed in the future, such as reading and writing prerequisites for certain college-level courses, student attitudes that inhibit their ability to learn and persist, and supplemental support for developmental students. The report includes an overview of the most frequent faculty comments, from which some of the more valuable information came. Attachments contain faculty survey instruments, data from the survey, and the revised syllabus for the developmental classes. (JA)