WRITING PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
The Writing Program comprises First-Year Writing courses, Advanced Writing in the Disciplines courses, and the Writing Center.
Director of the Writing Program: Laurie Nardone l.nardone@northeastern.edu
Director of the Writing Center: Laura Beerits l.beerits@northeastern.edu
Director of Advanced Writing: Laurie Edwards l.edwards@northeastern.edu
Director of First-Year Writing: Dan Metzger d.metzger@northeastern.edu
Coordinator of Multilingual Writing: Qianqian Zhang-Wu q.zhang-wu@northeastern.edu
Assistant Director to the Writing Program, Angela Muir muir.an@northeastern.edu
Assistant Director to the Writing Center, Corie Mesa alvarado.c@northeastern.edu
LEARNING GOALS
Rhetorical Practices
- Students write both to learn and to communicate what they learn.
- Students negotiate their own writing goals and audience expectations regarding genre, context, and situation.
- Students formulate and articulate a stance through and in their writing.
- Students reflect on their writing processes and self-assess as writers.
Engagement with Critical Perspectives
- Students explore diverse experiences, perspectives, and ideas–such as intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, language, and ability–in campus, societal, disciplinary, professional, or historical contexts.
- Students engage in activities that help them understand and critique systemic inequity to foster a commitment to justice at Northeastern and globally.
Use of Sources and Evidence
- Students generate and pursue lines of inquiry and search for, collect, and select sources that effectively support their writing projects.
- Students effectively use and cite sources in their writing.
- Students use multiple forms of evidence to support their claims, ideas, and arguments.
- Students practice critical reading strategies.
Revision
- Students provide feedback to their peers to help them revise.
- Students revise their writing using responses from others, including peers, teachers, writing center tutors, and community members.
WRITING PROGRAM POLICIES
Security and Privacy in Online Learning
The Northeastern Writing Program strives to maintain your privacy while learning in online environments. For this reason, our instructors use Northeastern’s Learning Management System, Canvas.
We also ask that all students in Writing Program classes must use their Northeastern email addresses to receive email from their instructors and to access sites for their writing courses. This policy ensures your emails will not mistakenly end-up in a spam folder and protects you against security attacks.
Minimum Grade Requirement to Pass a Writing Program course
A student must receive a grade of C or better in order to pass a required writing course in the writing program (C is required for graduation). Any student earning a C- or lower will need to repeat the course in order to fulfill the writing requirement. The instructor makes the final decision with respect to any grade between A and C. Any student receiving lower than a C will be reviewed and signed off on by a committee of 3-6 Writing Program instructors or a Writing Program director.
Grade Appeals
Students who wish to appeal final course grades should follow the policy outlined in the student handbook: https://northeastern-preview.courseleaf.com/graduate/arts-media-design/academic-policies-procedures/grade-appeal-policy/
Student Handbook:
Student policy and procedures are detailed in the Student Handbook, which can be found here:
https://northeastern-preview.courseleaf.com/handbook
Attendance
Unless identified as an online class, all classes are on ground, and students should anticipate attending in person.
According to the official Northeastern University Attendance Requirements, students have the right to a limited number of excused absences, including absences due to specific university-sponsored activities, religious holidays, military deployment, and jury duty.
“Class participation is essential to success no matter the course format or its delivery; therefore, attendance is mandatory. Individual instructors may have additional, course-specific, attendance policies. It is the student’s responsibility to ascertain what each instructor requires.”
Instructors may indicate a maximum number of absences allowed to receive credit for the course at a “C” level. Absences include those taken as Wellness Days.
Writing classes require regular engagement with the class materials and the instructor. In all courses, “attendance” refers to regular, ongoing participation in discussions, weekly posted work, and other assignments. Students should also maintain regular communication with the course instructor.
Wellness Days
Northeastern has implemented a Wellness Day Pilot Program aimed at prioritizing student mental health. Wellness Days can and should be used when a student wishes to be absent from a day of classes, whether it’s due to mental health, emotional wellbeing, physical illness, or personal circumstances. Taking a day to perform some self-care or seek assistance from available resources will allow students to return to class with renewed purpose.
A description of Wellness Days and how to apply for them can be found at https://wellnessdays.studentlife.northeastern.edu/overview/. Students can request Wellness Days through Student Hub by navigating to the Classes tab to find a link to the Wellness Day Request Form.
Wellness Days should be considered a part of, and not an addition to, the class attendance policy.
