Unit Name: Basic Course Division
Name of person making report: Amy R. Slagell
Report submitter’s role in the Unit Leadership: Chair
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.
How many competitive papers were submitted to the Unit? 17 papers
How many competitive papers were accepted for presentation by the Unit? 9 papers
How many programs were submitted to the Unit? 29 panel sessions
How many programs were accepted for presentation by the Unit? 14 panels
Did your Unit sponsor any programs in the past year outside of the convention? Yes No
If yes, please describe your program(s): We support the Basic Course Directors Conference. This past year it was held in Rock Island, Illinois Feb. 5-7, 2009 and was organized by John Miller of
Western Illinois University. Information on the conference theme is available at: http://www.wiu.edu/communications/conference/theme.php
Does your Unit give awards? Yes No
What are the names of the awards given? Top Paper Award, Top Student Paper Award, Top Panel
Award
Did your Unit give an award(s) this year? Yes No
Who are the recipients of the award(s) for this year? Please specify which award.
Top Paper Award
Bessie Lawton, West Chester University; Mary Braz, West Chester University
"A Grade-Norming Exercise to Increase Consistency and Perceived Consistency in Grading among
Public Speaking Instructors"
Lawrence W. Hugenberg Top Student Paper Award
William Saas, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
"Stable Concepts, Changing Needs: Textbook Customization and the Basic Public Speaking Course"
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Top Panel Award
Beth Waggenspack, Virginia Tech; Amy Slagell, Iowa State University; Sherwyn Morreale,
University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; David W. Worley, Indiana State University; Barbara
Hugenberg, Kent State University
"Stability and Change in the Basic Communication Course: What Do We Know and What Do You
Think?"
Did your Unit send out a newsletter(s) to your members this year? Yes
If yes, please select all that apply:
Electronic How many:
Print How many:
No
Did your Unit disseminate any other publications during the year? Yes
If yes, please describe your publications:
No
Did your Unit nominate or encourage the nomination of your members in response to the call issued by the NCA Committee on Committees? Yes No
Did your Unit nominate or encourage the nomination of your members in response to the call issued by the NCA Nominating Committee? Yes No
Does your Unit have a listserv or similar discussion forum? Yes No
If yes, what is the address of the listserv/forum? To subscribe to the Basic Course Division listserv: Send an email to SYMPA@lists.udayton.edu (do not include a subject line; message should be: SUBSCRIBE BASICCC; do not put a signature after the message) OR send a message to
WALLACE@UDAYTON.EDUand ask to be placed on the list.
Does the Unit sponsor a Web site? Yes No
If yes, what is the URL? Temporary website is: http://www.public.iastate.edu/~aslagell/Basic_Course/NCA_BasicCourse.html
Did your Unit engage in any recruitment or retention efforts? Yes No
If yes, please describe your efforts: We reach out to graduate students who work with the basic course to make sure they are mentored in the basic course. We try to offer scholarships to help students attend the Basic Course Directors conference.
Additional Comments about any of the topics addressed above:
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