The 1997 ACA Culpeper-funded project "Communicating in the 21st Century: Writing Across the Curriculum at Private Colleges of the Mountains" began with the belief that writing and  technology are integral to all disciplines.  One of the factors impeding the economic growth of Appalachia is the lack of a skilled work force, particularly a critical mass of college graduates.  Yet when students graduate from the Appalachian colleges, too many are forced to leave Appalachia to find employment.  Advances in information technology are now making many highly skilled jobs geographically independent.  This capability provides an opportunity for graduates to remain in Appalachia and allows their communities to retain their skills.  Success in such jobs is highly dependent on the ability of employees, regardless of their field of expertise, to communicate effectively from a remote location and to maintain good working relations in an environment where there is limited face-to-face contact.  Therefore, it is particularly important that these students have outstanding writing skills and can effectively use the electronic tools that are and will be available to them.

It was with this in mind that the ACA and the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation established a four-year project (1997-2001) to help faculty at 14 ACA member colleges to collaborate and share resources, to support writing in all disciplines by using the technology students will be expected to use in the 21st century.  The project that grew provides shared leadership and support for a group of member colleges who are currently emphasizing Writing Across the Curriculum.  Since 1997, we have been actively involved with private colleges in the Appalachian region.  Six colleges have started writing centers to support faculties who want to use more writing, and others have shared their resources and grown from collaboration.  Collaborative grants have allowed our colleagues at various institutions to create resources such as Tutor.edu, an online tutoring manual.  Each year, we participate in the ACA Tech Summit with a strand devoted to using writing and technology to promote learning.

With new funding from the ACA-Mellon project for 2001-2003, one of our ongoing goals is to strengthen online resources.  The information on this resource site is aimed at WAC faculty directors in the Appalachian College Association, especially those of you who are now beginning to design such programs, and faculty members using writing in their courses across the curriculum.  We encourage you to take advantage of the resources and to communicate your growing needs.  In the following pages, you will find a variety of resources, from bibliographic references to other web sites to our own pages.  Enjoy, and learn!  Come often.  We hope for our web site to remain dynamic.  If you would like to contribute something, or make a recommendation, contact the director of the program at the address below.