Approved W & C Courses
View an updated, comprehensive list of all W & C courses.
Overview
Faculty Senate Resolution 20.108 (FS.20.108), approved March 17, 2003, by the (former) Faculty Senate and signed April 1, 2003, by President Robert Gates, establishes the procedure for implementation and provides guidelines for W courses. All TAMU students must pass two courses in their major that fulfill the graduation requirement for writing and oral communication. The amount of course credit can vary; however, zero-credit courses cannot be used to fulfill the requirement. Since the TAMU 2007-08 Undergraduate Catalog #130, the university has required two W (writing) courses in the major. Since 2008, students have been able to take either one W and one C (communication) course or two W courses in the major.
The W/C graduation requirement may not be met by any course listed as a University Core Curriculum communication requirement.
W/C courses are designed and administered within departments and approved for a period of four years by the W&C Course Advisory Committee and the Faculty Advisory Council. The W&C Course Advisory Committee ensures the integrity of Texas A&M’s communication-in-the-disciplines program.
Students must take two different courses to satisfy the W and/or C requirement. If departments need to use the same course twice for their students to satisfy this requirement, consultation with their college representative on the W&C Course Advisory Committee and approval from the committee is needed. Departments should be able to demonstrate a substantial difference between the two versions of the course so that students are not simply completing identical courses.
A department may request that a course outside the major count in a specific degree plan if that course is relevant to the student's discipline. Both the department offering the course and the department offering the major should agree that the course can be added. To make the request, submit the Request for Approval of W&C Courses Outside the Major Form to the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.
For more information about the requirements for W&C courses, see the Checklist of W Course Requirements and the Checklist of C Course Requirements below.
The chair of the W&C Course Advisory Committee and director of the Writing-in-the-Disciplines program is Dr. Matt McKinney.
Course Goals
FAQs
A course must have a 900 section number and be approved for the student's major to count as the W or C course on that student's degree plan.
Departmental academic advisors can help students identify W and C course that count in their degree plans. Rather than being listed as W/C in course catalogs, W/C courses are designated by section numbers in the 900 range in the online Schedule of Courses in Howdy. For further detail on numbering, see the table below.
| Section Numbers | Course Type |
|---|---|
| 900-929 | W |
| 970-979 | W Honors |
| 930-969 | C |
| 980-999 | C Honors |
A course must have a 900 section number and be approved for the student's major to count as the W or C course on that student's degree plan.
For a double degree, students should meet the graduation requirement in each major. in other words, they should take four (not two) W/C courses, two in each major.
So long as a course designated as W or C meets the basic requirements for writing or oral communication as agreed upon during certification, it can qualify as a W or C course, regardless of format. Thus, for example, summer courses, online courses, and study-abroad courses can all be W or C courses. Likewise, W/C courses can be pass/fail. However, they cannot be taken for 0 credit.
W Courses must:
- be offered for at least one credit
- include writing assignments related to the major
- provide instruction in writing and formative feedback that allows improvement of some major assignments
- base part of the final course grade on writing quality (at least 25% for a 4-credit course, 33% for a 3-credit course, 50% for a 2-credit course, and 70% for a 1-credit course)
- assign at least of 2000 words of finished, graded writing
- be offered for at least one credit
- include writing and public speaking or other oral communication related to the major
- provide instruction in writing and speaking and formative feedback in both writing and speaking that allows improvement of some major assignments
- base part of the final course grade on writing or speaking quality (at least 25% for a 4-credit course, 33% for a 3-credit course, 50% for a 2-credit course and 70% for a 1-credit course)
- assign at least 1250 words of finished, graded writing and 5 minutes of oral communication
If there is a change in the course prefix, number, or title but the course is essentially the same, an email notice to the W & C Course Advisory Committee at w-advisory@tamu.edu will suffice. Explain in the email that the course is substantially the same as regards the writing and/or speaking components.
W & C Course Requirements
This checklist is meant to guide in the preparation of the proposal for a W course.
- Is not included in the Core Curriculum Communications requirement
- Is worth at least one credit
- Requires writing significant to and essential for the major. (As a guideline, the name of the major appears in the course title, the course figures into the GPR for the major, or the course is part of a College Core Curriculum.) The W course is integral to and prepared specifically for the major. Assignment writing is of the type students will encounter in their academic careers or in the workplace.
- Has a reasonable instructor-to-student ratio (no greater than 1:25) to ensure course quality. The ratio is determined by including the instructor/s plus any aides, graduate or undergraduate, as instructors. If a higher ratio is proposed, the committee will require compelling evidence that it will not adversely affect course quality.
