The WSU Writing Program was named as one of the top in the nation alongside 18 other Ivy League and top ranking universities.

“To win a distinction like this means WSU’s reputation is well-known across the country,” said Lisa Johnson, co-director of the writing program.

U.S. News and World Report named WSU’s writing program among the best in the nation in the 2014 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.”

The programs were nominated by college presidents, vice presidents, deans, and chief academic officers outside of their respective institutions.

WSU’s writing program is the only one to receive the honor in the Northwest, and is one of three programs on the west coast to receive a ranking, including  the programs at Stanford University and University of California Davis. Other universities listed by U.S. News include Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Cornell, and Brown.

This year marks the 10th time the WSU’s program has won this distinction, Johnson said. She believes this is partly due to the size and longevity.

Johnson said the writing program has lasted more than 20 years, making it unique among large universities. 

“It has stood the test of time, that’s why it continues to be on the list,” she said. “We’re good and we’ve been good for a long time.”

Aspects of the writing program include the writing center on campus, the Junior Writing Portfolio and small group writing classes.

Senior Katherine Naulty is a rhetoric and professional writing major working as a peer tutor for the writing center.

She said the center is a largely-used resource that focuses around peer-tutors for students who need help on any piece of writing. The center is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to anyone needing assistance, she added.

“There’s always someone waiting to help you,” Naulty said. 

The center is not just for English papers, but for a wide variety of written materials, including cover letters, resumes and post-graduate work, she said.

Russell Madche, a freshman business major, said he has used the center before.

“A couple of times I went in there to write a cover letter, and now that I know how to write one, it’s easy for me to adjust it for a future employer,” he said.

Madche said he’s gone into the writing center for most of his papers for history class.

“Most of the time it helps my papers dramatically,” he said.

Nautly said help with papers can also translate into stronger writing skills on all class assignments.

The Junior Writing Portfolio is another student resource that Johnson said acts as an important benchmark in student’s careers. She said the writing portfolio acts as a diagnosis of students’ writing abilities.

She said the portfolio allows the university to provide students with support to improve their writing, rather than to just make sure students are good enough to graduate.

“We want students to succeed, not just wait and see if they can do okay at the end,” Johnson said.

She said this standard is unique to the WSU Writing Program, but success in writing is essential to future achievements for students.

“In order to succeed in a competitive world, you have to show rhetorical effectiveness,” Johnson said. “It’s all part of showing up as a professional, or even to get a job.”