The WRAC Seminar FAQs for Faculty Interested in Becoming Certified

Becoming certified is a great way to provide service to your department by offering Writing Intensive classes (and to receive a service letter for your file). However, faculty who have completed the certification seminar also express appreciation for the opportunity to think about their teaching and to interact with faculty from other departments. WRAC-certified faculty enjoy teaching smaller classes (capped at 25) and believe that integrating writing and reading into classes deepens students’ educational experiences. 

The WRAC seminar runs during the fall semesters only. It is a mixed modality seminar with weekly asynchronous readings and activities and two required synchronous Zoom meetings. The goal of the seminar is to prepare faculty to revise a course that they have taught at KCC at least once, and preferably twice, to make it more reading and writing intensive for students. After the seminar concludes, faculty will develop a portfolio in consultation with the seminar coordinator for the WI course they intend to pilot in the subsequent spring or fall semesters.  

This varies by discipline, but course revisions should center writing assignments and give students the opportunity to revise their work on the basis of your feedback. Syllabi should make it clear that students will write in both informal and formal modes and that reading will be supported by writing. 

It's an online reading/writing course using Brightspace that models the ways in which you might use writing to support learning in your course. You will have the opportunity to think more deeply about your course goals and how to reach them in a 12-week semester. Our primary text is John Bean's book, Engaging Ideas; additional articles and chapters from books are also assigned as readings.  

We ask faculty to write regularly in three or four modalities: to reflect on their previous experience and existing knowledge; to respond to the thoughts of others in assigned readings; to solve problems when revising an assignment or syllabus; and to take stock of their learning experience using metacognition about learning processes. The ongoing focus will be your own course. During this course revision process, the seminar provides opportunities for faculty to share ideas with colleagues and to respond to their interests and concerns. 

Both process and product count. You need to complete all the writing assignments and discussion posts for the certification seminar and create a course portfolio that documents the ways you will be teaching your course on a reading/writing intensive basis

The elements of a course portfolio include the following: a reflective statement; a detailed syllabus with writing activities and drafting built into the calendar; copies of informal and formal writing assignment handouts; and samples of student work with names removed (for the final portfolio)  

In accordance with good WAC practice, we collect the portfolio twice, first in mid February, and then by June 30th. We call the first submission a provisional course portfolio and the second the final course portfolio. Both are required. Between February and June, you have the opportunity to revise your approach based on your experience piloting the course as well as feedback you receive from the WRAC Coordinators. 

There are two other ways to become certified:  

 Self-Guided Asynchronous Certification: This option is fully asynchronous and independent. Participants will complete all the online seminar readings and assemble a certification course portfolio according to WRAC requirements. Faculty do not receive compensation, and do not have to pilot the course.  

 Informed Self Certification: Participants who are familiar with WRAC principles and have applied WRAC principles to their courses can complete the Informed Self Certification by assembling a certification course portfolio according to WRAC requirements. Faculty do not receive compensation, and do not have to pilot the course.