Since it’s inception in 2000, KCC’s WRAC program has certified 250 faculty members to teach Writing Intensive classes, allowing the institution to offer hundreds of WI courses each year and enabling students to fulfill their WI requirement to graduate and have a reading- and writing-infused experience in a discipline of their choice.

While the program has taken different approaches to assessment over the years, in 2025 we launched a multi-phase project, with the first phase aiming to gain more concrete information about how WI classes are being taught.

A survey was sent to 110 faculty members assigned to teach at least one WI section in fall 2025 and/or spring. Faculty were asked to provide some basic information about how they assign writing to learn and how they support drafting. After several follow up requests, 68 faculty members responded (a 62% response rate). Please see below for some key findings.

Question 1 asked, “For each WI section you are teaching, please briefly describe how you use informal writing to help students read class texts and learn concepts? How often do you assign informal writing? What kinds of writing do you ask for?”

• 100% named some kind of informal writing.
• Types of low-stakes writing named included: discussion board posts on texts; annotation of texts; brief writing on each source used in a research paper; writing about a class activity; written questions about reading; creative writing; summary of lab experience; brainstorming; freewriting; outlining; journal writing; writing about key ideas; writing about a quotation from the reading; quizzes on material.
• The frequency of low-stakes assignments varied, from every class to about 4 times per semester.

Question 2: “For each WI section that you teach, how do you assign drafting or revision to help students express their ideas? Do you scaffold or stage formal writing assignments? How do you give feedback or encourage revision?”

• Most described a process of supporting revision, although a few described alternative approaches to scaffolding or revision. For instance, one described their approach to writing as “iterative/building even if not as much about drafting and polishing as I’ve done in the past.”
• In a few instances, faculty note that revision is allowed in their class but not required.

Question 3: Do you have any questions for the WRAC team or anything you would like to share about your experience? For instance, if you were certified many years ago, do you have questions about changes to the basic requirements? Is there anything you are struggling with or any support that would be helpful as you continue to teach WI courses? 

• Over half of the respondents did not express any concerns or have questions, because they either left this question blank (10 responses; 15%) or said something like “no questions” or “all good” (28 responses; 41%).
• The most commonly raised concern was about students using AI inappropriately in writing-intensive classes. Fourteen respondents mentioned this (20.5%). One suggested that WRAC reconsider offering asynchronous WI classes.  (In spring 2026, only 39% of WI sections were taught fully in-person). 
• A significant number (11 responses; 16%) were interested in some kind of refresher course or other opportunity to connect with colleagues, ideally with release time. 
• Other issues raised included the following: concerns about non-native speakers (2 responses); concerns about how to motivate students (2); issues with the the observation form as inappropriate for WI sections; regret that writing fellows are no longer able to support WI classes; the need for more support in the self-certification process; the position that English 12 should be a prerequisite to WI classes.