Drew University Writing Placement Process
2009
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Although most of your classes at Drew will require you to write, Drew's General Education Program also includes courses specifically designated as writing courses and you will need to take several of them before you graduate. You will begin with College Composition in your first year, then take two or more Writing Intensive (WI) courses sometime between your sophomore and senior year and a Writing in the Major course (WM) or course sequence once you declare a major. As with most of your General Education courses, you will select the courses that interest you along with the semester, days, and times that fit your overall schedule. Once the courses are complete, you will upload your best papers to your electronic portfolio, along with a reflection on your work. The first course in the writing sequence, College Writing I, prepares you for the other courses and for college-level writing in general. It will also teach you how to use the electronic portfolio.
Following the principle of student choice that is at the heart of Drew's General Education and electronic portfolios, students are not placed in writing classes based on SAT, ACT, or AP scores. Instead, you are invited to select the level of College Writing that you feel is most appropriate for you through a process known as guided self-placement. This process invites you to select a class and then confirm that you made the wisest choice by taking a Placement Confirmation Test that is evaluated by Drew faculty members. Rather than making a one-size-fits-all decision based on a standardized test, we make individual decisions based on the writing skills you have already developed. Here's how it works:
Part 1: Guided Self-Placement
When you receive your on-line registration material from the Registrar, you will also receive a description of Drew's College Writing courses and a checklist you can use to help you select the most appropriate writing class for your first semester (if you did not receive it yet, you can download the checklist here: http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Placement2009/Checklist.pdf). We ask you to consider the writing instruction you have already received, your attitudes about writing, and your sense of your own competency and use those answers to help you select the most appropriate College Writing class. Once pre-registration begins, you can pre-register for the writing course of your choice on-line along with your other courses. (Please contact the Office of the Registrar if you have questions about registration.)
If you have not already registered for a College Writing course, please use the checklist to help you do so. Follow this link for a copy of the checklist, guidelines, and course descriptions: http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Placement2009/Checklist.pdf. To increase the benefit of the living-learning communities in the College Seminar and residence halls, we ask that students in each seminar all select an appropriate College Writing course from the specific list in your registration packet so that every writing class contains students who are also enrolled in one of four or five College Seminars (You can access this list at http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Placement2009/choices.html).
Part 2: Placement confirmation test
To help us ensure that you have made the wisest decision about which College Writing course to take, the next step is for you to take an un-timed placement confirmation test. The test is administered on line at several points during the summer and on paper for those with appropriate accommodations. This test includes reading comprehension and summary and synthesis writing, and allows us to assess each student writer's strengths and needs. The essays you write for this test will be incorporated into your first semester classes, so it is important that you spend time on them. The first essay focuses on the Class of 2013's Common Reading, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. This book and your essay will then be discussed in your seminar and residence hall in addition to your College Writing class. You will need to buy and read that book as soon as possible if you have not already done so. After June 22, you will be able to view the assignment and related readings and download printable .pdf files from http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Placement2009/readings.html. The second part of the test is an essay in which you will be asked to justify your self-placement choice based on your assessment of your writing and your literacy history and some information we will provide about the courses and about placement in general.
Taking the Placement Confirmation Test Online
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The test will be offered online throughout the summer with three submission deadlines, July 15, July 29, and August 5 (it will be exactly the same on each occasion). After June 20 you will be able to access it and sign up for one of the submission dates at http://drew.imoat.net
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Your Login is:......................your Drew student ID number
Your Password is:............. your Drew student ID number (you will be asked to change this on your first log in)
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You can view the readings and download printable .pdf files from http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Placement2009/readings.html.
Once you submit your response to each question, you will receive an email confirming that it has been received. When we have read and scored the essays, you will receive another email either confirming your self-placement or suggesting that you take a different course.
............Technical problems?
.............Please contact Joanne McCann at exam@drew.edu if you have any questions or experience any technical problems.
............Questions?
.............Check the FAQ page to see if your question is answered there (http://depts.drew.edu/composition/Placement2009/faqs.html).
............ If not, contact Joanne McCann or Sandra Jamieson at exam@drew.edu
Taking the print version of the Placement Confirmation Test
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If you have compelling reasons, you may petition for permission to take an un-timed paper version of the placement confirmation test by mail or during orientation. Please contact the Director of Composition, Professor Sandra Jamieson (sjamieso@drew.edu) as soon as possible to explain why such an accommodation should be made.
Part 3: Advising
Where test results suggest that a student did not select the most appropriate class, the Director of Composition and/or your faculty adviser will contact you and discuss your options. The emphasis of this model is on self-assessment, informed choice, and the articulation of a rationale for that choice. Our goal is to guide you so that you take the course that will help you learn the things you need to learn to be a successful Drew student. In the majority of cases, the student's self-placement decision is upheld.
............Other Questions?
............Please contact the Director of Composition, Professor Sandra Jamieson, if you have any questions or concerns.
............She can be reached at sjamieso@drew.edu