1978
James Kinneavy's version of the E 306 syllabus continues to be the standard within UT's Department of English and is further refined. The FEPC continues to develop an apprentice program for Teaching Assistants, though the program faces logistical and administrative challenges. A different committee, led by Wayne Rebhorn, develops a rival "TA Probation" policy, that stirs considerable controversy among TAs and writing and rhetoric faculty. Tension begins to build between TAs and contingent faculty as a number of half-time contingent faculty without PhDs are hired, but at a higher rate of pay than the TAs. Grade inflation, an issue that arose in 1977, is addressed to all writing instructors, and has origins in the draft deferment policies of the Vietnam years. The FEPC seeks to standardize its committees and procedures, particularly procedures for dealing with variant courses and texts, which appear to be both frequently requested and approved. James Sledd continues to garner local media attention as he crusades for teaching reforms within the university. The department struggles to define the roles of TAs and AIs, who are sometimes students and sometimes instructors and have guaranteed, but at times ambiguous, roles in departmental governance. The number of students placing out of taking E 306 has declined dramatically in recent years, increasing pressures on the staffing issues faced in the lower-division writing classes. Rhetoric and writing faculty propose a PhD concentration in writing and rhetoric for the first time. Kinneavy begins development of summer writing course specifically for provisionally admitted students. The rhetoric faculty win a large, multi-year grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE). The Formative Evaluation Research Associates (FERA) uses this money to survey writing programs across the country, to bring in guest speakers, and to study workplace writing for the next few years.
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