Dear Colleagues–
Across the Disciplinesis pleased to announce the publication of our latest issue, Volume 23, Issue 3/4, featuring 4 original research articles and an AWAC newsletter. The table of contents and links to each piece are below.
For ATD questions, queries, comments, or ideas for special issues, contact Editor Michael Cripps (mcripps) or Associate Editor Julia Voss (julia.voss), and/or visit the ATD website at https://wac.colostate.edu/atd/.
Volume 22, Issue 3/4
Published January 6, 2026
Introduction to Volume 22, Issue 3/4
Michael J. Cripps
DOI: 10.37514/ATD-J.2026.22.3-4.01
Featured Articles:
Faculty Expectations for Expert vs. Upper-Level Undergraduate Academic Writing
Alisa Russell
DOI: 10.37514/ATD-J.2026.22.3-4.02
This article explores the role of upper-level undergraduate student writing as a phase of enculturation into disciplinary ways of knowing and doing. Much of the writing assigned in upper-level major/minor courses are intended to act as transitional genres that both mimic and abstract academic genres of the discipline. Because faculty define this phase of enculturation based on what they assign and how they assess, this article draws on 47 faculty interviews across 19 departments to compare, in faculty’s words, the characteristics of academic writing expected of experts vs. undergraduate students in upper-level major/minor courses. Overall, this article articulates faculty expectations for undergraduate student writing in upper-level major/minor courses; contributes to our collective understanding of how academic writing is socially recognized, including the consistencies and variations across disciplines; and validates undergraduate student writing as an essential phase toward disciplinary enculturation while offering WAC/WPA administrators ideas for faculty development in navigating this phase, especially around the themes of (a) motivation, (b) process, and (c) imitation.
STEM Gets Personal: The Medical School Personal Statement as Developmental Writing Opportunity Amid Generative AI
Faith Kurtyka
DOI: 10.37514/ATD-J.2026.22.3-4.03
The rise of AI writing has contributed to worries about the personal statement in medical admissions, including questioning if the personal statement should still be part of applications at all. This manuscript argues that the medical school personal statement remains a significant developmental writing opportunity for STEM students. I first situate the personal statement historically by discussing the medical field’s discomfort with subjectivity, which I connect to students’ view that there is one right way to write a personal statement. Then I present data from 12 interviews with students who had written a personal statement for medical school in the last six months. I analyze these students’ existing knowledge about the personal statement and accordingly, offer pedagogical opportunities and interventions rooted in this knowledge. My research assistants and I put this pedagogy into practice in a writing group over the course of fall 2023, and so I also share this process and the writing group’s outcomes and feedback. Ultimately, I argue that the personal statement is valuable amid the rise of generative AI because the writing of the personal statement, especially when working in a trusted group and using solid writing pedagogy, can be a humanizing process for students in the dehumanizing, competitive process of medical school admissions.
Mindful Reading Beyond First-Year Writing
Ellen C. Carillo
DOI: 10.37514/ATD-J.2026.22.3-4.04
This article reports on a longitudinal, cross-institutional study exploring the extent to which undergraduate students transfer reading practices they learned in their first-year writing courses to future courses and contexts. Although small in scale, this study is a step toward helping writing program administrators, WAC/WID directors, writing center directors, and those in similar roles better understand the kinds of reading practices students engage in across their courses, which is a means toward creating more relevant and comprehensive first-year and cross-campus writing programs, as well as stronger support services on campus.
Student Perceptions and Use of GenAI for Writing: “Great Tool” or “Pandora’s Box”?
Cheryl H. Duffy, Rose Helens-Hart, and Stephanie M. Weigel
DOI: 10.37514/ATD-J.2026.22.3-4.05
WAC/WID programs are uniquely positioned to lead the response to generative AI (GenAI) in student writing—not by policing its use, but by guiding ethical, effective integration across and in the disciplines. This study shares findings from a spring 2024 survey of 226 students at a midwestern university, exploring how students use GenAI in their writing, what they perceive as its benefits and risks, and whether they’re receiving instruction on how to use it well. Students reported frequent use of GenAI for brainstorming and revising but noted limited faculty guidance. Many expressed nuanced views: they recognized GenAI’s potential to support learning but remain aware of its flaws—especially the risk of inaccuracy, plagiarism, and loss of voice. Use varied by college, with education and business students reporting the most classroom integration and future use. Despite the tool’s growing role in students’ writing practices, faculty across campus had largely not adapted their pedagogy or policies to meet this shift. Students, meanwhile, asked for clear, thoughtful instruction rather than blanket bans. These findings reveal a disconnect between students’ needs and faculty readiness, and they offer a timely call for WAC/WID programs to help bridge that gap. We recommend supporting faculty with discipline-specific resources, emphasizing writing as process, and centering critical thinking in classroom conversations about GenAI. We further recommend that WAC/WID programs collaborate across campus when providing AI-related faculty development, striving for the interconnectivity promoted in the Whole Systems Approach for sustainability.
AWAC Newsletter:
From the AWAC Chair: Stewardship, Visibility, and Writing Across the Curriculum
Crystal N. Fodrey
DOI: 10.37514/ATD-J.2026.22.3-4.06
This column inaugurates an ongoing space in Across the Disciplines for communication from the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum (AWAC). Each iteration will share key organizational developments, highlight AWAC-sponsored work, and invite readers into initiatives shaping writing across the curriculum.
Julia Voss, Ph.D.
| julia.voss |