The writing community college students do at a transfer institution

Community colleges because of their philosophy have developed programs which are sensitive to the communities and students they serve. Thus, it would appear that data are needed in order to better prepare students for the writing they will do at a transfer institution. The present study was designed to provide such information for students transferring to one institution.

A survey was made with two questionnaires, one sent to professors teaching 300-level courses at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the second questionnaire sent to the Virginia public community college transfer students who were taking at least one 300-level course in the fall of 1972. Eighty percent return from professors and seventy-six percent from students was obtained. The results were tabulated by colleges: Agriculture, Architecture, Arts and Sciences (divided into two divisions), Business, Education, Engineering, and Home Economics.

Tabulation of writing required by professors ranked from most frequently assigned to least frequently assigned were: Report on Material Read, Laboratory Report, Expository Essay, Case Study, Thematic Essay, Project Report, Argumentative Essay, Descriptive Ess , Term Paper, Independent Study, Narrative Essay, Journalistic Writing, and Creative Writing.

A wide variance in the amount of writing assigned per class was observed; however, professors seemed to prefer the assignment of frequent short papers of about three pages in length.

Writing assigned for test requirements accounted for about fifty percent of the writing assignments made by prossors. A combination of essay and objective examination appeared to be the most popular overall; however, the objective examination was used more often than the essay type except for the Arts division.

In general, students reported doing the same types of writing which professors assigned, but when compared to the responses given by professors, students reported completing fewer writing assignments, doing shorter papers (except for the courses taken in the College of Engineering), and completing examinations which were more objective in character.

Implications for the community colleges and suggestions for additional research were made.