Under the umbrella of a newly designed writing program, all freshmen entering the University of Colorado at Boulder will soon be required to enroll in a program in writing and rhetoric.
While many CU-Boulder freshmen are currently required to enroll in a writing class their first year, nearly 70 percent bypass it by scoring high enough on their SAT or ACT tests, according to College of Arts and Sciences Dean Peter Spear, who will oversee the new program.
"The newly designed first-year writing program will serve all incoming freshmen with no exceptions," Spear said. "This initiative has campus-wide support and will benefit all students entering CU-Boulder whether they plan to major in biology, English or any other field of study."
The push to make changes in the writing program began in 1997 with a university program review. In the review, writing instructors across campus recommended changes in the program's organization and instruction. An external review then independently recommended changes, and from there a steering committee was created to propose specific changes.
The new writing course will be available to students in the fall 2001 semester but won't become a formal requirement until fall 2002, according to Professor Gerard Hauser, interim director of the writing and rhetoric program and chair of the communication department at CU-Boulder.
Hauser noted that it is extremely important to improve students' writing skills early in their academic careers because it is a skill that directly affects their ability to excel as students.
"Writing is a basic mode of communication that every student must engage in during and after their academic careers," Hauser said.
"When these students graduate and enter their professional careers, they will all be required to write with proficiency," he said. "And this ability to write well will have a definite effect on their professional success."
The writing classes will be limited to 15 students per section and will focus on critical thinking, which will help students grasp the basic skills of argumentation, Hauser said.
"The course is anchored in an understanding of writing as addressed to a particular audience at a particular time on a particular subject," Hauser said. The course will help students read and analyze topics and then develop arguments, a skill necessary while in school and afterward in their careers, he said.
CU-Boulder currently has a third-year writing course requirement that also will be brought under the umbrella of the writing and rhetoric program. In the revamped course, students will tailor the course to their majors or interests.
Hauser said a writing center also is in the works, where students will be able to visit for help with writing questions and problems. He said many universities have writing centers, and that CU-Boulder's will be a resource for all CU students to use to get feedback on drafts of papers, or even to receive help on basics like grammar.
Once the writing and rhetoric program is fully instituted, all students will complete at least two writing courses while at CU-Boulder.