What guides the development of DSP?
Directed Self-Placement (DSP) is a process through which students make educated decisions about which course is right for them. DSP has been thoroughly studied by Writing Studies/Rhetoric/Composition scholars (Wardle & Downs, 2007) 
and is considered a best practice (see Blakesley, 2002; Coleman & Smith 2021; di Gennaro 2016; Elliot 2016; Elliot et al., 2012; Estrem et al., 2018; Kenner 2016; Moos & Van Zanen, 2019; Poe et al., 2014) and a particularly important alternative to placement via standardized testing (Isaacs & Molloy, 2010).
At UCSC, the Writing Program uses a multi-part process that teaches students about their course options; has them review real readings, assignments, and writing from those courses; and asks them to answer questions about their readiness and support needs. Students’answers to these questions are scored and reviewed by faculty to generate a course recommendation that considers ELWR status. ELWR-required students weigh that recommendation to ultimately select the course that is right for them. Students who are ELWR-satisfied are placed directly into Writing 2. (We do receive requests from ELWR-satisfied students to take Writing 1, but we have no institutional support to satisfy such requests.)
Should students who are strong in College 1 (or another course) take Writing 1 or skip it?
Writing 1 is not a remedial course to be “skipped.” In fact, UCSC is unusual in having many students take only one writing-focused course (Writing 2). Further, students make their course selections based on a complex set of factors, including a recommendation that was generated by their answers to survey questions and reviewed by Writing Program faculty. This recommendation accounted for things like course pace, desired support, and other elements that matter in deciding what an “appropriate” placement is.
It seems like more students are taking Writing 1. Is this due to DSP?
More students are taking Writing 1, and it is not due to DSP. More students are coming in ELWR-required due to UC going test-optional, which means that fewer students are submitting test scores that make them ineligible for Writing 1 (like AWPE and SAT scores). When ELWR-required students are given the option for the enhanced writing support offered in Writing 1, they are opting in.
It seems like ELWR/Writing 1 has changed. What’s different now?
In recent years, two important shifts have occurred. We have more clearly articulated ELWR as a support structure available to those who want to take advantage of the resources for success, rather than articulating ELWR as a gatekeeping mechanism. Additionally, the Writing Program has collaborated with the colleges to establish the Academic Literacy Curriculum (ALC), which shifted what was the “C1” requirement out of the colleges and into the Writing Program, with a concomitant shift to focusing on genre. Now, Writing 1 is a course for any student who wants support in their writing before moving on to the fast-paced academic research demands of Writing 2.
What happened to the AWPE?
The AWPE, previously the Subject A exam, placed students in writing courses for many years. Like many universities, UCSC had been working on an equitable, research-based alternative before the pandemic began. The pandemic accelerated our efforts as the AWPE, which was only offered in-person with blue books, was canceled due to Covid-19. UCSC, UCSB, UC Davis, and UC Irvine, and later UC Merced, responded by developing versions of directed self-placement. (UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and UCSD continued with the AWPE in an online form.) In 2022, the University of California announced that the system-wide AWPE would be discontinued in 2023.
I’d like to learn more about doing DSP for placement in my department/discipline. Can someone involved with DSP speak with me about this?
You can email writingplacement@ucsc.edu to connect.
Still have questions?