Like many universities, we face challenges in supporting writing which could be viewed as an opportunity to plan for student success. Based upon the Senate Administration Council on Assessment & Planning AY 2012-13 report of the Committee for the Review of PLO Assessment Reports:"Nearly 33% (8) of the undergraduate program reports identified student writing/composition skills as an area requiring attention.” While these findings have informed the development of a Task Force to address these concerns, these kinds of institutional reports call for a need to further examine communication as a skill priority.

Writing, particularly its evaluation and professionalized support, needs to be addressed as UC Merced approaches its second phase of becoming a distinguished Tier 1, Research University. Some of the recommendations for the above report point to a need to have more productive conversations across departments and schools about the nature and value of written communication for all disciplines and majors at UCM. As such, UCM leaders could invest in the development of a Writing and Reading Center. Such a physical space would undoubtedly begin to facilitate such inter-campus conversations. These conversations would further support discipline-specific communication skills, extending existing curriculum in Writing in the Sciences, Writing in the Social Sciences, and Writing in the Humanites. Many of these courses are writing intensive and are completed successfully when evidence shows that a student is able to write well within their particular discipline and even across disciplines. Such a Writing and Reading Center should, thus, be directed by someone who has had experience with not only Writing Across the Curriculum programs, but also experience in working with a range of students coming from a diverse array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds (such as those found on our campus).  The latter suggestion is grounded in the current campus demographics which show that we are the most linguistically diverse campus in the University of California and among one of five HSI research universities in the country. Furthermore, 60% of UCM students speak another language in addition to English. Recent studies have demonstrated linguistic advantages of multilingualism. How might this be the case at our campus with our students? Further, a writing center could provide intensive evaluation of writing skills and needs that could inform academic planning. A writing center also ensures student success at the graduate and postdoctoral levels. Consistent with national statistics, 30% of our graduate student population is international. As graduate success is increasingly defined by publication, it is critical to support writing as a preparing future faculty endeavor. As such, the request for one LPSOE who is a specialist in linguistics and second languages is a most desireable candidate to participate in coordinating a center, collaborating with the Senate on this institutional priority, and training professional tutors. 

In the context of a 21st century university that is growing exponentially, it is essential to assess the needs associated with this growth and address them in a way that will facilitate such growth successfully and competitively campus-wide. As the current political climate of education ensues, it is also essential that our campus attends to the demands of accreditation and accountability as Obama's Higher Education Act proposes that government funding of financial aid to public universities will closely relate to servicing the educational needs of our current student population. Since both written communication and information literacy outcomes are on the next WASC accreditation checklist, as core competencies, and findings of the SACAP report point to a need in these areas, it is imperative that campus-wide attention to students' writing, communicative and literacy needs be further strengthened and supported by a Writing and Reading Center. In this space, many of the campus literacy needs can be researched and acted upon in order to provide effective support to students and promote inter-campus facutly involvement. As mentioned eariler, conversations will be encouraged and facilitated by a Writing and Reading Center staff and faculty who serve the needs of both undergraduate researchers and graduate researchers alike. 

The Merritt Writing Program Proposal, which included a Writing and Reading Center proposes items that are similar to the following:

1. Identify a space for a Writing Center, potentially a collaborative space as a research initiative (e.g. with the library to support information literacy).

2.. Hire Writing Center faculty/staff who have experience in Writing Across the Curriculum programs and experience working with students who possess similar demographic characteristics such as those found here at UC Merced, especially pertaining to the linguisitc diversity of our campus.*

3. Advertise to faculty and students the availability of the Center for various purposes, such as help within their Writing classes and other writing intensive assignments such as those found in, for example, Chemistry Lab Reports. 

4. The proposed faculty to direct this department should be formally educated in the areas of tutor training as well, and professional writing tutors with written communication skills within their respective fields would would make this Center successful and could be possible income resource for prospective students who would work at the Center as Tutors.

5. The Center should espouse a teaching philosophy that is transparent and grounded in pedagogical theory to provide a coherent tutoring experience that is focused and practiced.

6. Such a pedagogical focus could be taught in a course that is designed for student tutors who would be hired by the Center.

7. Last but not least, this Center should operate on a daily basis both physically and digitally. Digital tutoring would also be a feature offered by a successful writing center. 

*This proposal contains no "Metrics worksheet" as it intended to directly align with and further support the proposal submitted by the Merritt Writing Program. 

Thank you very much for your consideration of this new and exciting possibility,

Dr. Iris D. Ruiz

Lecturer, Merritt Writing Program

Director of the UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal