University Writing Outcomes Assessments
Because ECU’s Writing Intensive initiative crosses all departments and programs, we need a tool for assessing how effectively students are learning to write during their undergraduate years that cannot be measured effectively at the department level. After all, students typically take two of their WI courses as part of their general education/foundations coursework, and these courses are not part of most students’ major course of study. Likewise, while many students take both of their remaining WI courses in their major,m just as many take one of those courses as a free elective. Faculty and administrators at ECU decided that we needed an assessment strategy that would allow us to track student growth and development across programs/departments and across their time at ECU.
Students in all Writing Intensive (WI) courses are required to submit at least one significant, revised writing project from each WI course to the UWP; these materials then become part of an archive of student work that is sampled for yearly assessments. Along with that project, students should include a copy of the assignment instructions and an analytical/critical reflection (e.g., a Writer’s Memo) that addresses key questions about their writing. These materials should all be combined into one file (Word, PDF, etc.) and uploaded to the appropriate assignment in their Canvas courses. Course instructors can provide additional information about how students should complete this WI course requirement.
Student Instructions
Submitting Your Assignment (PDF): If you are confused about what to upload or how to do so, your first stop should always be your WI course instructor. In general, however, this guide will help you with making decisions about what you upload and how to do so.
Faculty Instructions
Assignment Setup Instructions (PDF): If this is your first time setting up the UWP Writing Assessment to your Canvas course, these instructions will walk you step-by-step through that process. This process is now using a traditional Canvas assignment, so if you’re comfortable editing your own assignments in Canvas, you should have no trouble with this assignment setup.
Assign Quick Start Instructions (PDF): We created a one-page quick start guide for faculty who are comfortable editing Canvas assignments. If you have set up this assignment before, this quick start guide will speed you through the process.
UWP Writing Assessment Self-Analysis (DOCX): As part of this process, students should provide substantial answers to the Self-Analysis Questions as part of their upload process. These questions are included as part of the UWP Writing Assessment assignment, but we would encourage you to give them to students in advance so they can draft a thoughtful response before uploading the materials. In this guide, we offer suggestions for effectively engaging students’ metacognitive skills 3 different ways.
Troubleshooting
If you are having any problems with the UWP Writing Assessment assignment, you can click here to submit a help ticket request to ECU.
For further technical assistance, Canvas is available in several ways to assist:
You must first be logged in with your ECU credentials to submit a help request ticket to Canvas. Once logged in, select your designation (admin, faculty, or student) in the dropdown menu to proceed.
Additionally, the Canvas Support Hotline is available at (252) 347-0015.
For questions or assistance with the University Writing Outcomes, faculty may contact the University Writing Program using the following email: writing@ecu.edu.
Portfolium (UWPort)
If you are looking for information about or how to download your portfolio from Portfolium, click here to visit the Portfolium information page.