‘It’s not the Inquisition’
Committee member Sarah Bednarz discusses proposing a W course
What does it take to propose a writing intensive (W) course? Sarah Bednarz, associate professor of geography, is in a unique position to know. For the past year and a half she’s served on the W Course Advisory Committee, which reviews faculty proposals for courses designed to meet the writing-intensive requirement. This fall Bednarz also went before her fellow committee members with a proposal of her own.
Sarah Bednarz, associate professor of geography, serves on the W Course Advisory Committee. She also recently won approval for her own W course.
Sarah Bednarz, associate professor of geography, serves on the W Course Advisory Committee. She also recently won approval for her own W course.
“I’m not only on the committee, but I’ve been an applicant, and I
can say the proposal process is very straightforward. Once faculty
members access the University Writing Center Web site, they’ll find the
information is all there. The requirements are clear and there are
several documents we’ve developed over the last year, checklists and
rubrics that help walk you through the process,” says Bednarz.
Once the proposal is submitted, the applicant meets in person with the committee.
“We’ve
started inviting the applicants to come talk with us, instead of just
getting proposals on paper,” she explains. “We usually have so many
questions that it makes sense to give people the opportunity to come
and meet face-to-face. It has really facilitated the process. I wish
all committees on campus did that.”
The meetings are typically low-key and collegial.
“It’s
definitely not the Inquisition,” Bendarz notes with a laugh. The
committee functions well as a group in part because of the members’
common commitment to writing in the undergraduate curriculum.
“Our
basic philosophy is that writing and thinking are intertwined,” Bednarz
explains. “You really can’t separate them. Giving our students the
opportunity to think deeply, through writing, about their discipline
allows them to become really expert in the subject.”
One thing
that surprises Bednarz in reviewing proposals is how many courses fit
so naturally within the W course guidelines. She points to a recent
proposal from the accounting department for a W course on auditing.
“If
you’ve ever served on the board of an organization,” she notes, “you’ve
probably received reports from independent auditors. Those reports are
pretty significant pieces of writing. We don’t often think of
accountants as writers, but in fact they do a lot of writing. It’s a
very technical, precise writing, but nonetheless the accountants have
to think deeply about the work and express their thoughts clearly and
effectively. So, the proposal for that accounting course was just a
natural fit.”
What advice does Bednarz have for others preparing a W course proposal?
“It’s
so easy for us to fall back on the research paper,” Bednarz
acknowledges, “but there may be better ways, shorter projects that are
better linked to the kind of experience students will have after they
graduate in a particular discipline. Try to think innovatively about
ways writing can enhance learning.”
