Transforming WAC through a Discourse-Based Approach to University Outcomes Assessment

Our aim in this paper is to tell the story of how a discourse-based approach to university outcomes assessment can transform the teaching of writing and critical thinking across the curriculum. The institutional assessment plan developed by our university has been influenced by the work of Barbara Walvoord, a pioneering figure in writing across the curriculum. We will illustrate the surprising power of Walvoord’s methods by telling our story at Seattle University, where Walvoord was hired as an outside consultant to help us with university assessment planning. We believe that these methods could be successfully transported to other institutions.