From Writing Center to Writing Program?

As WAC/WID and writing center researchers amply document, the missions of both kinds of programs have always been complex (Carter, 2007; Mullin, 2011). In U.S. higher education, rapid growth in the numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students, heightened focus on giving professionally relevant skills instruction, and movement toward assessment and accountability have rendered WAC/WID and writing center missions more complex than ever. At Claremont Graduate University (CGU), a graduate-only institution without a recognized writing program, much of this complexity stems from the need for students to navigate the ongoing processes of academic socialization to graduate school, to their disciplines, and to professional communities they hope to join upon degree completion—without access to resources typically available at larger, more comprehensive universities.