A Responsibility We All Share > Dean Sara Sander, School of Arts & Sciences

The concept of Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) is not a new one in higher education. Educators strive to help students see the connection between writing concepts from one class to another. I have heard many faculty say time and time again, “Students can take Comp I and II, but when asked to write in a discipline-specific course, those skills go out the window.” How we promote these transferable skills is the hard part and the challenge that we, as a university, have undertaken.

Basic writing skills are the cornerstone to becoming a good writer. None of us could have done algebra without understanding the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Writing works the same way and requires practice… practice our students will now receive in every class. Now, I do not really think I need to convince educators of the importance of writing skills. We get that. However, do our students get it?  How can we promote the relevance of strong writing skills?

In 2004, The National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges conducted a survey of 120 major American companies regarding the emphasis placed on writing skills in the workplace. The report findings include:

• Writing is a “threshold skill” for both employment and promotion, particularly for salaried employees. Half the responding companies report that they take writing into consideration when hiring professional employees. “In most cases, writing ability could be your ticket in . . . or it could be your ticket out,” said one respondent (p. 3).
  
  
• People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired and are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion. “Poorly written application materials would be extremely prejudicial,” said one respondent. “Such applicants would not be considered for any position” (p. 3).
  
  
• Two‐thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility. “All employees must have writing ability . . . . Manufacturing documentation, operating procedures, reporting problems, lab safety, waste‐disposal operations—all have to be crystal clear,” said one human resource director (p. 3).
  
  
• Eighty percent or more of the companies in the service and finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sectors, the corporations with the greatest employment growth potential, assess writing during hiring. “Applicants who provide poorly written letters wouldn’t likely get an interview,” commented one insurance executive (p. 3).
  
  
• A similar dynamic is at work during promotions. Half of all companies take writing into account when making promotion decisions. One succinct comment: “You can’t move up without writing skills” (p. 3).
  
  
• More than half of all responding companies report that they “frequently” or “almost always” produce technical reports (59 percent), formal reports (62 percent), and memos and correspondence (70 percent). Communication through e‐mail and Power-Point presentations is almost universal. “Because of e‐mail, more employees have to write more often. Also, a lot more has to be documented,” said one respondent (p. 4).
  
  
• More than 40 percent of responding firms offer or require training for salaried employees with writing deficiencies. Based on the survey responses, it appears that remedying deficiencies in writing may cost American firms as much as $3.1 billion annually. “We’re sending out 200–300 people annually for skills‐upgrade courses like ‘business writing’ or ‘technical writing,’” said one respondent (p. 4).
  

Our mission at Kaplan University focuses on launching, enhancing, and changing careers for our students. This mission cannot be brought about without helping our students attain strong writing skills—a responsibility we all share.

College Board. (2004). The National Commission on Writing

     for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges. Writing: A
     ticket to work...Or a ticket out, A survey of business leaders.

 [This article was originally published in our August, 2009 issue.]