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In 1990 Helon Howell Raines published "Is There a Writing Program in This College? Two Hundred and Thirty-Six Two-Year Schools Respond," in which she reported on her study, via survey and eight follow-up telephone interviews, of two-year college writing programs across the country. Raines asked questions about departmental and institutional structure, curriculum, conceived purposes of the writing courses, and other things, encompassing all aspects of what could be considered a writing program. In the twenty-plus years since Raines's study, numerous writers have likewise sought--explicitly or implicitly--a pattern or model for a writing program at the two-year college and, like Raines, have failed to find or articulate one. In this article, the author traces that arc of research and looks at implicit patterns of belief that shape discussions of writing programs that occur throughout the field to argue that the time has come to offer a definition, however tentative, of a model of a two-year college writing program. To do this, the author looks at this research and at these patterns of beliefs through the lens of activity theory to develop a concise and usable definition of a two-year college writing program.

The word "idea" assumed special meaning in composition studies when Stephen M. North, in "The Idea of a Writing Center," showed how an idea can evoke and ignite intense expectations and aversions surrounding literacy instruction. In particular, North lamented the "false sense of knowing" that made getting a message through (in this case, about what a writing center really does) so difficult. In another seminal essay, "Inventing the University," David Bartholomae argues that the idea of the university that student writers invent when they "sit down to write for us" creates a set of expectations that deeply influences those students' writing performance. In both cases, the "idea" precedes and deeply influences the perceptions, interactions, and performances of those involved in the activity--either interacting with a writing center or writing a placement essay. By offering an annotated image of a half-dozen two-year college writing "programs," this essay seeks to raise awareness of the challenges facing those who promote, work in, work toward, or participate in the development of two-year college writing programs and to consider how the "idea" of a writing program plays out in shaping those challenges. They offer an annotated image of a half-dozen two-year college writing "programs"--however loosely defined. (Contains 1 note.)

Several years ago, when his college first financed a writing program administrator (WPA) position--reassigned time and a budget to pay adjunct faculty stipends for program development--the author met with all the most senior adjunct faculty. "Without you," he told them, "this effort to build a better writing program won't work. Participation and buy-in among adjunct faculty is essential." The author knew from experience that any changes to curriculum, any new assessment processes, any new professional development initiatives would be viewed with suspicion by the adjunct faculty, who have no job security and who have historically been institutionally marginalized. Yet he also knew that very little had been written about creating and sustaining writing programs (as opposed to a loosely organized collection of classes) at two-year colleges. Since the WPA position was new on his campus and very rare in two-year college English departments in general, the author conducted a survey and then follow-up interviews to better understand adjunct faculty attitudes toward and expectations of WPAs in two-year college English programs. Results show that adjunct faculty working conditions create more than a sense of unfairness; rather, they create a very real energy that works against the movement necessary to build a writing program out of a collection of writing classes, to develop the sense of a "we" moving toward a common goal. In this article, the author summarizes the current context of adjunct faculty in two-year colleges, summarizes the findings of the survey and interviews he conducted, and offers suggestions on how to work within and against this system of use and abuse. (Contains 1 note.)

For five years, the author has been advocating a writing program administrator (WPA) position at his two-year college. While the vice president of instruction has been sympathetic, the issue has been funding. As a means to prepare and to justify the WPA's continuing existence, he has set to work mapping out the terrain, trying to anticipate the contours of the job, the pitfalls, and the aims. This work has helped him see that the WPA at the two-year college (and perhaps at small four-year colleges without a graduate program in English) is not only an essential function, but is significantly different from the WPA position at universities and larger colleges. In this article, the author clarifies the differences while outlining the major issues he and other two-year college WPAs face. (Contains 3 notes.)

Over the years of teaching, the author has been more and more interested in making course content and goals relevant to the real, lived experiences of students. Based on this interest and spurred by an article on community-based research in "Teaching English in the Two-Year College" (TETYC) in September of 2005 as well as a move in composition to encourage student-scholarship, the author has put into practice a new, old kind of research paper, Ken Macrorie's "I-Search." In his books dating from the mid-1980s, Macrorie advocates a kind of research for students that begins from their perspective and encourages them to conduct "real research": that is, finding out the answer to a question that puzzles them. The intersection of the call for civic engagement and the call for student scholars at the center of writing pedagogy, along with the daunting challenge of introducing beginning students to the demands and rewards of academic writing, is an ideal location for a revival of Macrorie's "I-Search". In this article, the author talks about his own version of the I-Search paper that is a radical departure from the norm: Ken Macrorie's "I-Search" paper.

The article focuses on the history and development of writing programs in two-year colleges, tracing their evolution from descriptive to prescriptive and addressing the need for ethical considerations in program administration. Topics include the initial lack of a standardized writing program, the role of writing program administrators (WPAs), and the ongoing debate about the nature of two-year college writing programs.

The article focuses on the symposium that discusses need for Two-Year Colleges (TYCs) to be at the forefront of research on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education. The authors argue that TYCs, due to their diverse student population, should lead research efforts in this area. They emphasize that TYC faculty should actively engage in scholarship to better understand and address DEI issues, despite challenges they face in terms of heavy teaching loads and limited resources.

Considers how the Internet provides new opportunities for teaching about plagiarism and how to avoid it. Defines and gives examples of three different kinds of plagiarism: direct plagiarism, paraphrase plagiarism, and patchwork plagiarism. Discusses a way of teaching students about plagiarism. Concludes that plagiarism is usually unintentional. (SC)

The article examines that the Two-Year College English Association distributed a survey to two-year college English faculty across the United States through professional listservs, regional distribution lists, and social media platforms. Topics include considered that TYCA organized a task force to investigate workload issues at two-year colleges and develop standards for professional working conditions.

The article offers information related to academic freedom in higher education in the U.S. It mentions the implementation of the two-year college writing program in the country as well as faculty views of academic freedom such as from experienced contingent faculty and tenured faculty with programmatic responsibilities.

An essay is presented on writing programs in collages. It mentions the challenges for those who promote or participate in developing two-year College writing programs. It mentions that the role of writing program in shaping those challenges. It also provides a brief outline of the Council of Writing Program Administrators.

A review of the DVD release of the educational film "Take 20: Teaching Writing," by Todd Taylor is presented.

The article discusses the college entrance test or the standardized test which simply cannot account for the good writing of today that can become irrelevant. It states that faculty from high schools, colleges and universities have designed a "Bridge to College" course for twelfth graders who have poor scores on the Smarter Balanced Assessment test in the eleventh grade and be lead to placement into English 101 at any colleges if they have a satisfactory completion of the course.

The article offers the author's insights regarding the use of National Public Radio (NPR) story. The author says that in an exercise students listen to an NPR story "Using Trees to Curb Climate Change Not Simple," by Christopher Joyce wherein they were asked to analyze how Joyce introduced the idea with a paraphrase and used the sources to develop his story. The author adds that the students were also asked to answer questions in an online discussion forum and respond to the post of others.

The author reflects on Linda Brender's review of "College Writing and Beyond: A New Framework for University Writing Instruction," by Anne Beaufort. He expresses his appreciation in Brender's effort to point out the value of the book to multiple audiences, and her assessment of the importance of the epilogue. However, he notes Brender's failure to discuss the radicalness of Beaufort's argument.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience and realization as a review editor for the journal "Teaching English in the Two Year College" noting what he has learned about book reviews in the periodical.

The article presents the poem "EXCHANGE," by Jeffrey Klausman. First Line: Creative Writing Student: Last Line: the world has grown just a little bit darker.