Writing Committee Annual Report (2007-2008)

Faculty Members

 Jean Carter, Pharmacy Practice (CHAIR) 2009

 Nancy Hinman , Geosciences 2008

 Heather Bruce, English 2009

 Mark Medvetz, Writing Studies 2008
 Kathy Kuipers, Sociology (fall) 2010
Ashley Mckeown, Anthropology (spring)

______________, Humanities
Julie Edwards, Mansfield Library (fall)
Charlie Potter, Mansfield Library (spring)

Student Members

 Rachel Wanderscheid

Additional Representatives (Ex-Officio)

Arlene Walker-Andrews, Associate Provost

David Micus, Registrar

Gretchen McCaffrey, Interim Director, Writing Center

Kathleen Ryan, Director, Composition Program (on leave Spring semester)

1) Review of Writing Courses

• The committee reviewed 7 proposals for writing courses during annual curriculum review. One writing course and one upper-division writing courses were approved. Two experimental writing courses were approved. Two courses removed the writing designation and a program modified its writing requirement.
  
  

2) ENEX 200 as a placement Option

3) English Placement Report and Composition Catalog Copy – Presented to the Faculty Senate 3/13/08

4) Writing Course Guidelines

• Writing Course Guidelines document was revised to be in line with the General Education Model approved by the Faculty Senate 10/11/07
• The document was sent to departments requesting input and comments.
• The document was revised to accommodate department concerns.

5) Frequently Asked Questions

• The committee drafted responses to frequently asked questions in response to departments concerns.

• These documents were submitted to ASCRC for review. ASCRC suggested a few minor revisions. The Writing committee incorporated these. ASCRC requested that the committee draft catalog language.

6) Catalog Copy

• Catalog language was drafted and submitted to ASCRC for review 4/29/08.

(3.a)

BOR adopted a new English Composition Placement Policy (301.17) at its November 2007 meeting. Its purpose is to save students from having to take yet another placement exam when they arrive on campus. The BOR policy dictates most of the placements. The only issue on which we have leeway is the advanced English composition course, ENEX 200.

The following recommendations come from a working group put together by the Provost.

1. Field test the following placement grid for 2008-2009 and make adjustments as warranted for the following year.

Decision Rule	MUS Writing Assessment Score	SAT or ACT Writing Sub-score	SAT Writing Section	Combined Eng/Writing ACT	Course Placement
Score in any of these ranges	5.5-6	11-12	700-800	32-36	Direct Placement into ENEX 200
	3.5-5	7-10	440-690	18-31	Direct Placement into ENEX 101
	2.5-3	5-6	390-430	16-17	Take WTS 100D or take exam to challenge placement
Score below any of these cut-offs	Below 2.5	Below 5	Below 390	Below 16	Direct placement into WTS 100D

2. Allow students placed into ENEX 200 to opt for ENEX 101 instead.

3. Retain the “W” designation on ENEX 200 as an incentive for students to opt for it rather than 101, thereby satisfying their composition and lower division writing course requirements simultaneously.
4. Alter General Education requirements so that either ENEX 101 or ENEX 200 will satisfy the English composition requirement.
5. Place “blocks” on cyberbear so that students cannot enroll directly into ENEX 101 or 200 without having the requisite test scores.
6. Limit summer placement testing to those wishing to challenge their placement into WTS 100D; investigate use of web-based exams for this purpose.
7. As in the past, exempt students with an AP score of 3-5 from the English composition requirement.

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Catalogue Copy for Writing Curriculum (3.b)

To ensure that all graduates have acquired the writing skills outlined above, students must satisfy the following requirements in this order:

1. ENEX 101 or WTS 101 or ENEX 200 with a grade of at least C (2.0).
2. One approved writing course.
3. Passing score on the Upper-Division Writing Proficiency Assessment (WPA), to be taken between 45-70 credits.
4. The upper-division writing requirement of the major.

