Academic Senate writing course amendment fails Tuesday
An amendment failed at the Academic Senate meeting Tuesday that would have required students to take at least four courses that have been designated as "writing intensive," requiring at least two before a student earns 56 credit hours.
Student Government Associate Vice President and Kingsford senior Bradley Sjoquist said he was extremely pleased that the amendment, which was a revision created by the general education committee, failed.
"I think that the revised amendment didn't take into account a lot of the research done by the Gen Ed Council," Sjoquist said.
The amendment stated that the courses could be taken in any department. A course within the University Program designated as writing intensive would fulfill both the UP and writing requirements.
The amendment sparked much debate, as well as a proposal to change the amendment that would require students to take the remaining two writing courses before reaching senior status.
This was proposed by philosophy and religion professor Robert Stecker, but the senate defeated the motion.
Music professor Andrew Spencer did not support the limitations the amendment put on the music department.
"We will have problems with these credit hour limitations in the School of Music," Spencer said. "We just will."
Concerns were raised about the quality and qualifications of professors teaching writing classes in their perspective departments.
Gary Shapiro, dean of the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Science, said the college would be prepared to offer workshops for faculty who want to learn how to teach writing courses.
"There needs to be an opportunity for faculty to take advantage of the skill that is offered in the English department," Shapiro said.
Chemistry professor Philip Squattrito chaired Tuesday's meeting because A-Senate chair Raymond Francis, a teacher education and professional development associate professor, was away at a conference.
Squattrito said since the amendment did not pass, it will have to be reworked and re-presented to the senate.
Sjoquist said the next step will be to debate the original general education committee's report.
Other changes and additions to the Written English Competency Requirement in the bulletin include that each of the courses in the UP require some level of writing and that writing intensive courses must have 70 percent or more of the grade based on written work.
Written work can be a combination of essays, drafts, research papers, essay exams, response journals or other written assignments.
The senate was originally presented with the writing intensive course plan in April 2008.
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