Late Submissions of Written Work
Unless you have an accommodation provided by Disability Access Services that allows you extra time to complete an assignment or have discussed an extension with your instructor, you are expected to submit all materials by the assigned due date.
Academic Integrity
Northeastern University is committed to the principles of intellectual honesty and integrity: the Northeastern Academic Honesty and Integrity Policy may be found at https://osccr.sites.northeastern.edu/academic-integrity-policy/
The Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR) website (https://osccr.sites.northeastern.edu/) provides extensive information on student conduct, the disciplinary process, and the range of available sanctions. All members of the Northeastern community are expected to maintain complete honesty in all academic work, presenting only that which is their own work in tests and assignments. In writing program classes, this definition of plagiarism applies not only to borrowing whole documents, but also to borrowing parts of another’s work without proper acknowledgment and proper paraphrasing or quotation. The OSCCR website also offers a useful Citations and Integrity Policy, and the Writing Center offers Resources for Research and Citation. We will discuss effective and responsible use of sources throughout the semester.
Use of ChatGPT and AI Content Generators
As expressed in the Writing Program’s learning goals, we value the deeply human process of writing as inquiry, knowledge generation, and expression. The writing process itself is a means of organizing our thinking, exploring and understanding our world, and engaging with one another.
Instructors have the right to establish policies for the use of ChatGPT and AI content generators within their individual classes. Those policies may include: guidelines to acknowledge their use, defined uses for individual projects and exercises, and/or prohibition or restriction of their use. It is the responsibility of the student to review and understand the policy established by their instructor regarding the use of ChatGPT and AI content generators.
Recording
Students are not allowed to record classes whether in visual or audio forms without the consent of the instructor and all class participants. As per Massachusetts Recording Laws:
“It is a criminal offense to use any device to record and/or disseminate communications, whether they’re wire, oral or electronic, without the consent of all contributing parties. Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 272, § 99(C). This means that in Massachusetts you are not legally allowed to record a conversation you are taking part in unless all parties are in agreement.”
More information can be found at https://recordinglaw.com/party-two-party-consent-states/massachusetts-recording-laws/
Respecting Diversity
Writing program instructors seek to foster inclusive learning environments and cherish our students’ multilingual funds of knowledge. That means we respect differences in learning as well as cultural differences that arise during classroom interactions. We also value each student’s right to their own languages and dialects, and we expect students in writing program classes to respect these diverse perspectives.
We also respect any privacy concerns students may have, regarding joining classes remotely from overseas, country/region-specific accessibility issues, English language difficulties, and culturally informed genre styles. If you are a multilingual student and have specific concerns and questions, contact Professor Qianqian Zhang-Wu at qzhangwu@northeastern.edu
Collection of Student Work for Program Assessment
Your instructor may be asked to submit one or more samples of your writing to the Writing Program Assessment Committee for the purpose of program assessment. Student work is randomly selected and used solely for the purpose of program-level assessment. Looking at student writing from a programmatic perspective helps us improve our program. Student writing collected for this purpose is never circulated outside the Writing Program for any reason. We report only aggregate data to those outside the program; no teachers or students are identified in these reports. If you have any questions or concerns about our program assessment, feel free to contact Professor Laurie Nardone, Writing Program Director, at l.nardone@northeastern.edu
Technology AssistanceCanvas is Northeastern University’s Learning Management System (LMS). For technology issues, please call the Northeastern HELP desk (617-373-4357) or email them at help@northeastern.edu. For Canvas Help, visit https://canvas.northeastern.edu/support-and-resources/.
WRITING PROGRAM and UNIVERSITY RESOURCES
The Writing Center
The Northeastern University Writing Center offers free one-on-one writing consultations to support Northeastern community members with any writing project—from research papers to personal statements to creative texts. Writing Center consultants are experienced undergraduate and graduate students who are excited to help writers achieve their goals. We work with writers in any discipline and at any stage of the writing process, from brainstorming and researching to drafting and revising.
Sessions are held in-person at 412 Holmes Hall or online; evening and weekend appointments are also available online. Sessions last for 45 minutes and are tailored to serve each writer’s goals and concerns, with the understanding that writing growth is a continual process that cannot be completed in a single session or day.
The Writing Center opens on the first day of class and runs through the finals period. Visit the Writing Center to book an appointment or email writingcenter@northeastern.edu with any questions.
