One Size Doesn't Fit All

The primary purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the different ways first-year writing (FYW) is conceived at colleges/universities throughout Florida. Hence, much like Richard Larson's 1986 study, the researcher analyzed FYW core values, teaching philosophies, program policies, and sample syllabi from several colleges and universities in Florida. In Chapter Two, the researcher conducted a historical examination of three state-level policies (e.g., 1971 Articulation Agreement, CLAST requirement, and the Gordon Rule requirement) that continue to influence the development and curricula design of FYW at all public and some independent colleges and universities in Florida, in an effort to provide a more regional context for examining FYW programs. In Chapter Three, the researcher explored national claims of illiteracy since the 1970s and the impact of those debates, considered the influence of the College Board on composition and the literacy debates, and discussed how the evolution of rhetoric and composition as a college discipline has influenced FYW programs nationally. In Chapter Four, the researcher described the function of FYW in Florida colleges and universities by analyzing the course descriptions from sixty-seven public and dependent colleges, surveying faculty and WPAs from selected colleges and universities, and presenting cases of four FYW programs. The researcher concluded that although all public colleges and universities meet the minimum criteria established at the state level, the community colleges appear to be more influenced by the CLAST criteria and state-level learning outcomes and performance objectives. The SUS colleges tend to adopt more discipline specific learning outcomes and more effectively articulate a teaching philosophy consistent with a theoretical paradigm. The researcher was unable to make any general inferences about FYW at independent colleges and universities, other than many appear to resemble in scope FYW programs at community colleges.