February 6, 2003
Campus to upgrade undergraduate writing
A committee that has been investigating student writing hopes to get campus input on the topic with a series of visitors over the next two months.
The Undergraduate Curriculum Writing Committee was commissioned by David Hodge, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, to “develop concrete plans that will provide practical guidance for the college in creating a superior program in writing for all our undergraduates.”
“We’ve spent the last several months surveying what’s already being done on campus and identifying problems to be addressed,” said committee member John Webster, associate professor of English. “Now we want to look at potential solutions, and we’re hoping our visitors will help us do that.”
The three speakers are:
- Susan Jarratt, campus writing coordinator and professor of English and comparative literature, UC-Irvine, Thursday, Feb. 20, 206 Communications;
- David Russell, associate professor of rhetoric and professional communication, Iowa State University, Thursday, Feb. 27, 317 Thomson; and
- Kathleen Blake Yancey, professor of professional communication and director of the Center for Professional Communication, Clemson University, Thursday, March 13, Faculty Club Conference Room.
Each speaker will spend three days on campus, meeting with the committee and others in addition to giving the public talk. All talks are at 3:30 p.m.
“These are people who have substantial experience with the teaching of writing at universities comparable to ours,” Webster says. “The committee hopes that in addition to conveying information, these visitors will provide an opportunity to create a conversation about writing on campus.”
“The committee has already drawn on a lot of expertise at the UW,” adds committee chair Gerry Philipsen, professor of communication. “But there may be people with interest and knowledge whom we have overlooked. We hope they’ll come to these talks and share their ideas.”
The A&S committee was convened, Webster explains, in response to a widely perceived problem. Two previous task forces in the college — one on the first year and one on student learning — had given the same recommendation their highest priority — improving undergraduate students’ writing competency.
“As a consequence of these things, David (Hodge) decided it was time to have a serious review of writing requirements and how we go about offering writing instruction,” Webster says.
“When I go out in the community, this really is the number one thing I hear — from employers, from alumni and others,” Hodge says. “There is broad frustration with student writing, both on campus and off. And this problem isn’t unique to us. It’s a lament being heard on campuses all across the country. There are people at the UW who have worked very hard on our current efforts and I’m in no way criticizing what they have done, but I wanted us to get some fresh ideas and see if we could improve on those efforts.”
Although the committee is still in the midst of its deliberations, Philipsen says it is focusing on several questions:
- Are the current A&S writing requirements adequate?
- Does the campus have the right type and amount of coordination of efforts on the teaching of writing?
- Are there sufficient resources available to support the efforts of faculty and TAs who are paying attention to writing?
- How can departments promote the teaching and learning of writing by their undergraduate majors?
- How should the University assess competency and achievement in writing?
In his charge letter to the committee last October, Hodge wrote that the college would be willing to “pursue significant new resources and to reallocate existing ones to the vital goal of strengthening our students’ writing abilities.” Given the grim budget outlook today, he was a little more circumspect but still determined.
“The amount of money we invest in this will be proportional to the amount of confidence we have that doing things differently will make a difference,” Hodge says. “After all, if this is one of the most important things we do, we’ve got to find a way to do it well.”
The Undergraduate Curriculum Writing Committee is due to give its recommendations to Hodge on May 1.
