All WI courses must be approved by the Faculty Senate’s Mason Core Committee before they can be entered into the university’s course catalog with the WI designation. This page describes the process and provides relevant information concerning the development and submission of an application for a new WI course.
If your course already has a WI attribute and you are looking for information about course review, please visit our WI Outcomes Implementation page.
Application Process
The process for developing a WI course and applying for the WI designation should really start with a conversation about the department’s goals for its student writers and the role and location of the WI course. These conversations might consider the following questions:
-
- What does ‘good writing’ in our discipline look like?
- What, how, and why does a professional in our discipline write?
- What should the students in our program be able to accomplish as writers upon graduation?
- How will we know that students can accomplish these goals?
- What courses in the major program at all levels (100-400) feature rich writing experiences that develop their capacities to achieve these goals?
- How do these writing-enriched courses complement and build on each other?
- How might these courses work in sequence?
- How will the WI course we wish to develop contribute to our department’s goals and complement other writing-enriched courses in our program?
After considering these questions, the process for developing a WI course typically follows these steps:
-
- Articulate the purpose, goals, and curricular location of the course
- Develop the course design and materials, including the syllabus, schedule, and assignments
- Draft, assemble, and submit the WI application materials through CourseLeaf
- Attend the WAC Committee meeting when your course is on the agenda, if possible
- Resubmit any potential revisions requested by the Committee through CourseLeaf
Application Materials
In order to apply for the WI designation, departments must submit the following materials to the WAC Committee through CourseLeaf:
- A WI course application and review planner that demonstrates how the course and instruction satisfy both the WI criteria and the WI learning outcomes
- A syllabus with WI syllabus statement and WI learning outcomes articulated explicitly on it
- Descriptions/instructions of all major writing assignments (could be included with the syllabus; instructions for low stakes writing tasks are also appreciated)
- A course schedule with writing instruction and writing assignments highlighted (could be included with the syllabus)
Committee Expectations
When reviewing a course application, Mason Core Committee members will use this evaluation rubric. Members are particularly interested to see how the WI learning outcomes are supported by the instruction and assessed through the writing assignments. Members also expect to see that the basic course criteria are satisfied. Some basic questions that members typically ask when reviewing a course include:
-
- How do the writing assignments help students achieve the learning outcomes?
- How do class activities, instructional resources, and feedback practices develop students’ ability to meet the outcomes?
- How will faculty know students have met the outcomes? What criteria will they prioritize when reviewing student work?
Consultations
WAC Program staff are always happy to consult with faculty and departments about their course development and other concerns related to teaching with writing. Please email us at wac@gmu.edu if you would like to schedule a consultation.