Purpose of the Project

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 will be available to them. 

It is with this in mind that the ACA and the Charles E. Culpeper Foundation established a three-year project, the ACA/Culpeper Project: "Writing Across The Curriculum With Technology", to help faculty at 15 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. For decades, economic development in Appalachia has been hindered by the lack of a critical mass of college graduates in the region.  Such a mass was touted as crucial to attract industry to the area yet capable graduates of the region's colleges and universities continue to be forced to leave Appalachia to find jobs.  Recent advances in information technology are beginning to make it possible for industries to tap the expertise of technologically competent graduates. Regardless of how far an individual is based from the headquarters of the business or industry, it is now possible for a college graduate to seek employment on a geographically independent basis.  However, to obtain and succeed in such employment, the graduates must be able to communicate effectively in an environment with limited face-to-face contact by using the tools of the information age.  Many of the regional colleges are not currently able to provide students with sufficient experience with the new communication tools.  The grant provides shared leadership and technical and library support for a group of member colleges who are currently stressing Writing-Across-the-Curriculum.