ABSTRACT
The editors of this collection assigned me the task of explaining how the lives of writing program administrators (WPAs) would change if there were no universal requirement in first-year composition (FYC). In 1991 I proposed that writing teachers and WPAs consider the possibility of dropping the universal requirement. My proposal has met with a chilly reception, to say the least. I hope to show here that the professional lives of WPAs and writing teachers would improve if FYC were made elective, and hence to make the proposal more attractive to those who may be hesitant to consider it.
