WAC Committee Meeting Minutes – 4/2/07

The meeting was called to order at 11:00 a.m.

The committee discussed and conditionally approved a proposal from Linda Noer for a fall ’07 W.I. course, Social Work 240 (Human Behavior and Social Environment). Mark Snavely will contact Linda about requiring feedback on journal entries and encouraging her to submit a syllabus.

Alan Wallace reported on progress with the WAC FAQ online and/or paper brochure. The committee discussed several related issues, including the need to have a link from the Academic Affairs web page directly to committees, so that items such as the WAC FAQ are more easily accessible to the faculty. Mark Snavely will talk with Christine Rener about this issue.

The WAC FAQ should also have a list of submission deadlines for various W.I. related items. Michelle Bonn will send a list of proposed deadlines to Alan Wallace. Department chairs should still be responsible for designating courses as W.I. on departmental schedules, but the committee believes these designations should be included on the schedule “revisions,” rather than on the first schedule drafts submitted to the Registrar.

A WAC workshop for SPS adjuncts, particularly Education Department adjuncts, needs to be offered, but the numbers of adjuncts that will need the workshop are less than the committee anticipated. More information is needed from the Education Department before this workshop can be planned.

Jean Preston reported that she has submitted fall ’07 Writing Center statistics and a proposed WC budget for 2007-08 to Brad Andrews. Brad has indicated that the Writing Center should have its own budget line next year, and will most likely be moved from his supervision to the Academic Dean’s supervision. Since these issues are being considered, WAC will delay sending a letter of support for the Writing Center to the Dean.

Mark Snavely will give a brief update regarding WAC to the faculty at the May faculty meeting.

Alan Wallace will speak with Maria Carrig and Leonard Schultz to see if they want to serve second three-year terms on the WAC committee.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:05 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for noon on Tuesday, April 24 – location TBD.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Preston

WAC Committee Meeting Minutes – 3/20/07

The meeting was called to order at 12 noon.

The committee discussed and unanimously approved two proposals for W.I. courses, Jim Lochtefeld’s Religion 100 (Understandings of Religion), and Gary Williams’ proposed 40X course, Sport and Exercise Psychology. The committee’s approval of Gary Williams’ course is for W.I. status only. The course itself must still be granted divisional and CPC approval.

Alan Wallace brought up the question of transfer students’ potential problems with meeting W.I. requirements. After some discussion, the committee agreed that transfer students would be permitted to submit petitions requesting waivers for the W.I. requirement. The WAC committee will appoint a subcommittee to review these petitions and grant or deny them.

Alan Wallace presented a list of issues the committee has discussed over the past year that need to be discussed further and/or acted upon. The committee discussed several of these issues:

o Mark Snavely will work with the college webmaster to design a W.I. course approval renewal form that will be convenient for faculty to use and will supply the necessary information needed to the WAC committee as well.
o The committee will devise a system to keep track of adjunct/contract instructors who teach W.I. courses to insure that these instructors do not end up teaching a disproportionate number of these courses.
o Rick Matthews and Alan Wallace will develop a F.A.Q. brochure to distribute to faculty. One question that will be addressed in the brochure is how to advise students so that the majority of them do not complete their W.I. requirement within their first two years at Carthage. The brochure will also include a statement that instructors taking the WI workshop will be “compensated on a one-time basis” only.

o The committee decided that the inclusion of a detailed syllabus would not be a required inclusion for W.I. course proposals, but that such inclusion would be highly recommended.
o The committee discussed the Writing Center budget and fellow pay issue. Jean Preston will pursue with Kurt Piepenburg and Brad Andrews the plans for the Writing Center budget for 2007-08.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:05 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 2, time and place TBD.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Preston

WAC Meeting Minutes
2/19/07

Present:

Mark Snavely
Leonard Schultz
Rick Matthews
Alan Wallace
Michelle Bonn
David Steege
Jean Preston

Alan Wallace showed the committee a list of faculty who are teaching Heritage this semester. Only five faculty on the entire list have not been certified to teach W.I. courses, or have not submitted a proposal for their Heritage section for W.I. approval.