Students will be placed into WTS 100D, WTS 101, ENEX 101, or ENEX 200 based on standardized test scores, such as ACT or SAT. Students may be exempted from WTS 101 or ENEX 101 by transferring an equivalent composition course with a grade of at least C (2.0), or by receiving a score of at least 3 on the AP exam.

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Recommended Writing Course Guidelines (4)

This document describes the Writing Course Guidelines for The University of Montana-Missoula.

I. Overview

The ability to write effectively is fundamental to a liberal arts education, essential to academic inquiry, and important for student success in academic, professional, and civic endeavors. Composition and writing courses at The University of Montana (UM) help students become adept at writing for a variety of audiences and purposes. Effective writing both strengthens and is strengthened by an understanding of critical thinking and information literacy. Students should learn to use writing as a means of finding, synthesizing, analyzing, and evaluating information, retaining course material, and using that information and material in order to form and express coherent thoughts and arguments.

Writing Requirements for Graduation

To satisfy the writing requirements at UM and to demonstrate writing proficiency, students must complete:

1. Composition (ENEX 101), with a grade of C- or better

2. One approved writing course, with a grade of C- or better

3. The Upper-Division Writing Proficiency Assessment, with a score of 3 or better

4. Departmental upper-division writing requirement consisting of one of the following options:

o One upper-division writing course (numbered 300-400), with a grade of C or better defined by the department and approved by the ASCRC Writing Committee, or

o An upper-division writing expectation defined by the department and approved by the ASCRC Writing Committee

A. Composition Course

The Composition Program seeks to advance the University’s mission to pursue academic excellence in the context of writing instruction. Composition courses facilitate students’ achievements in exploring and enacting rhetorical knowledge; critical thinking, reading, writing and research processes; and knowledge of conventions. Writing is a powerful means of purposeful inquiry, communication, and action in the classroom and in the world. (For current information, see: http://www.cas.umt.edu/english/composition/curriculum.htm.)

B. Approved Writing Courses

Courses accompanied by a “W” designation are writing courses. These courses use informal and formal writing to enhance writing skills and promote critical thinking in content areas. Information literacy is integrated into all general education courses approved for Group I: English Writing Skills. Students are required to complete Composition (ENEX 101), or its equivalent, prior to taking a W-designated course.

C. Writing Proficiency Assessment

The Upper-Division Writing Proficiency Assessment is a two-hour essay exam that all students seeking their first undergraduate degree must pass. Students pass the exam if their essay demonstrates adequate critical reading, writing, and reasoning skills as measured against a published scoring rubric (see: http://www.umt.edu/writingcenter/documents/17.WPAScoringCriteria.pdf). The exam must be taken after students complete 45 credits and before students earn 70 credits.

D. Upper-Division Writing Requirement in the Major

These writing classes typically focus on the student’s major area of study. For this reason, faculty members within specific discipline develop courses based on the expectations for research, analysis, and writing in their field.

Types of Acceptable Writing Tasks

Writing tasks may include formal and informal, graded and ungraded, and in-class or out-of-class exercises. The range of possible writing tasks includes journal entries, case studies, blogs, e-portfolios, hypertext, lab reports, free writing, annotated bibliography, essay, analyses, proposals, abstracts, reviews, field notes, electronic postings, research papers, or proofs. For more ideas, contact the Writing Center at http://www.umt.edu/writingcenter/.

II. Guidelines

Writing requirements establish a logical progression of development as students move through the college curriculum. Therefore, writing courses and the upper-division writing expectation have different outcomes. W-designated courses and the upper-division writing requirement are reviewed and approved by the Writing Subcommittee and Academic Standards and Curriculum Review Committee (ASCRC). Proposals for all writing courses and experiences should specifically address how the course will achieve the learning outcomes. Faculty who propose writing courses or are assigned to teach departmental courses are encouraged to seek guidance from the Mansfield Library, the Writing Center, and other campus resources. Specifically, collaboration with library faculty is encouraged for addressing information literacy. Departments will determine the criteria for graders, if used.

