College of Arts and Sciences : Course Approval Criteria and Form     

Course Proposal Form (in Word format)

Faculty who want to teach a WAC class, not already approved, need to apply to the WAC Committee. The writing should be integrated with the essence of the course, provide many and varied writing activities, offer direct instruction in writing, and include assessment such as peer review, instructor comments, and self-reflection. Many ideas and suggestions are available from the National Clearinghouse

The application should address these criteria from the WAC Act that says that a course will fulfill the objectives:

• by containing multiple assignments such as several short papers, laboratory reports, or one or two long papers divided into sections and revised throughout the quarter;
• by including in the writing assignments a sequence of preliminary drafts, revisions, and final drafts which, altogether, total no less than 20 double-spaced, typewritten pages;
• by incorporating clear explanations of assignments and various approaches to writing instruction, such as guided peer evaluation, workshops, individual conferences, evaluation handouts;
• by using essay examinations whenever possible, and by evaluating these examinations on the basis of content and quality of writing;
• by involving frequent written evaluations by students and instructors.
  

• a self -assessement by the student when turning in a portfolio
• a required book on writing such as the Little Brown Handbook or College Writing by Toby Fulwiler
• an explanation of whether a course modification approval is needed from the Curriculum Committee
• the signature of the department chair
• the instuctor's experience teaching WAC or his or her training in workshops, etc.

An application form in MS Word is available from the Writing Center and online, and should be submitted to the chair of the WAC committee, Barbara Schneider, or to the Writing Center for transmittal (MS 925 for both). If you want to submit the form electronically, change the name (perhaps adding your own name) and attach it to an e-mail. Be sure to attach a syllabus. Paper applications should have seven copies sent to the members of the WAC committee.

Membership 2005-2006: Barbara Schneider (Chair), Charles Creutz, Linda Rouillard, Joel Lipman, Alice Skeens, Carol Nelson-Burns, Chris Habrecht