2008 Unit Report for the NCA Legislative Assembly
1. Name of Unit. Basic Course Division
2. Description of Unit. (200 words or less.) The Basic Course Division promotes the
teaching, study, research, and administration of communication in basic course settings.
Focusing on teaching fundamental communication skills and theory to undergraduates, the
Division is concerned with a broad spectrum of issues relevant to the maintenance and
development of quality basic courses to benefit students, scholars, and the discipline. The
Division emphasizes both qualitative and quantitative approaches to scholarly work in
basic course teaching and administration.
3. Name and Title of person making report. Beth M. Waggenspack
4. Number of competitive papers submitted to the Unit. 20
5. Number of competitive papers accepted by the Unit for presentation at the
convention. 15
6. Number of programs submitted to the Unit. 22
7. Number of programs accepted for presentation by the Unit. 12 (excluding programs
formed from competitive papers and the Business Meeting)
8. List any additional comments regarding the planning process (please be specific).
Overall acceptance/scheduled rate was 63%. Paper acceptance rate was 75%. Panel
acceptance was only 54%. We only got to schedule 17 sessions. So papers were grouped
into 4 panels and one session was the business meeting; there was room for only 12 panel
proposal sessions.
9. Did the Unit give an award this year? yes
10. If you answered YES to Question 9, who are the recipients of the award? Top Panel
Award to "Learning Communities: An UnConventional Approach to the Basic Course," by
Dawn Carusi, Marietta College; Mabry O'Donnell, Marietta College; Liane Gray-Starner,
Marietta College; Jeffrey Walker, Marietta College; and Suzanne Walker, Marietta
College. Top Paper Award to "Competent Public Speaking: Assessing Skill Development
in the Basic Course" by Judy Pearson, North Dakota State Univ; Jeffrey Child, Kent State
University; Liliana Herakova, North Dakota State Univ; Julie Semlak, North Dakota State
Univ; and Jessica Angelos, Illinois State University
11. Did the Unit participate in any recruitment or retention efforts? yes
12. If you answered YES to the Question 11, please describe. Email circulated to members
to direct them to a website with information about Unit sessions at the convention and
about jobs in the Basic Course area. Email sent to the Basic Course directors list that has
some non-NCA members to inform them of the same info.
13. How many print newsletters did the Unit send out to its members this year? 0
14. How many electronic newsletters did the Unit send out to its members this year? 1
15. Does the Unit sponsor a listserv or similar discussion forum? Yes there is a Basic
Course Directors listserve out of the University of Dayton.
16. If you answered YES to the Question 15, what is the address of the listserv/forum?
basiccc@lists.udayton.edu
17. Does the Unit sponsor a Website? sometimes
18. If you answered YES to the Question 17, what is the Unit's Website URL? The
University of Northern Iowa hosts a site with the Division ByLaws:
http://www.chfa.uni.edu/comstudy/communication/basic2.asp; The University of Dayton
hosts a site about the Basic Course Directors Conference. Iowa State University hosted a
site about this year's convention:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~aslagell/Basic_Course/NCA_BasicCourse.htm
19. Did the Unit sponsor any research programs other than those at the convention?
Although not really sponsored by the Unit, the Basic Course Directors Conference (usually
occurs in late Jan-early Feb) is advertised by the Unit. It has gone on for more than 2
decades and began as the "Midwest Basic Course Directors Conference." It now includes
between 60-80 BCD from across the nation who meet for 2 1/2 days to offer seminars,
panels, and discussions about basic course issues.
20. If you answered YES to the Question 19, please describe your programs. If you
answered NO, please let us know if any are planned. see above
21. Did the Unit sponsor any instructional development programs other than those at the
convention? see above
22. If you answered YES to the Question 21, please describe your programs. If you
answered NO, please let us know if any are planned.
23. Did the Unit sponsor any publications during the year? no
24. If you answered YES to the Question 23, please describe your publications. If you
answered NO, please let us know if any are planned.
25. Did the Unit nominate or encourage the nomination of its members in response to the
call issued by the Committee on Committees? Yes
26. Did the Unit nominate or encourage the nomination of its members in response to the
call issued by the Nominating Committees? yes
27. Please make any other comments you would like to present to the Legislative
Assembly.