A. Approved Writing Courses

Students should plan to take an approved writing course after completing the composition course and prior to taking the writing proficiency assessment. Upon completing the W-designated course, students should understand writing as means to practice academic inquiry and demonstrate the ability to formulate and express opinions and ideas in writing. Upon completing the W-designated course, the student should be able to:

1. Learning Outcomes

· Use writing to learn and synthesize new concepts

· Formulate and express opinions and ideas in writing

· Compose written documents that are appropriate for a given audience or purpose

· Revise written work based on constructive feedback

· Find, evaluate, and use information effectively

· Begin to use discipline-specific writing conventions

· Apply appropriate English language usage

2. Requirements for Approved Writing Courses*

· Limit enrollment to 25 students per instructor or grader

· Identify course outcomes in the syllabus

· Provide students with detailed written instructions, including criteria for evaluation, for all formal writing assignments

· Provide adequate instruction and require students to write frequently for specified audiences, purposes, and genres

o Formal or informal

o Graded or ungraded

o In-class or out-of-class

· Provide feedback on students’ writing and give students the opportunity to revise and resubmit at least one formal writing assignment

· Require each student individually to compose at least 16 pages of writing for assessment over the course of the semester

· Base a significant portion (at least 50% of a 3 credit course or equivalent hours) of the course grade on student performance on writing assignments

· Incorporate information literacy into learning outcomes, instruction, and assignments

B. Upper-Division Writing Requirement in the Major
Upon completing the upper-division writing requirement, students should be more active, confident, and effective contributors to a body of knowledge and should understand the ethical dimensions of inquiry. Upon completing the upper-division writing requirement, the student should be able to:

1. Learning Outcomes

· Identify and pursue more sophisticated questions for academic inquiry

· Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information effectively from diverse sources

· Manage multiple perspectives as appropriate

· Recognize the purposes and needs of discipline-specific audiences and adopt the academic voice necessary for the chosen discipline

· Use multiple drafts, revision, and editing in conducting inquiry and preparing written work

· Follow the conventions of citation, documentation, and formal presentation appropriate to that discipline

· Develop competence in information technology and digital literacy

2. Requirements for Upper-Division Writing Courses*

· Limit enrollment to 25 students per instructor or grader

· Identify course outcomes in the syllabus

· Provide students with detailed written instructions, including criteria for evaluation, for all formal writing assignments

· Provide students with tools and strategies for effective writing and editing in the major

· Require students to write frequently for specified audiences, purposes, and genres

o Formal or informal

o Graded or ungraded

o In-class or out-of-class

· Provide feedback on students’ writing and give students the opportunity to revise and resubmit at least one formal writing assignment

· Require each student to individually compose at least 20 pages of writing for assessment over the course of the semester

· Base a significant portion (at least 50% of a 3 credit course or equivalent hours) of the course grade on student performance on written assignments

· Incorporate information literacy into learning outcomes, instruction, and assignments

* Proposals requesting approval for writing courses or upper-division writing experiences that do not meet the requirements should include justifications for these changes that address how learning outcomes will still be achieved.

(5)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the Proposed Criteria for

Writing Courses and Upper-Division Writing Experiences

1. Writing as Percent of Grade. I teach a writing course that meets the upper-division (major) writing requirement. The guidelines say that I have to attribute 50 % of the grade to writing skills. That seems pretty high to me. Is that what you mean?

- The guidelines say that at least 50 % of the grade must be based on written assignments. The grade would logically include some assessment of writing but content, critical thinking, presentation, and other skills relevant to the discipline would also be included in that grade. The remaining portion of the grade would be based on other aspects of the course, such as successful completion of laboratory exercises, class presentations and discussions, exams, and other means of performance evaluation.

2. Writing as Percent of Grade. I teach a writing course that is used as an initial writing experience (i.e., after composition and before the WPA). The guidelines say that I have to attribute 50 % of the grade to writing. That seems pretty high to me. Is that what you mean?

- No, we mean writing assignments. Writing assignments are assessed based on the writers’ ability to develop ideas and thoroughly support and refute them according to the purpose of the assignment. Although we are concerned about writing conventions, the emphasis should be on content. Editing, proofreading, and revision—it’s all about clarity.

