Administrative Philosophy
Four core pillars, described below, inform my writing program administration philosophy.
Advocate
Thinking about students' educational experiences is paramount in my approach to administrative work. At the core of the work we do in an institution is the students' education. My open-door policy allows students to voice concerns, complaints, and hopefully, compliments but more than allowing students to voice their thoughts, I attempt to resolve areas of dispute. Thus, much of the way I approach administrative work—and the decisions made—are influenced by how the students will be affected.
Along those lines, it is also imperative to support the work of faculty within the writing program. This can support and advocacy and come in the forms of championing the work of faculty, supporting and creating faculty development endeavors, or simply listening to the concerns of faculty within writing programs. As such, the same open-door policy that I hold for students is true for faculty as well.
Lastly, a writing program administrator needs to be an advocate of writing. As such, I look to articulate the important work being done in a writing program to a variety of stakeholders such as prospective students, current students, faculty from other disciplines, administrators, and even community members.
Collaborate
It is key to analyze and evaluate how a writing program fits in to the ecology of a university. In order to do this, it is necessary to have clear channels of communication and equally important, motivation to work with others and listen to others' ideas. No program on a campus should feel like an island, and productive collaborations can not only strengthen a program, but also enrich students' educational experience. Seeking and welcoming collaborations with faculty, librarians, registrars, admissions counselors, and others can lead to stronger writing programs.
Research
I approach administrative work as a lifelong learner. As a lifelong learner, I actively seek to gain knowledge about administrative work, philosophies, and movements by attending conferences, reading relevant journals (such as WPA, Writing Lab Newsletter, and ADE Bulletin), and on a more local level, participating in campus and community discussions. Additionally, it is important to produce scholarship on writing program administration, and as such, it is essential to maintain an active research thread that pertains to any number of administration issues such as faculty development, placement, programmatic assessment, and so forth.
Innovate
A stagnant writing program refusing to change is an unhealthy program. A writing program administrator needs to actively seek ways to continually strengthen and improve the program. This could be done through seeking performance-based learning opportunities for students or by acknowledging changes in the discipline, such as the recent push to include multimodal texts in the first-year writing classroom. A caveat—change should not be done simply for the sake of change, but only if it responds to best practices within the field while also significantly strengthening the program in place. Moreover, a program administrator needs to be aware that change takes time and should secure faculty buy-in before make wholesale changes to any program.
I am happy to speak further regarding my philosophy; I can be contacted at jeff.kirchoff@kirkwood.edu.
Advocate
Thinking about students' educational experiences is paramount in my approach to administrative work. At the core of the work we do in an institution is the students' education. My open-door policy allows students to voice concerns, complaints, and hopefully, compliments but more than allowing students to voice their thoughts, I attempt to resolve areas of dispute. Thus, much of the way I approach administrative work—and the decisions made—are influenced by how the students will be affected.
Along those lines, it is also imperative to support the work of faculty within the writing program. This can support and advocacy and come in the forms of championing the work of faculty, supporting and creating faculty development endeavors, or simply listening to the concerns of faculty within writing programs. As such, the same open-door policy that I hold for students is true for faculty as well.
Lastly, a writing program administrator needs to be an advocate of writing. As such, I look to articulate the important work being done in a writing program to a variety of stakeholders such as prospective students, current students, faculty from other disciplines, administrators, and even community members.
Collaborate
It is key to analyze and evaluate how a writing program fits in to the ecology of a university. In order to do this, it is necessary to have clear channels of communication and equally important, motivation to work with others and listen to others' ideas. No program on a campus should feel like an island, and productive collaborations can not only strengthen a program, but also enrich students' educational experience. Seeking and welcoming collaborations with faculty, librarians, registrars, admissions counselors, and others can lead to stronger writing programs.
Research
I approach administrative work as a lifelong learner. As a lifelong learner, I actively seek to gain knowledge about administrative work, philosophies, and movements by attending conferences, reading relevant journals (such as WPA, Writing Lab Newsletter, and ADE Bulletin), and on a more local level, participating in campus and community discussions. Additionally, it is important to produce scholarship on writing program administration, and as such, it is essential to maintain an active research thread that pertains to any number of administration issues such as faculty development, placement, programmatic assessment, and so forth.
Innovate
A stagnant writing program refusing to change is an unhealthy program. A writing program administrator needs to actively seek ways to continually strengthen and improve the program. This could be done through seeking performance-based learning opportunities for students or by acknowledging changes in the discipline, such as the recent push to include multimodal texts in the first-year writing classroom. A caveat—change should not be done simply for the sake of change, but only if it responds to best practices within the field while also significantly strengthening the program in place. Moreover, a program administrator needs to be aware that change takes time and should secure faculty buy-in before make wholesale changes to any program.
I am happy to speak further regarding my philosophy; I can be contacted at jeff.kirchoff@kirkwood.edu.