Since 2017, the Technical and Professional Writing Program at WSU Vancouver has grown its community engagement in collaboration with nonprofit partners. As of 2020, all students enrolled in a course through WSU Vancouver’s TPW Program address technical writing tasks given in partnership with local nonprofits to achieve their learning goals.
Projects are designed to assist our community partners with their research and writing goals. Students enrolled in the technical writing courses are assigned term projects spanning 8 – 16 weeks. Often in groups comprised of three to five individuals, a student team will spend between 50 – 75 hours per semester conducting research, developing recommendations based on best practices, drafting content and, in some instances, conducting usability testing. In addition, each year, the program places multiple interns with local nonprofits. Each intern works with their site for 120 hours during the semester. Students have autonomy over project selection and it can occasionally take a semester or two for projects to be picked up in a course.
Current community engaged courses include:
- English 402: Technical and Professional Writing
- English 461: Advanced Theory and Practice of Technical and Professional Writing
- English 498: Internship
- English 499: Special Topics
Our Partners
Many partners work with WSU Vancouver for multiple semesters, recognizing that some projects require more sustained attention by multiple teams, while some partners find one semester is sufficient to provide needed materials. Our current and recent partners include:
Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) Clark County
Battle Ground Adventist Community Services
Columbia River Indian Center
Community Mediation Services (CMS)*
Eritrean Dance Group of Seattle
Future of Code*
Latah Alliance on Mental Illness (LAMI)*
Open Hearts Open Minds (OHOM)
Palouse Alliance*
WSU Collective for Social and Environmental Justice (CSEJ)
WSU Institutional Review Board*
(*Denotes organizations who have hosted or are interested in hosting interns seeking the professional writing certificate.)
What our community partners have to say about their experiences with our students:
“LAMI operates on a very small annual budget. Funds are not available for assets such as website development, print materials, infographics, technology, and marketing. LAMI relies on the expertise and support of interns and WSU students to assist to fill the gaps and work alongside the board of directors to increase capacity, impact, reach, and to provide better services to the community.”
- Jessica Perone, Latah Alliance on Mental Health Board President
“Open Hearts Open Minds is pleased to partner with Washington State University. Our continued collaboration brings a new set of students with fresh ideas and enthusiasm each year. The projects bear out thoughtful, engaged responses with delightful results. OHOM extends our sincere gratitude to the students and staff for attending to our symbiotic goals.”
- Carla Grant, Open Hearts Open Minds Co-Director
We welcome new partnerships and hope you’ll reach out if you’d like to learn more, contact Johanna for more information at j.phelps@wsu.edu.