3. Formal writing. What do you mean by formal writing assignment?

- What we think of formal writing assignments probably is exactly what you are thinking. But to be clear, a formal writing assignment will have specific format requirements, specific content requirement, traditional composition/grammar/spelling (if appropriate) requirements, and a specified length. Often, but not always, a formal writing assignment will include an opportunity for revision. See FAQ (page requirements).

4. Informal writing. How would I evaluate an informal writing assignment as a portion of the 50 % of the grade?

- This depends on the assignment. Each assignment that you give a student will have some criteria, and you have some expectations for what they must produce. If you define your expectations, then you must be able to determine whether the students have achieved those expectations or not. For example, informal writing could focus mainly on the process by which formal writing is developed: outlines, diagrams, tables, etc., all contribute to development of a formal written work. These are informal writing assignments and can be graded according to the criteria for completion that you provide to the students.

5. Page Requirement. The page requirements seem excessive. Do you mean that I have to assign a 16- or 20-page paper? With revisions, that is a huge amount of assessment that you are requiring me to do!

- We totally agree with you. That would be a huge amount of work. But we really mean that the number of pages submitted during the entire semester should be a minimum of 16 or 20 total. This includes the original document and any subsequent revisions. For example, you could assign an 8- to 10-page paper with one revision that would meet this requirement. Alternatively, more assignments, including informal assignments, of shorter length would meet this requirement. Most faculty members, upon examination of their course, will find that they easily exceed this requirement.

6. Page Requirement. Gosh this sounds great. Can my course consist of entirely informal assignments that total at least 16 or 20 pages of written work? That would really reduce my workload.

- No, sorry about that. Some portion, which you must justify when proposing the course and which must be clearly indicated in the syllabus, must be formal written assignments. Further, the guidelines do state that the students must revise and resubmit at least one formal writing assignment.

7. Individual versus group writing. Our courses use group projects and the groups prepare a report. Do these new criteria mean we have to have each student prepare an individual report? That is not only impractical, it is not how students in this discipline will work after they graduate.

We understand that there are instances where learning to work together in a group to prepare a written document is an important skill. The concern the criteria are trying to avoid is the ability of some students to avoid writing all together. If your course has group reports, it probably also has mechanisms for determining how a student has contributed to the group work including a written document. It probably has other assignments that can be used to assess individual writing skills. If the assignments do not lend themselves to grading of individual writing skills, then it is possible the course is not the best choice for a writing course. Many classes require papers without being designated writing courses, so this would not be unusual. There are probably other courses within the major that require more individual effort, and one of these may be a better choice for a writing course in the future.

8. Enrollment limit. I really cannot accept the Writing Committee’s edict that enrollment should be limited to 25 students. Where do you get off telling me that? I have 200 majors starting every year! I simply cannot teach eight sections of that class. What am I supposed to do?

- You are not alone in your room with 200 students. There are other programs with these kinds of enrollment issues. The point of our enrollment limits is to ensure that, in general, students receive the necessary attention and feedback to help them improve their writing skills. The Writing Committee will entertain proposals in which the course enrollment exceeds the recommended 25 students, but only with clear and supportable justification. The justification must include a statement that indicates how each student will receive adequate individualized instruction and feedback. For example, in a course of 60 students, each of whom writes, revises, and resubmits an 8-page paper, and for which the instructor spends a minimum of 30 minutes per paper, the instructor is committing him or herself to 60 hours of reading and grading papers for the course. If you can do that, then you have more stamina that I do.

9. Justifying deviations from criteria. I understand the goal of the new criteria is to ensure all graduates have received instruction in writing and multiple assessments of their skill, but our department just cannot find a single course where we can absolutely meet all criteria. What do I do?

In a perfect world of unlimited resources, we might be inclined to strictly enforce the criteria as presented. Alas, we have limited resources and competing needs, so we provide the criteria as guidelines for preparing writing course but will look at all justified requests that deviate from the standards. The key to a s