New teachers get three full days of training in the spring and in August, Gopin says. And for each nine new teachers, a "veteran assistant," who has taught in the program for two or three years, serves as a guide for curricular and teaching concerns.

Each group uses the same syllabus in "lockstep," he says, and each "rookie" teacher meets with the veteran assistant at least once a week to discuss concerns.

At Dartmouth College, the basic introductory writing class is taught through the English Department, and all first-year students must take a writing-intensive seminar offered by a faculty member, says David Wykes, director of composition and of the first-year seminar program at Dartmouth.

At the University of Pennsylvania, says Peshe C. Kuriloff '69, director of Writing Across the University there, students can choose between a seminar offered by a professor or high-level graduate student and writing-intensive sections in two courses anywhere in the curriculum.

In this case as well, Kareloff points out, there is a close tie between curriculum, faculty and writing program as members of all departments are involved with administering the writing requirement.

"I find no intelligent reason why writing should not be taught in all subjects," she says.