W Courses
W Courses should include the following statement on the syllabi:
“Writing-Intensive Courses, often called W-Courses and designated by a W in the course listing, are courses that require students to apply writing in their understanding of the course content. As such, W-courses require students to write and revise their written work regularly with at least 50% of their grade in the course linked to the quality and content of their written submissions. The instructor of the W-course will outline and teach specific writing goals and provide individualized feedback on how students can improve their writing skills. Students should anticipate growth in both content knowledge and writing ability.”
Undergraduate students at Southern Connecticut State University must fulfill a writing requirement for graduation. Currently, this requirement includes:
- successful completion of ENG 112, ENG 120, HON 150, or Tier 1 Written Communication competency
- Three “W” courses
These “W” courses are writing-intensive courses across the disciplines. Students may take the W courses in any discipline or department they wish, assuming they have any other prerequisites for the course.
New W Course Program
Information on the New W Course program and all required forms are located in the UCF Confluence page for the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee.
Previous W-Course Programs
The W-Course Program has undergone several transitions since the 1990s to ensure students receive pedagogically-sound training in writing, and the program meets the realistic needs of the academy in the 21st century. The most recent changes included the following:
Removing a requirement that students write at least 5000 words in favor of requiring an explicit teaching of writing skills;
o This recognizes that while writing a lot will help facilitate improved writing skills, most students will not able to write nearly enough in their four years to noticeably improve their writing, unless given explicit instruction.
Removing the requirement that each faculty had to be approved for each course separately, in favor of only requiring each course to be approved;
o This allows adjuncts to teach W-courses, and recognizes that many W-courses taught by different professors have the same writing requirements and pedagogy.
Requiring that W-courses submit their writing goals and assessment of one of their goals, so that the program as a whole can be assessed for outcomes, rather than just aspirations.
To view the previous W-Course proposal form or guidelines, please email: mcdanielm4 at southernct dot edu