- Ensures all aides, graduate and undergraduate, are appropriately monitored and supervised.
- Requires that students pass the writing components and specifies so on the syllabus. (The W & C Course Advisory Committee wants to prevent the case where a student might get credit for a graduation requirement in writing without actually writing.)
- Bases a substantial percentage of the final course grade on individually written products. Collaborative writing can be included if it was included before 2 April 2018 and the course was keep current and did not expire during that time. Resumes and related materials can be included only if they are specific to the major. Essay examinations can be included only if they are take-home with time to draft and revise. Presentation slides cannot be included. Percentages should be based on finished, written products or on drafts of those products. Although drafts are encouraged, they need not be graded; if they are graded, they can count for up to 50% of any assignment. The percentages listed below represent the minimum required percentage of the final course grade.
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1-credit course: 70%
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2-credit course: 50%
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3-credit course: 33%
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4-credit course: 25%
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5-credit course: 20%
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- Does not allow undergraduate aides to grade more than 10% of the writing portion contributing to the final grade.
- Assigns at least 2000 words (eight pages, double-spaced) of graded, finished writing. Drafts cannot be counted in this total. All work counted in this total must be individually written and assessed.
- Includes some instruction in writing. Instruction can be defined as, but is not limited to, providing opportunities for practice, providing and discussing models, conducting workshop classes, and lecturing on rhetorical forms or principles. Some instruction may occur outside of class as homework, but in-class is instruction recommended.
- Provides some formative feedback, preferably on major projects in progress. Formative feedback gives students an opportunity to improve and is structured so that students may use it to revise final drafts. It is not simply comments on finished and graded papers
- Follows minimum syllabus requirements.
This checklist is meant to guide in the preparation of the proposal for a C course.
- Is not included in the Core Curriculum Communications requirements.
- Is worth at least one credit.
- Requires writing and public speaking significant to and essential for the major. (As a guideline, the name of the major appears in the course title, the course figures into the GPR for the major, or the course is part of a College Core Curriculum.) The C course is integral to and prepared specifically for the major. Assigned writing or speaking are of the type students will encounter in their academic careers or in the workplace.
- Has a reasonable instructor-to-student ratio (no greater than 1:25) to ensure course quality. The ratio is determined by including the instructor/s plus any aides, graduate or undergraduate, as instructors. If a higher ratio is proposed, the committee will require compelling evidence that it will not adversely affect course quality.
- Ensures all aides, graduate and undergraduate, are appropriately monitored and supervised.
- Requires that students pass the writing and public speaking components and specifies so on the syllabus. (The W & C Course Advisory Committee wants to prevent the case where a student might get credit for a graduation requirement in writing or speaking without actually writing.)
- Bases a substantial percentage of the final course grade on individually written products or individually delivered public speaking performances. Collaborative writing or speaking can be included if they were included before 2 April 2018 and the course was keep current and did not expire during that time. Resumes and related materials can be included only if they are specific to the major. Essay examinations can be included only if they are take-home with time to draft and revise. Oral presentation slides, handouts, scripts, web sites, and posters which accompany an oral presentation may count as writing. These percentages should be based on finished, written products or speaking performances, or on drafts. Although drafts are encouraged, they need not be graded; if they are graded, they can count for up to 50% of any assignment. The percentages listed below represent the minimum required percentage of the final course grade.1-credit course: 70%
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2-credit course: 50%
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3-credit course: 33%
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4-credit course: 25%
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5-credit course: 20%
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- Does not allow undergraduates aides to grade more that 10% of the writing or speaking portion contributing to the final grade.
- Assigns at least 1250 words (five pages, double-spaced) of graded, finished writing and 5 minutes of public speaking. Drafts cannot be counted in this total. All work counted in this total must be individually produced and assessed.
- Includes some instruction in writing and in public speaking. Instruction can be defined as, but is not limited to, providing opportunities for practice, providing and discussing models, conducting workshop classes, and lecturing on rhetorical forms or principles. Some instruction may occur outside of class as homework, but in-class is instruction recommended.
- Provides some formative feedback on both writing and speaking, preferably on major projects in progress. Formative feedback gives students an opportunity to improve and is structured so that students may use it to revise final drafts or improve performance. It is not simply comments on finished and graded papers or on a rubric filled in during a final presentation. For public speaking, formative feedback can include comments on practice performances, on notes or outlines of a performance, or on slides.
