Sustainability Indicators for WAC Programs

The use of Sustainability Indicators (SIs) originated to address complex problems by bringing together data points across human, economic, and social systems in order to guide decisions about sustainable development at different scales, including the sustainable development of businesses, towns, regions, and even human society at large (Hardi & Zdan, 1997).

Even though WAC programs themselves are not complex systems, we value the SI method for WAC programs because they engender a slow, deliberate, and strategic approach to program development that includes coming to a deep understanding of campus culture and context, the use of mission and goals to guide development, the inclusion of stakeholders in determining program mission and activities, and ongoing formative assessment of program sustainability through the use of sustainability indicators.

Definition of SIs Formulating SIs Materials

The use of Sustainability Indicators (SIs) originated to address far more complex problems than those faced by WAC programs. Even though WAC programs themselves are not complex systems, we value the SI method for WAC programs because they

require the use of a participatory process that seeks to build consensus about sustainability goals,
compel this stakeholder group to articulate in concrete terms what sustainability means in relation to WAC,
bring together data points from multiple systems (rather than relying on one data point, such as program budget) to create a more nuanced understanding of a program or project’s sustainability,
create clear data that may be communicated to stakeholders as evidence of a program’s viability (or lack thereof), and
help WAC leaders notice threats to program and project sustainability and figure out steps for addressing them (see also Cox & Galin, 2019, p. 42).

Furthermore, SI tracking is inward-facing, formative, focused primarily on improving and sustaining the program. We have also come to realize that not all programs may need to utilize SIs, particularly during their first pilot years of program development. The more integrated a WAC program is into a given institution, the more useful SIs become.

The premise of this work is that WAC programs should take a slow, deliberate, and strategic approach to program development that includes coming to a deep understanding of campus culture and context, the use of mission and goals to guide development, the inclusion of stakeholders in determining program mission and activities, and ongoing formative assessment of program sustainability through the use of sustainability indicators.

Using sustainability indicators, program leaders can develop visual snapshots of the program at a given moment in time to identify signs of distress and success across all facets of a WAC program.

The following slides present the process for formulating sustainability indicators for a WAC program.

Step 1: Brainstorming Process

List all SIs that come to mind without censoring or critiquing but still focused on the goal of sustainability.
Qualify and narrow the list by determining if each SI is relevant, easy to understand, reliable, durable, and assessable, does not duplicate others and whether it reveal impacts as it offers historical patterns.
Select the 5-10 most feasible SIs by considering the resources needed to track them, relative importance, and greatest insight.
Unpack each SI to identify implementation procedures by determining if it can be quantified and setting the minimum and maximum thresholds (bands of equilibrium). (adapted from Bell & Morse, 2008, p. 174)

Step 2: Anthrosphere Model

Jeff and his WAC committee at Florida Atlantic University used the following figure to discuss which systems within the university to consider to develop a systematic set of SIs.

Figure 1. The WAC Anthrosphere. Reprinted from Galin, Jeffrey R. (2010), “Improving rather than proving: Self-administered sustainability mapping of WAC programs.” Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Minneapolis, MN.

Step 3: Mock data and figures for Writing Intensive Program

The WAC committee then discussed a mock set of SI data for a writing intensive initiative that demonstrated possible SIs for such a program and the resulting radar charts that provide visual snapshots of the mock program over several years to help the WAC committee understand their ultimate goals.

Table 1 Mock WI Initiative SI Data Set

The radio charts on the following slides represent snapshots of the mock WI program at its outset and then two years later when faculty support has dried up and there is too much demand to support sufficient sections. The inner and outer circles in each graph represent the inner and outer bands of equilibrium, marking the boundaries of sustainability.

Mock data set for WI program for Fall 2014

The following radio charts represent snapshots of the mock WI program at its outset and then two years later when faculty support has dried up and there is too much demand to support sufficient sections. The inner and outer circles in each graph represent the inner and outer bands of equilibrium, marking the boundaries of sustainability.

Sustainable WAC Figure 1 Mock data set for WI Fall 2014

Mock data set for WI Program for Fall 2014. (Demonstrates a sustainable program.)

Mock data set for WI program for Fall 2016

Sustainable WAC Figure 2 Mock data set for WI for Fall 2016 1

Figure 2. Mock data set for WI program for Fall 2016. (Demonstrates an unsustainable program.)

Step 4. Operationalizing the SIs

The process of turning each SI into a 0-6 point scale takes some discussion with the WAC stakeholder group but can be edited and revised by a WAC leader as long as the final versions are approved by the stakeholders. Bell and Morse (2008) describe the origin of these radar charts as “amoeba graphs” that have been traditionally used in the field of ecology to track indicator species that can signal shifts in environmental equilibrium. They suggest that these graphs can even be created by hand to obtain a preliminary sustainability snapshot. Certainly, other systems of graphing can be used, but FAU found this one especially informative because it captures all indicators in a single figure and visually represents the band of equilibrium that marks the boundaries of sustainability.

The key to translating all SIs into this scale is to start with the inner and outer bands of equilibrium represented by 1 and 5 respectively. In the sample above, 1 is represented by the minimum number of course sections needed for all desiring students to register for necessary WI courses in a semester for which there are sufficient faculty to teach them and classrooms available (200 sections). 5 represents the maximum number of sections that can be offered given the same constraints (300 sections). Once 1 and 5 are defined, then 3 is the median of these two (250 sections). 2 and 4 get defined as the median of 1 and 3 (225) or 2 and 4 (275) respectively. 0 and 6 are defined by numbers less than or above what are sustainable boundaries (< 200 and > 300 respectively).

Step 5: Sustainability Indicator Template

We provide this Excel template for any program that wants to create their own radar charts by replacing our language with their own and selecting the new data range to display the new charts. Some minor resizing will likely be necessary. We recommend that each program goal (project) be represented in its own radar graph. A program may also choose to create a radar chart to represent the program overall. For guidance on developing radar charts to track sustainability indicators, see Cox, Galin, & Melzer, 2018; Cox & Galin 2019; and Peters, 2019.

Excel Template

You may find the full set of FAU SIs with the mission and goals interesting. We will evaluate them and will post updates as data becomes available.

Furthermore, we are providing the a mock data as a template in Excel for any WAC program that wants to create their own radar charts by replacing our language with their own and selecting the new data range to display the new charts. Some minor resizing will likely be necessary. We recommend that each program goal (project) be represented in its own radar graph, including the program overall.

For programs interested in using this form of formative program assessment, see Cox and Galin, 2018, and Galin, 2021.

Mission Statement for FAU WAC Program

Mission and goals statement for the Florida Atlantic University WAC Program. This document also contains the full set of sustainability indicators that FAU developed to track its WAC program annually.

PDF

Mock data for WAC program creation

This mock data was drawn from FAU’s WAC program based on three years of derived data. Since FAU has only completed one year of the SI tracking process, we do not have actual data from 2014-2016; however this data reflects what the program looked like during this period of time. This data enables us to demonstrate the Excel template for creating amoeba graphs to track SIs.

Mock radar chart for WI for Fall 2016

This sample radar chart represents the status of FAU’s WAC program for fall of 2016.

Mock radar chart for WI Program for Fall 2014

This sample radar chart represents the status of FAU’s WAC program for fall of 2014.

Excel template for developing sustainablity indicators

Excel File