FORMAT 7
Submit originals and one copy and electronic copy to the Faculty Senate Office
(Email electronic copy to jbharvie@alaska.edu) 
REQUEST FOR CORE WRITING INTENSIVE DESIGNATOR

SUBMITTED BY:
Department	
 	
College/School	

Prepared by	
 	
Phone	

Email Contact	
 	
Faculty Contact	

	
See http://www.uaf.edu/uafgov/faculty-senate/curriculum/course-degree-procedures-/ for a complete description of the rules governing curriculum & course changes.
1.  COURSE IDENTIFICATION: 
Dept	
 	
Course #	
	
No. of Credits	

COURSE TITLE	

Existing Course	
	
New Course Pending Approval* 	

*Must be approved by appropriate Curriculum Council.)	

2.  CURRENT CATALOG DESCRIPTION AS IT APPEARS IN THE CATALOG: including dept., number, title and credits.  If there extensive changes to an existing course, include the CHANGED CATALOG DESCRIPTION as well. (Doing so will facilitate correct Banner entries.)

	

JUSTIFICATION FOR ACTION REQUESTED
The purpose of the department and campus-wide curriculum committees is to scrutinize course designator applications to make sure that the quality of UAF education is not lowered as a result of the proposed change.  Please address this in your response.  This section needs to be self-explanatory.  Use as much space as needed to fully justify the proposed change and explain what has been done to ensure that the quality of the course is not compromised as a result.

	

The attached syllabus must clearly reflect the following basic elements for a class to be WRITING INTENSIVE.  Please note them directly on the syllabus, using the corresponding letter. 

A	
A majority of the final grade is derived from writing activities	

B	
A research paper/project	

C	
Personal conference with the student	

D	
Drafts/revisions/Feedback	

APPROVALS:

Date	

Signature, Chair, Program/Department of:	

	
Date	

Signature, Chair, College/School Curriculum Council for:	

	
Date	

Signature, Dean, College/School of:	

	

ALL SIGNATURES MUST BE OBTAINED PRIOR TO SUBMISSION TO THE GOVERNANCE OFFICE

Date	

Signature, Chair, Senate Core Review Committee	

These guidelines are included for your reference.

November 12, 1990
UAF Faculty Senate Meeting #22

Guidelines for Core Writing Intensive Designator:

A.	General guidelines for 3-credit course with "W" designator

1.	The lower-division writing sequence as specified in the Core Curriculum will be a prerequisite for all "W"- designated courses.

2.	Instructors are encouraged to have students write an ungraded diagnostic composition on or near the first day of class to help assess writing ability and general competence in the discipline.  [If diagnostic tests indicate that remedial work may be needed, teachers can set up specialized tutoring for their students with UAF Writing Center tutors.]

3.	Teachers regularly evaluate students' writing and inform students of their progress.  If a major written project (research project) is part of the course, the project should be supervised in stages.  If possible, a writing activity should comprise a major portion of the final examination.

4.	At least one personal conference should be devoted to the student's writing per term and drafts of papers should receive evaluation from the teacher and/or peers.

5.	Written material should comprise a majority of the graded work in the course for it to be designated "intensive."  "Written material" can consist of quizzes and exams with short answers or essay sections, journals, field notes, informal responses to reading or class lectures, structured essays, research projects, performance reviews, lab reports, or any forms suitable to the discipline being taught.

B.	Guidelines for the "W" designator in Technical courses

1.	In order to ensure that technical disciplines can meet the goals of the writing intensive requirements without compromising the technical quality of their courses, such disciplines may substitute longer courses or a series of courses (typically 1-credit labs) for each of the two necessary 3-credit writing intensive or "W"-designated courses.  Courses meeting all the general guidelines will, of course, also be acceptable.

2.	The longer course option allows the "W" designator for a 4- or 5-credit course in which written material comprises a portion of the grade equivalent to "a majority" of a 3-credit course.  The course must also meet the other general guidelines.

3.	The series option allows a student to replace one or both 3-credit "W" courses with a series of courses, each of which may be less than three credits--e.g., a series of 1-credit or 1-credit-equivalent laboratories.  Each series, however, must sum to the equivalent of at least one 3-credit "W"- designated course.  The initial course in the series will be designated "W1" and, while less than three credits, will fulfill all the other general requirements for a "W."  The subsequent courses will base a majority of the grade on written material.  Students must take the "W1" course before taking the other courses in the series.

**	To grade a course on written work means to use the student's written work as the basis for his or her grade.  Written work is graded mainly on content and organization, with tone, word choice, sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling accounting for a smaller fraction of the grade.

		Effective:  	November 29, 1990