The Committee agreed to meet again on Tuesday, February 27, at noon.

Mark Snavely presented several W.I. proposals to the Committee for its consideration.

Heritage proposals were submitted by Sam Chell, Jonathan Marshall, Marla Polley, Marian Rothstein, and Chris von Dehsen. All were approved for W.I. designation.

Ingrid Tiegel submitted a W.I. proposal for Psyc 365: Child Psychopathology. The committee approved the proposal pending clarification of the weight given to writing assignments on the course syllabus.

Leonard Shultz will deliver the list of Heritage faculty who are not W.I. certified and have not submitted a W.I. course proposal for their course to the committee.

Michelle Bonn gave the Committee a list of courses that have been submitted to the Registrar’s office as W.I. courses. Only one course on the list (Engl 201/Smiley) has been approved by the WAC Committee. Two Math courses (Math 309/Snavely and Math 300/Trautwein) have been approved, but were not included on the list. Michelle will update the list, and Department Chairs will be informed if their courses have not yet been approved for W.I. designation and reminded of due dates for future submissions via a memo from Mark Snavely. In addition, the Registrar’s office will include instructions for designating courses as W.I. in the Departmental scheduling packets.

Mark Snavely will request that Division Chairs, after reviewing Departmental schedules, poll their Department Chairs regarding second W.I. courses.

Rick Matthews will be proposing a summer term ACE W.I. course, Topics 271, Elite Deviance. Understandings of Religion was mentioned as a good option for an ACE/SPS W.I. non-major course. Rick Matthews will contact the Business and Education Departments to see what progress they have made on ACE/SPS W.I. courses. He will also talk with Diane Keller about faculty certification.

Alan Wallace is planning an ACE/SPS W.I. Workshop that will probably take place in August. This workshop will be for adjunct faculty, but will also offer an alternative for full time faculty who cannot attend the daytime workshop offered for full time faculty. The workshop will be offered on weekends or in the evenings to accommodate adjuncts’ schedules. Alan will try to determine how many faculty might attend and will set a date as soon as possible.

Leonard Schultz questioned if the requirement for a research paper in Heritage II is too advanced for second semester freshmen. Alan Wallace expressed similar concerns. Alan will share with the committee a proposal he and Anne Shaw prepared for the HOC when the new Heritage curriculum was being developed.

Alan Wallace handed out a summary of the work the WAC has accomplished over the past year. He requested that the Committee read the summary and come to next week’s meeting ready to discuss both the summary and any priorities for the coming year.

Respectfully Submitted by Jean Preston

I was unable to upload the checklist to the blog. Contact Mark or Jean if you want a copy.

Minutes from 11-7-06 Writing Across the Curriculum

Attendance: Barb, Jean, David, Mark, Leonard, Michelle, Alan, Rick

Management of information:

• Academic affairs site for link for proposals: Christine Rener updates
• Changes: deadline 2007-2008 school year, links to criteria
• Email format, syllabi are coming through fine.
• No one computer should effect the files
• Backup: burn to CD
• Letter went to dept. chairs this morning, Jan. 31 is the deadline for filing

Submissions:
• Using criteria of courses in WAC and approval by dept. and workshop attendance
• Looking at criteria of form
• Reviewed as a team three submissions of courses: Math 309 Mark Snavely, English 201 Pam Smiley, Math 200 Aaron Trautwein
• All three approved with some minor questions to address from committee to the individuals.

Updates:

• Some math dept. discussion and supportive attitude from dept.
• Individual instructors coming forward with their proposals.