Peer Tutoring
Northeastern has partnered with Knack to connect students with tutors and you can find more information here: https://northeasternpeertutoring.sites.northeastern.edu/. For directions on joining Knack and getting started, visit https://northeasternpeertutoring.sites.northeastern.edu/find-a-peer-tutor/.
For questions about Northeastern Peer Tutoring on Knack you can reach out at peertutoring@northeastern.edu.
International Tutoring Center
The International Tutoring Center (ITC) provides current Northeastern University international and non-native English speaking students with free, comprehensive English language and academic support. The ITC includes student centered one-on-one tutoring sessions, Reading, Language and Culture, and Writing Workshops. For more information on available workshops and tutoring opportunities, please visit: https://international.northeastern.edu/gss/tutoring/
Snell Library
The Snell Library (library.northeastern.edu) collaborates with both the First-Year Writing and Advanced Writing in the Disciplines programs to support students’ information literacy. The library also houses the Digital Media Design Studio, which offers a variety of resources for multimedia projects: https://camd.northeastern.edu/architecture/digital-media-design/
Disability Access Services
The University’s Disability Access Services works with students and faculty to provide students who qualify under the Americans With Disabilities Act with accommodations that allow them to participate fully in the activities at the university. Usually, instructors will receive electronic notification of students receiving such accommodations at the beginning of the semester. Students have the right to disclose or not disclose their disabilities to their instructors. For more information about DAS, go to https://disabilityaccessservices.sites.northeastern.edu/
WeCare
WeCare is a program operated through the Office for Student Affairs. The mission is to assist students experiencing unexpected challenges to maintaining their academic progress. WeCare works with students to coordinate among university offices and to offer appropriate on and off campus referrals to support successfully resolving the issue. WeCare also provides information to faculty and staff to identify Northeastern resources and policies to help students succeed.
The WeCare program is located in the Student Affairs Office in 104 Ell Hall. For more information see https://we-care.studentlife.northeastern.edu/. Call 617.373.4384 or email wecare@northeastern.edu.
Mental Health Resources
In addition to existing mental health resources available through Northeastern’s University Health and Counseling Services (https://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/counseling-services/), Northeastern offers Find@Northeastern, which is a “24/7 mental health support” and can be reached at 1-877-233-9477. For more information see https://www.northeastern.edu/uhcs/find-at-northeastern/. The service also offers free unlimited counseling sessions.
Title IX Protections and Resources
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects individuals from sex or gender-based discrimination, including discrimination based on gender-identity, in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding.
Any NU community member who has experienced such discrimination, sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, coercion, and/or sexual harassment, is encouraged to seek help. Confidential support and guidance can be found through University Health and Counseling Services staff and the Center for Spiritual Dialogue and Service clergy members. For reporting options and clarity on confidential and non-confidential options, please consult this website for the Office for University Equity and Compliance.
Faculty members are considered “responsible employees” at Northeastern University, meaning they are required to report all allegations of sex or gender-based discrimination to the Title IX Coordinator. For additional information and assistance please see the Title IX page.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We recognize these lands as the traditional homelands of the Mashpee Wampanoag and the Aquinnah (a-QWIN-ah) Wampanoag, among many other indigenous peoples.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of 2,600 enrolled citizens located on Cape Cod is also known as the People of the First Light. They have inhabited present day Massachusetts and Eastern Rhode Island for more than 12,000 years. “After an arduous process lasting more than three decades, the Mashpee Wampanoag were re-acknowledged as a federally recognized tribe in 2007. In 2015, the federal government declared 150 acres of land in Mashpee and 170 acres of land in Taunton as the Tribe’s initial reservation, on which the Tribe can exercise its full tribal sovereignty rights.” (https://mashpeewampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/)
We recognize the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, MA. “The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) received Federal Acknowledgement as an Indian Tribe in 1987, creating a government-to-government relationship with the U.S. federal government. Currently 1364 citizens are enrolled, of which 319 live on Martha’s Vineyard and 98 live on tribal lands in the Town of Aquinnah and the remainder live throughout the U.S.A.” (https://wampanoagtribe-nsn.gov/)
The New England area includes many more indigenous peoples and their nations, such as the Nipmuc and Massachusett, the Pequot (PEE-quot), Mi’kmaq, Mohegan, Penobscot, and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (hoe-dee-no-SHOW-nee) to name a few. In recognizing these lands as the original homelands of indigenous peoples, we acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory. We honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land on which we gather.