To Write or Not to Write…

Additional W Course Guidelines

            The revised writing requirement under the new General Education system, which goes into effect in May of 2005, is designed to provide enriched writing experiences for students beyond the Freshman year. This note is intended to make sure that you understand this requirement and the distinction between W and non-W courses.

            To fulfill their W requirement, students are required to pass one of the four-credit Freshman English writing seminars and then take two W designated courses, one of which must be at the 200 level and approved as part of the requirement in the major.  This latter requirement recognizes the fact the practice of writing differs across disciplines and it is important that students learn to write within their own major field. 

             The key distinction between a W and non-W course is pedagogical, not whether writing is assigned or not.  Writing, of course, may be, and in fact, should be assigned in many courses, with or without the W designation.  What distinguishes a W course from any other course is that students must be provided explicit writing instruction and consistent faculty feedback to foster revision, and W courses require a minimum of fifteen, revised and edited pages of writing.  It is likely that some courses may require fifteen or more pages of writing in a semester without offering instruction and structured opportunities for revision, but a course that did so would not qualify as a W course.

            The new W requirement does not specify any credit restriction.  Consequently, a W course may be one, two, three, or four credits depending on any number of circumstances.  Whatever the number of credits for any particular course (or equivalent), the page, revision, and instruction requirements must be met.  Some departments have created, for example, a one-credit writing workshop course (with an enrollment limit of 19 per section and its own course number) that is coordinated with another course in a way that would integrate the writing into the content of that course in a manner that would deepen and enrich learning. 

            Availability of W courses is a clear concern for students. One of the principles underlying the new General Education Guidelines approved by the University Senate is that courses should be accessible to students. The General Education Oversight Committee and the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs take this charge seriously and will be carefully monitoring W class availability and making adjustments where needed.

           If you have any questions or concerns about W courses, please address them to GEOC@uconn.edu and we will ensure that they get addressed.