- Follows minimum syllabus requirements.
Proposed W and C courses are reviewed by the W & C Course Advisory Committee. This committee recommends action to the Faculty Advisory Council, which in turn submits its decision to the university president for final approval.
Courses are approved for a period of four years. For example, courses approved in Fall 2026 expires in Fall 2030 and should be reviewed again no later than Fall 2029 for inclusion in the Fall 2030 Schedule of Classes. Courses that have expired will not be given W or C section numbers.
Although it is understood that courses may change somewhat before they require re-certification or may vary somewhat across sections, it is assumed that courses being taught as W or C generally meet or exceed the expectations set at the time the proposal is accepted. A summary of these expectations can be found in Approved W & C Courses and in the comments box in the CARS system. Courses taught under variable titles such as "Seminar" or "Research" (including 281, 481, 491, and 489) may be approved by title as well as number.
The writing or speaking components that should remain consistent are (1) writing or speaking assignments are appropriate to the major (2) number of words or minutes speaking, (3) percentage of the final grade based on writing or speaking, (4) type and amount of formative feedback, and (5) type and amount of instruction.
The types of assignments can vary as long as the percentage for which the assignments count toward course-credit and totals for assignment word-count or speaking-minutes remain what was approved. There should be no exams counted toward the W or C requirements unless they are take-home exams. Individual writing or speaking should meet the standards for the minimum requirement depending on course credit (e.g., for a 3-credit W course, 2000 words and 33% of the final grade based on writing; for a 3-credit C course, 1250 words and 5 minutes of speaking and 33% of the final grade based on speaking and writing).
To review more specifically what is expected for a particular course, contact your representative on the W and C Course Advisory Committee. The W & C Course Advisory Committee is responsible for clarifying W or C course requirements when necessary. Should the committee decide to reject a proposed course, it must provide appropriate recommendations to the proposer and invite re-submission.
Note: The full approval process takes 2 to 4 months, depending on the number of proposals received, the speed at which questions are answered by proposers, and the date submitted. The W & C Course Advisory Committee and the Faculty Advisory Council meet once a month. The Faculty Advisory Council may not meet in December or in August.
Submitting a Proposal for a W or C Course
The proposal must be submitted through a form in the Curricular Approval Request System (CARS) located in Howdy under the Employee tab. You will be asked to answer questions related to the course and required to attach the syllabus. Before you open the form, prepare as described below:- Review the Checklist of W Course Requirements or the Checklist of C Course Requirements. You may also find the Rubric for W Courses or the Rubric for C Courses helpful.
- Optional but encouraged: Contact your representative on the W & C Course Advisory Committee to review the course or answer questions.
- Review what the form will ask and get a representative syllabus ready to attach. Blank W Course proposal forms and the blank C Course proposal forms are available as examples. The items to specify on the form include the following:
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typical enrollment per section and number of sections taught per year
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appropriateness to the major
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cross listings
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type and number of assistants (such as graduate teaching assistants or undergraduate peer educators) and how they are monitored and supervised. These all count, in addition to the instructor(s), toward the instructor-to-student ratio. In cases where a ratio above 1 instructor to 25 students is proposed, the committee will ask for compelling evidence that it will not adversely affect the quality of feedback.
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a list of all required, graded writing assignments (and, if applicable, speaking assignments) and the percentage of the course grade for which each counts. For finished products you will need to specify the number of words (or minutes of speaking); Also, you will need to specify which assignments, if any, are collaborative. Note that collaborative assignments are allowed only on a grandfathered basis.
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a description of formative feedback on writing (and, if a C course, for speaking)
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a description of instruction for writing (and. if a C course, for speaking)
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- Submit the request through CARS (located in Howdy under the Employee tab). For help with CARS, consult the CARS Instructions or contact the secretary for the W & C Course Advisory Committee at w-advisory@tamu.edu.
- If the course already exists, you will be able to find it in CARS and begin the proposal process by selecting the Curricular Approval Request System (CARS). For a new course or to find an existing one, start with the Writing Form or Communication Form. When you submit the form, it will be routed through the correct channels, from the department head to the Dean, to the Chair of the W & C Course Advisory Committee.
- Check that the submitted syllabus supports how you answer the questions in CARS. The syllabus should conform to the minimum syllabus requirements. It is assumed that course syllabi approved as W or C will be representative of all sections of that course taught to fulfill the W or C graduation requirement in regard to assignments related to the W or C component, instruction for the W or C components, and percentage of the grade related to the W or C components.