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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Writing Program Coordinator

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Writing Program Coordinator oversees the design, delivery, assessment, and continuous improvement of institutional writing programs, writing centers, and curricular writing initiatives. This role combines program management, curriculum and workshop development, staff supervision, assessment and reporting, outreach and marketing, and cross-campus collaboration to support student writing success and faculty development. The ideal candidate brings demonstrated experience in composition/rhetoric or writing pedagogy, strong project management and communication skills, and a track record of building scalable, inclusive writing programs.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Writing Tutor or Peer Writing Consultant
  • Program Assistant or Administrative Coordinator in Academic Affairs
  • Adjunct Instructor or Graduate Teaching Assistant in Composition

Advancement To:

  • Assistant/Associate Director of Writing Programs
  • Director of Writing Center or Director of Composition
  • Senior Manager, Academic Programs or Academic Affairs Administrator

Lateral Moves:

  • Academic Advisor or Student Success Coordinator
  • Curriculum Coordinator or Instructional Designer
  • Faculty Development Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop, implement, and maintain a coherent, research-based writing curriculum and suite of workshops for undergraduate and/or graduate students, ensuring alignment with institutional learning outcomes and accreditation standards.
  • Coordinate daily operations of the writing program or writing center, including scheduling appointments, overseeing tutoring hours, managing room assignments and technology, and maintaining consistent service delivery across semesters.
  • Recruit, hire, train, supervise, and evaluate a diverse team of peer consultants, graduate instructors, adjuncts, and professional staff; design and deliver ongoing professional development in pedagogy, multicultural literacy, and assessment best practices.
  • Design and lead faculty development initiatives and partnership programs to integrate writing instruction across disciplines, including collaborative curriculum design, in-class visits, and writing-intensive course support.
  • Develop assessment plans for programmatic evaluation, design rubrics and pre/post measures, collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data on student learning and program impact, and prepare actionable assessment reports for stakeholders.
  • Write, manage, and coordinate program budgets, including forecasting expenses, tracking expenditures, submitting requisitions, and ensuring fiscal compliance with institutional policies.
  • Lead outreach, recruitment, and marketing efforts to increase student engagement, including creating promotional materials, maintaining the program website and LMS content, using social media, and presenting at orientation and departmental meetings.
  • Oversee grants, external funding, and donor-funded projects: identify opportunities, draft proposals and budgets, manage grant deliverables, and report outcomes to funders and institutional leadership.
  • Maintain and curate program materials and resources (handouts, online modules, tutor training manuals, lesson plans, multimedia tutorials), ensuring materials are accessible, up-to-date, and aligned with current scholarship in composition studies.
  • Manage scheduling and assignment of tutors and instructors for courses, workshops, and consultations; implement equitable workload distribution and contingency plans to maintain service continuity.
  • Coordinate curriculum mapping and align program offerings with general education requirements, degree learning outcomes, and institutional assessment cycles to demonstrate impact on retention and graduation metrics.
  • Serve as primary liaison between the writing program and academic departments, student services, diversity/inclusion offices, and external partners to build partnerships that enrich writing pedagogy and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
  • Supervise the integration and administration of technology tools (LMS integrations, appointment booking systems, plagiarism checkers, digital writing portfolios) and ensure staff and students receive training and support.
  • Provide direct student advising and one-on-one writing consultations when needed, model effective conferencing strategies, and maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries.
  • Lead continuous improvement initiatives by conducting needs assessments, soliciting stakeholder feedback, implementing pilot programs, and scaling successful practices across the institution.

Secondary Functions

  • Design and manage program-level communications (newsletters, progress reports, data dashboards) for faculty, administrators, students, and external stakeholders to maintain transparency and promote successes.
  • Conduct ongoing program evaluation and benchmarking against peer institutions and best practices in composition, using results to inform strategic planning and accreditation materials.
  • Facilitate special events such as writing symposiums, publication opportunities (student journals), contests, and community outreach programs that elevate student writing and program visibility.
  • Support the creation and maintenance of program policies, procedures, and handbooks that govern tutoring practices, assessment protocols, and academic integrity matters.
  • Collaborate with institutional research and data teams to prepare enrollment, retention, and outcome reports that demonstrate program impact for leadership and accreditation.
  • Manage logistics and vendor relationships for printing, software licenses, and contracted services related to program operations and events.
  • Monitor, evaluate, and improve equity, inclusion, and accessibility in writing support services by reviewing materials, training staff, and implementing multilingual and multimodal tutoring strategies.
  • Coordinate peer-mentoring and leadership development tracks for experienced tutors, including pathways for leadership, teaching experience, and scholarship in composition.
  • Support proposal development and implementation of cross-campus initiatives such as first-year writing redesigns, writing-across-the-curriculum (WAC) programs, and discipline-specific writing support.
  • Maintain accurate program records, appointment and attendance data, tutor training logs, and academic integrity incident reports in compliance with institutional record-keeping policies.
  • Participate in relevant professional organizations, conferences, and continuing education to stay current in composition/rhetoric research, pedagogical trends, and program assessment methods.
  • Serve on campus committees related to curriculum, assessment, student success, and diversity to represent the writing program and advocate for student-centered writing initiatives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Curriculum development and instructional design for composition and writing-intensive courses.
  • Program management and operations, including scheduling, budget management, and vendor coordination.
  • Assessment design and data analysis for learning outcomes (rubrics, pre/post testing, qualitative coding).
  • Grant writing, grant management, and reporting to external funders.
  • Proficiency with learning management systems (Canvas, Blackboard, Moodle) and appointment booking platforms (WCOnline, TutorTrac).
  • Competence with data tools and reporting (Excel, Google Sheets, institutional reporting tools, basic familiarity with SQL or Tableau a plus).
  • Familiarity with accessibility standards (WCAG), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and implementation across curricular materials.
  • Experience with digital writing tools and multimodal composition platforms (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Portfolium, Hypothesis).
  • Knowledge of academic integrity practices, citation styles, plagiarism detection tools (Turnitin), and ethical tutoring protocols.
  • Web content management and basic HTML/CMS skills for maintaining program webpages and resources.

Soft Skills

  • Excellent written and oral communication; ability to draft clear program materials, grant proposals, and stakeholder reports.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and cultural competence to lead diverse teams and serve a broad student population.
  • Leadership and team-building: mentoring, conflict resolution, performance evaluation, and staff development.
  • Project management skills: prioritization, timeline development, multitasking, and meeting deadlines in a fast-paced academic environment.
  • Strategic thinking and problem-solving: using assessment data to inform program improvements and policy development.
  • Customer service orientation and student-centered approach to learning support and advising.
  • Adaptability and resilience in responding to changing institutional priorities and enrollment cycles.
  • Collaborative mindset for building partnerships with faculty, administrative units, and community organizations.
  • Attention to detail for budgeting, reporting, and compliance tasks.
  • Facilitation and public speaking skills for workshops, orientation sessions, and faculty development.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in English, Rhetoric & Composition, Education, Communications, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree (MA, MFA, or MS) in Rhetoric & Composition, English, Applied Linguistics, Higher Education Administration, or related graduate training in writing studies.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Rhetoric & Composition
  • English Literature/Writing
  • Applied Linguistics
  • Education/Higher Education
  • Communication Studies

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–5 years of progressively responsible experience in writing program coordination, writing center administration, or related academic program management.

Preferred: 3–7+ years of experience managing writing programs or centers, proven success in curriculum development, staff supervision, assessment and reporting, and experience in higher education settings or similar educational organizations. Demonstrated experience with grants, cross-campus collaboration, and using institutional data to drive program strategy.

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