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UNIVERSITY WIDE IMPACT COMMITTEE
Minutes of Thursday, November 1, 2001
University Student Center, Room 205

Present:  Frank Harris (chair), Christine Barrett, Joanne DeMarco, Sandy DiFrancesco, Terese Gemme, Marty Hartog, Megan Macomber, Connie Mindell, Kathy Swenson.

Recorder:  Frank Harris

Call to Order:  9:35 a.m.
New Members:  The committee welcomed Christine Barrett from Extended Learning.

UWIC Proposal Regarding the Southern Writing Board:
The University Wide Impact Committee voted to support approval of the Motion to Establish the Southern Writing Board as a permanent operating committee under the UCF.  The UWIC vote was as follows:

Yes --  9  (Betty Johnston voted in absentia)
No  --  0
Abstention - 1  (Megan Macomber, who is also a member of the Writing Board)

The committee wishes to make it known that the support is for the continuation of the SWB program, and while recognizing that the Writing Board program is still a work in progress, there were some concerns and questions raised that the committee believes needs to be addressed to ensure the program's effectiveness.  They are as follows:

Concerns:

  • There needs to be clearer guidelines on what instructors need to do if they want to offer an L-Course.
  • The document ''A Time to Teach'' does not  reflect the information contained in the other document dates Sept. 27, 2001 that contains the forms and other information on the program.
  • The SWB, in pulling back from its earlier requirement that all instructors wishing to teach writing board-approved classes attend mandatory workshops, may have watered down the program's effectiveness.

Questions:

  • If the same SWB-approved course is offered (for example, JRN 200),  but with two sections taught by different instructors, do the sections need separate approval?   Or does approving the course itself automatically approve all the sections taught under it?
  • If a course is approved by the SWB under one professor, and a new professor begins to teach the approved course in a subsequent semester, does the course need to be approved again under the new professor, or does that approval transfer over to the new professor? 
  • Will there be training for particular departments that might not be as proficient in teaching writing.  Is there some specific input for helping professors teaching in certain disciplines?  Can workshops be geared toward specific needs or schools. 

Again, notwithstanding these concerns and questions about this pilot program, UWIC highly supports the SWB program's motion.

Adjournment  10:40