Back to the Future - First Year Writing in the Binghamton University Writing Initiative, State University of New York

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa

The essay traces the institutional history that led to establishing First Year Writing at Binghamton University through the Writing Initiative. It outlines how the earlier WAC approach, though theoretically strong, lacked sequencing and required support, resulting in delayed enrollment and uneven writing-to-learn instruction. It then explains how program designers framed FYW as a set of electives and a shared foundation for college writing, presenting theories, course overview, constraints, and lessons from the inaugural year.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

A History of WAC at Binghamton, and What Led Us (Back) to First Year Writing

From WAC’s promise to sequencing gaps

Resource distribution and course availability

Composition Forum 21 , Spring 2010 Back to the Future: First Year Writing in the Binghamton University Writing Initiative, State University of New York Kelly Kinney and Kristi Murray Costello Abstract: This essay seeks to explain the history that led to the establishment of First Year Writing at Binghamton University , a program which offers a set of electives that complement discipline specific and writing across the curriculum courses while providing first year students a common experience in and comprehensive introduction to college writing. Co founded in 2008 2009 by Kelly Kinney and Rebecca Moore Howard, the Binghamton University Writing Initiative is an autonomous campus unit devoted exclusively to literacy instruction. A central component within the Writing Initiative,{ 1} First Year Writing was developed in response to the perception that the institution’s general education composition offerings were not meeting the needs of students or the desires of faculty. While the State University of New York at Binghamton had endorsed the writing across the curriculum (WAC) model it adopted in the 1990s and had subsequently sustained a variety of WAC courses across campus , when Kinney accepted her position in Fall 2007, her home department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric was still offering the lion’s share of composition courses and had a scarcity of faculty specialists in writing studies to support them. This essay seeks to explain the history that led to the establishment of First Year Writing at Binghamton, a set of electives which seeks to complement discipline specific and writing to learn courses while also providing first year students a common experience in and comprehensive introduction to college writing. True to the genre of the “Program Profile,” we also provide a description of the theories informing the program , an overview of its courses and institutional restraints , and a synthesis of the lessons learned during the inaugural year of First Year Writing at Binghamton. A History of WAC at Binghamton, and What Led Us ( Back) to First Year Writing It may seem counterintuitive that , after initiating a WAC program , our institution chose to establish First Year Writing (FYW); after all , many see WAC programs , particularly those that stress writing in the disciplines , as a progressive alternative to “generic” first year composition (Smit 146) . At face value, Binghamton’s WAC model remains both theoretically sound and pedagogically rich. It was built on the principles that teaching writing is the responsibility of all faculty; that writing development is always “ongoing and lifelong”; that “writing about a subject is a powerful means of learning about a subject”; and that “writing to learn is as important as writing to communicate” (Gay and Tricomi 6) . Consistent with Sharon Crowley ’s proposal to abolish universal first year requirements (241), another attractive component of Binghamton’s WAC model was that it did not force students to take a required first year course or a mandated series of courses: instead, it proposed a range of composition offerings in a variety of disciplinary contexts , allowing students to pick and choose among electives that complement their educational goals . But while Binghamton faculty had high hopes for the WAC program given its sound pedagogical promise and diverse curricular potential , these goals were not altogether realized. One of the WAC program’s strengths in theory—namely , that it did not compel students to enroll in a required sequence of courses—became a notable weakness in practice. Despite good intentions , lack of sequencing made it possible for students to delay enrollment indefinitely. While Binghamton students do have options in completing their general education composition component (seeAppendix One), nothing in the WAC model compels them to enroll in writing courses early in their college careers , leaving some ill equipped to take on

FAQs

What problem did the earlier WAC model at Binghamton create in practice?

Although students had options, the lack of sequencing allowed them to delay enrollment indefinitely, leaving many less prepared for advanced literacy tasks as they progressed in their majors.

How did the Writing Initiative relate to First Year Writing?

The Writing Initiative is an autonomous campus unit devoted to literacy instruction, and First Year Writing was developed within it to provide a common and comprehensive introduction to college writing for first-year students.

What elements does the essay claim to include in the “Program Profile” presentation?

It describes theories informing the program, provides an overview of its courses and institutional constraints, and synthesizes lessons learned during the inaugural year of First Year Writing at Binghamton.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by awa