Composition Forum 35, Spring 2017 - Welcoming Linguistic Diversity and Saying Adios to Remediation - Stretch and Studio Composition at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

Program profile on the University of New Mexico’s stretch/studio writing initiative, designed in response to a shift away from traditional remediation and the growing share of linguistically and racially diverse students. The profile outlines the curriculum’s emphasis on linguistic and cultural diversity, reports initial assessment outcomes, and describes future plans. It also positions the program as an adaptable model for writing programs implementing stretch/studio courses and serving similar student populations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages9

Reading Time23 min

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Composition Forum 35, Spring 2017

Welcoming Linguistic Diversity and Saying Adios to Remediation

Program Profile: Stretch and Studio Composition at UNM

Current Issue From the Editors Weblog Editorial Board Editorial Policy Submissions Archives Accessibility Search Composition Forum 35, Spring 2017 Welcoming Linguistic Diversity and Saying Adios to Remediation: Stretch and Studio Composition at a Hispanic-Serving Institution Bethany A. Davila and Cristyn L. Elder Abstract: In this program profile, we describe the stretch/studio program recently implemented at the University of New Mexico. This program responds both to an institutional move away from remediation and to the large number of linguistically and racially diverse students at our institution. In this profile, we describe the new program’s curriculum, which focuses on and values the linguistic and cultural diversity of our students. We also share the initial results of our assessment of the program and our plans for the future. We offer this profile as a successful model for adaptation by other writing programs that are also implementing stretch/studio coursesand/or that have a growing number of linguistically and culturally diverse students on their campus. I am so glad…we were able to show that our potential is greater than the result of a standardized test. – Student in Studio Composition Course In the fall of 2012, we, Drs. Davila and Elder, were newly hired assistant professors in the Rhetoric and Writing Program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) who were appointed as assistant directors to the Core Writing Program, a series of 100-and 200-level composition courses that fulfill core curriculum requirements. Outside of our purview was the Introductory Studies (IS)“remedial” writing course offered to students with low ACT/SAT English placement scores (below 19/450) and taught by faculty from the local community college on UNM’s campus. Up until fall 2014, about 35%(and up to 45%) of incoming first-year UNM students placed into one or more of UNM’s IS remedial courses. Although the IS students were enrolled in a UNM course and paid UNM tuition, they were held at arm’s length from the university as they received neither graduation credit nor a curriculum that aligned with UNM’score writing program. In short, UNM administrators sent a message that these developing writers were not theirs to“deal with.” Like many other scholar-educators committed to student success and developing writers, we were troubled with the message being sent to students as well as the unethical situation of accepting students into the university and charging them for tuition when they would not receive college credit for their efforts. In response to the previous remediation approach at UNM, we turned to best practices in teaching developing writers: stretch and studio courses. Both course models offer additional support to students as they complete their required, credit-bearing, first-year composition courses and allow students to earn college credit in the process. Knowing that stretch and studio programs had been successful at other institutions (Adams, et al. , Glau, Grego and Thompson, Soliday and Gleason), we prioritized the development and implementation of these courses at UNM. As of fall 2014, we have replaced 100% of the IS writing courses with two curricular options for students: ENGL 111/112: Composition I/II (stretch) and ENGL 113: Enhanced (studio) Composition. We modeled our two-semester stretch course after that of Arizona State University (Glau) and stretched our traditional English 110 (Accelerated Composition) course across two semesters. Students can begin the stretch sequence in summer or fall. Our studio program, like many others, is a one-semester course that requires an additional class session per week with smaller student groups ranging from seven to twelve students (depending on the length of the class period) . Both our stretch and studio courses address the same student learning outcomes of the traditional Accelerated Composition model and contribute to student success by a) reducing the

FAQs

What problem does the stretch/studio program address at the University of New Mexico?

It responds to the institutional move away from remediation while supporting a large population of linguistically and racially diverse students.

How does the new program’s curriculum differ from the former remedial approach?

The prior course used a current-traditional model focused on “standard written English,” while the stretch/studio curriculum uses a rhetorical genre approach aligned with core writing outcomes.

What courses replaced the introductory studies remedial writing option at UNM?

As of fall 2014, the IS writing courses were replaced with ENGL 111/112 (Composition I/II stretch) and ENGL 113 (Enhanced studio) Composition.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay