Senate debates 'W' courses

The issue that generated the most discussion at yesterday's University Senate meeting in the Merlin W. Bishop Center was not the budget crisis, but a related issue: the writing requirement.

The current writing requirement mandates that all students take either English 1110 or 1111 and two writing courses, one of which must be discipline-specific to the student's major, before graduation. Students are required to write a total of 15 pages and must pass the writing component to pass each writing course.

Katharina von Hammerstein, a senator and professor in the Modern and Classical Languages department, presented a comprehensive report outlining the requirement, its logistics, and the concerns it has raised.

One of the major concerns regarding the writing requirement is that students often have difficulty getting into the courses, which are capped at 19 students so that each professor can pay a sufficient amount of attention to each student's work. This challenge has forced some writing course teachers to over-enroll.

"I commend every one of you that have been sticking to that [cap]," Von Hammerstein said. "If we didn't have that cap, chances are, professors wouldn't have the 15-page requirement because it would be too much work."

Sen. Hedley Freake, chair of the Senate Executive Committee and a nutritional sciences professor who teaches a writing course for nutritional sciences majors, said the writing requirement is beneficial to students but that the enrollment problem needs to be addressed further.

"I have no doubt that students grow and develop their writing skills as they take my course," Freake said. "[But] the reality is you don't get into that particular course when you need to."

"The real question here is not should there be 19 in a class. I think it's how we can help our students be better writers," Bennett said.

After much discussion, Sen. English motioned that the issue be referred to the Curricula and Courses Committee, a motion supported by Von Hammerstein. The Committee will report on the issue to the Senate in February, 2010.

"I recommend that the committee talk to Senator Bloom and other experts on writing on campus," Von Hammerstein said.

One of the concerns about the writing requirement is its financial implications. Sen. Gaye Tuchman, a professor in the sociology department, felt that the Senate hasn't addressed this issue properly.

"I don't understand how we can discuss the W courses separate from their economic implications," Tuchman said.

Provost and Executive Vice President Peter Nicholls addressed on behalf of President Michael Hogan. According to Nicholls, less than one third of the annual operating budget of the university comes from the state, while one third comes from tuition. About 58 percent of the university's operating expenses come from personnel costs.

In response to the budget crisis, the university has already accepted numerous recommendations, including energy savings, curtailment of museum and library services, and a possible hiring freeze.

"We could close any of the colleges," Nicholls said. "I just mention these things, not that we're planning to do any of those things, but to give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem."

Other issues on the agenda, such as amending bylaws regarding incomplete grades and nominations, were glossed over in a meeting that lasted about two hours, despite the snow cancellation last month.