Problems we might encounter:
• Feedback: what kind and timely for instructor
• Using writing to promote learning of course materials is key
• Formal or informal differences

• In or out of class
• Clarity on form: low stakes/high stakes
• Does is lead to anything?
• Links to syllabi/informal writing
• Connections of formal and informal writings

Future:

• Larger archive to the syllabi: link (Alan’s request)
• Comments on form; only one attachment
• Feedback proceedings
• Next meeting: Nov. 28 10:30-11;30: Proposals, music dept. issues
• Jean: tic list, certifications for graduates, names on blog.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara J. Short

October 24, 2006
Writing across the Curriculum Committee Meeting
Rick, Leonard, Jean, Barb, David, Mark, Alan, Michele in attendance

1. Minutes approved
2. Mark: Plan B
• Temple and Mark signed letters

• Send out letters all at once for Heritage: Spring and Fall teachers who didn’t atte4nd the August Workshop
• Exceptions for Heritage in a packet: proposal form to cover the absence
3. Outreach:
• No more proposals: Oct. 27 deadline for people teaching Fall 07
• End of January deadlines for people teaching Spring 08
• Paper copies of form

• Review access to database in blog
• Standard campus login: writing curriculum submission
• Click to view
• Hard copies to review?
• Which copy to save, email: look over before the meeting: form, proposals, etc.
• Start as soon as we can to review

• Process: first couple meet as a committee then send to the subgroup to review: Alan, Jean, Rick and Maria (co-chairs)
4. Proposals: Fall schedule:
• Oct. 31 schedules from registrar to dept. chairs
Nov. 14 to division chairs, Nov. 28 back to the registrar. In spring, advisory is mar. 26, April 16 is registration. Get them in by Mar. 26.
• January 31- Feb. 28 review for Spring 07-08
• Letter to the dept.: think about WI courses Oct. 31
• Caps for WI courses 22 students

• Submit a proposal, blog courses, certification list, emergency certification, list of courses.
• May need a separate list for WI courses for students
• Feb. our committee approval and registrar
5. Records: Should we have an archive list and notes to self: Jean and Mark will organize with blog
6. Recognize excellence:
• planning: Leonard: testimonials of positive experience in workshop for next August
7. Assessment:

• Freshman baseline scoring
• Student surveys from other schools
• Faculty survey
• End of the year assessment: non-heritage
• Oral history: where in the curriculum are they getting exposure, methodologies, subject matter, world views
8. Special questions:

• Leonard: Fine arts question: Distribution requirements don’t have to carry WI: role the fine arts into the curriculum/theory/cultural perception
• SPS: physically impossible for those instructors: money to do the SPS workshop: work with Jim I. on this issue: how many and what world be good timing; safety value to pick up adjuncts.

Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Short

Arion, Doug

Bonn, Michele
Borden, Matt
Burling, Temple
Carr, Thomas
Carrig, Maria
Chell, Charlotte
Choffnes, Dan
Cyr, Art
DeSmidt, Ben

Duffy, Cathy
DuPriest, Mabel
Gartner, Dave
Gartner, Tracy
Gomez, Beatriz
Groleau, Tom
Gruber, Allison
Haines, Amy
Hauser, Ellen

Hegrenes, Scott
Heitman, Richard
Kulke, Erik
Lochtefeld, Jim
Long, Tom
Maczka, Rom
Mahoney, Mark
Maleske, Bob
Mast, Jerry

Matthews, Rick
Miller, Dan
Mitchell, Stephanie
Montanaro, Ed
Munk, Dennis
Noer, Linda
Owens, Jan
Pfaffle, Pat
Porta, Gaspar

Renaud, Chris
Rivera, Julio
Roberg, Jeff
Scharnick, Neil
Schlack, Bob
Schulze, Leonard
Schwartz, Brian
Seymoure, Penney
Shapovalov, Dimitri

Short, Barb
Simpson, Tom
Sleszynski, Neal
Smiley, Pam
Snavely, Mark
Steege, David
Sun, Wenjie
Tiegel, Ingrid
Trautwein, Aaron

Ulrich, Paul
Vogt, Allen
Wolff, Thomas
Zavada, Paul
Zorn, Matt
Preston, Jean
Wallace, Alan