Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter
February/March 2005
| Newsletter of the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter February/March 2005 |
The Technical and Professional Writing (TPW) Program at San Francisco State University is one of only 11 programs that has received a Writing Program Certificate of Excellence from the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) (www.ncte.org/groups/cccc). The TPW Program will receive this award on March 18 during the CCCC convention in San Francisco.
Dr. Lu Rehling, the Director of the TPW Program, is well known at the San Francisco Chapter STC. She is a former president and a long-time member of the chapter. She has also been active in the Touchstone competition.
In announcing the award, the CCCC stated that:
The San Francisco State Technical and Professional Writing Program was cited for its excellent work, successfully demonstrating that their program meets the following criteria: it imaginatively addresses the needs and opportunities of its students, instructors, and locale; offers exemplary ongoing professional development for faculty of all ranks, including adjunct/contingent faculty; treats contingent faculty respectfully, humanely, and professionally; uses current best practices in the field; uses effective, ongoing assessment and placement procedures; models diversity and/or serves diverse communities; has appropriate class size; and has an administrator (chair, director, coordinator, etc.) with academic credentials in writing. In particular, the San Francisco State program was noted for its cohesive curriculum of upper division coursework integrating theory and applied studies; its contextualized and ethical application of technology; its portfolio and internship-based assessment; and its attention to issues of diversity.
SFSU is the only university in California that offers a bachelor's degree in technical and professional writing. The TPW Program (www.sfsu.edu/~tpw) has offered a minor since 1983, a certificate program since 1984, and a major since 1990. At present, there are 46 students working toward a bachelor's degree and 25 to 50 working toward a minor or a certificate. The San Francisco Chapter STC sponsors an annual scholarship competition for students in the TPW Program.
The San Francisco and Silicon Valley chapters are providing an information table on the STC at the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing 2005 Conference, which is being held on March 16 in conjunction with the CCCC convention in San Francisco.
Marc Smircich is a technical communicator with over 15 years experience in documenting enterprise-wide systems for human resources, payroll, and financial applications. He is also the newsletter editor and treasurer for the San Francisco Chapter STC.
Copyright © 2005 by the Society for Technical Communication, San Francisco Chapter (www.stc-sf.org). This article may be reprinted in another STC publication under the provisions of the chapter's copyright policy.