Thanks for mentioning this survey, Russ. For everyone's convenience, I've
pasted a key paragraph from the results:
"All but seven departments offer composition courses, although some offer
composition only as a component
of a combination composition/literature course. Composition sections are,
on average, smaller than
literature sections. Of 350 sections of composition so far included in the
survey, only 25 have class-maxima
of 60 or above. These large classes average 107 students per section.
Smaller composition courses, which
make up the vast majority of those offered, have, across universities, an
average maximum of 31 students.
The lowest reported maximum was 17, and the highest for smaller courses
was 38. "
I'm gratified that "small" (average size 31 !!!) composition classes are by
far the majority, but also curious that there are as many as 25
lecture-hall classes. I wonder if many of those are "combination
composition/literature courses" which, from my understanding, often make
little more than a token effort at teaching writing. For example, I
believe both Saskatchewan and Alberta (among others) have such classes with
recommended formula roughly along the lines of 70%-30% (i.e., 70%
literature, 30% composition). However, from talking with faculty from both
those depts, I understand that the 30% composition is often diluted to 20%
or lower.
At 09:02 AM 9/13/00 AST4ADT, you wrote:
>I suspect this, which I just received notice of because it was sent
>to department chairs and I'm acting this year, is relevant to the
>current discussion. It seems to be the grandchild of the survey I
>did for CACE back in neolithic times . . . (on my Web site at . . .
>/cacesurv.htm ).
>
> -- Russ
>
>------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
>
>From: "PJ Finn" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [snip]
>Subject: First Year English Programs
>Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 21:42:52 -0700
>
>Hello,
>During the 1999/2000 academic year the Department of English at the
>University of Victoria <http://www.engl.uvic.ca> , in conjunction with The
>Canadian Association of Chairs of English (CACE), conducted a survey of
>First Year English Programs at Canadian universities. The survey operated by
>distributing a list of 6 detailed questions. The Chairs and their
>departments were contacted by email, fax and phone.
>The organizers of this survey would like to thank all of the Chairs and
>departments for their kindness and understanding when responding to the
>survey. We were able to approach a response rate of 90% - a real achievement
>given the length of the questionnaire and the typically demanding schedule
>of department Chairs.
>Special note should be made of the format of the survey. The answers are
>transcriptions of emails, faxes, letters and phone conversations. Many of
>the interviews were conducted as interviewees rushed between committee
>meetings, classes, conferences and other important activities. Due to the
>nature of this process, readers will find this report rich in the type of
>creative grammar that arises from informal conversation, point-form answers
>and electronic dispatches.
>A set of preliminary results of the survey were delivered to the annual
>meeting of CACE at the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities held
>at the University of Alberta this past spring. This web site is the next
>step in our continuing work on this project. Updates will be posted and any
>input or commentary would be most welcome.
>To view the site click on the link below or copy and paste it into the
>address window of your browser:
>
>http://web.uvic.ca/~pjfinn/fys/
>
>If you would like a printed copy, please contact me at the address below and
>let me know if you would like an attached file, fax or hard copy.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Patrick Finn, PhD Candidate
>Department of English
>University of Victoria
>STN CSC
>PO 3070
>Victoria, British Columbia
>V8W 3W1
>250.383.9051
>[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> __|~_
>Russell A. Hunt __|~_)_ __)_|~_ Professor of English
>St. Thomas University )_ __)_|_)__ __) PHONE: (506) 452-0424
>Fredericton, New Brunswick | )____) | FAX: (506) 450-9615
>E3B 5G3 CANADA ___|____|____|____/ [log in to unmask]
> \ /
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.StThomasU.ca/~hunt/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
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> [log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
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>
> For the list archives and information about the organization,
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> http://www.StThomasU.ca/inkshed/
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>
>
All the best,
John
----
John B. Killoran, PhD
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English Language and Literature
Brock University
St. Catharines, Ontario
L2S 3A1 Canada
(905) 688-5550 ext.3886
[log in to unmask]
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
To leave the list, send a SIGNOFF CASLL command to
[log in to unmask] or, if you experience difficulties,
write to Russ Hunt at [log in to unmask]
For the list archives and information about the organization,
the annual conference, and publications, go to the Inkshed Web site at
http://www.StThomasU.ca/inkshed/
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