ASCRC WRITING COMMITTEE MEETING
Monday, December 7, 2015, 10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m., Todd 203
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Stark called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT:
I. Appelbaum, S. Brown, C. Greenfield, K. Hopingardner, T. Johnson, H. Jurva, J. Gallo, D. Raiford, M.
Stark, B. Sweeney
Ex-Officio Members Present: G. Gardner, N. Lindsay, N. Peeterse, E. Wecker, K. Webster
Members Absent/Excused: D. Gates, C. Jardon, , J. Pavilack
Guests: Registrar Hickman, B. Holzworth
The minutes from 11/2/15 were approved.
COMMUNICATION

Registrar Hickman and Assistant Registrar Holzworth provided a demonstration of the degree audit
system, Degree Works. The demonstration was from the view of an advisor and showed test data.
The final version of the system will be customized to UM. It showed requirements and whether the
student had satisfied them with a course. For requirements not satisfied you can search within the
system current offerings that fulfill the requirement. This feature may allow for the future removal
of general education letters on course numbers. Transfer students records should be similar, as long
as the courses taken at the transfer institution were coded in Banner. Waivers and substitutions will
also be entered in Banner, so departments will need to be timely in processing them. High school
transcripts are received electronically.
The plan is to go live in March with the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 catalog years. The process will
still be manual for students starting prior to these catalog years. Departments will need to own
their curriculum and thoroughly review their section of the catalog each year. The intent is for the
degree audit system to replace students going to advisors with transcripts. It will also replace
Academic Planner. There will be advisor training this summer in anticipation for full implementation
next fall.
The advisor of record will have access to the student’s transcript. The latest Banner upgrade only
allows the primary advisor access. However, secondary major advisors can temporarily change to
primary in order to view the records. The Office of Student Success manages the access to student
transcript records. Students can have multiple advisors (major, minor, and Honors College).
The login is still through CyberBear. It will be possible to enter “what if” questions to determine the
shortest path to degree. The system will allow the students to self-serve and they can communicate
through the system with their advisor. The system can also check for NCAA compliance. There is a
financial aid compliance component that will be phased in as well. Degree Works integrates with
CourseLeaf, the curriculum development software that will be purchased soon. The catalog will be
more dynamic and have fewer errors once the software is implemented. Degree audit will allow
forecasting class completions and departments can run reports to see how their majors are
progressing. It will be possible to run queries to show students close to meeting graduation
requirements.
The Committee offered to help review questions related to the writing requirement during the
testing phase.

The Committee received the announcement for Cathy Corr’s retirement party on Tuesday,
December 15th, from 12-1 at Missoula College. Please let Chair Stark know if you are interested in
going so you could carpool or take the bus.

Professor Johnson resigned from the Committee. Professor Tammy Slatter- Smith agreed to take his
place to represent Missoula College.
BUSINESS ITEMS

The UPWA retreat is scheduled for April 22nd in UC 326 and 327. The foyer has been reserved as
well. The breakfast and lunch items will be set up there.

The videos from the Writing Symposium are available and will be posted to the website. Beverly
Chin will be supervising an intern to help with UPWA. The position is currently being advertised.

Associate Provost Nathan Lindsay shared several of the UPWA findings at the meeting with the
institutions involved with the accreditation demonstration project. The project will continue for the
next two years.

Natalie reported that there are only 100 papers uploaded into the blackboard for UPWA. She will
inform Megan if the response rate continues to be low. Many instructors assign the final paper to be
uploaded.

Chair Stark presented the Writing Course consent agenda to ASCRC. There was a question about the
difference between the intermediate and advance writing courses. ECON 433 was approved for
one-more year with the understanding that the department will create a 200 level writing course to
fulfill intermediate writing.

The Committee discussed the review. Completing the form correctly is a lot of work for the
instructor. Could the form be improved? The committee should consider developing a template. It
doesn’t want the form to deter faculty from offering writing courses. When instructors are asked for
additional clarification they have good answers. The committee will consider offering a drop in
workshop for completing the forms next year.
The form does not clarify what is valued in the writing assignments (quality vs. quantity). The 25
student limit unless the instructor has TA support is important to enforce when resources are tight.
The committee needs to agree on the required page count for original content / revised content and
whether written exams apply to the count. The revision requirement needs to be better defined.
Student members are concerned that writing courses are not equitable in terms of writing practice
and revision. PSCI 400 was given as an example of a course that needs more writing. The quality of
comments can also be an issue. Feedback is needed in order to revise not just edit. It should be
provided throughout the course, at least three times. Examples may be needed for clarification. Any
changes made to the requirements will need to be reflected in the FAQs.
A workgroup with Professor Applebaum, Director Webster and student members Greenfield and
Hopingardner will look at revising the form.

There were no updates from the Transfer Appeal Procedure or Moodle Challenges Workgroups.

The draft Data Management Plan has been given to Claudia Denker in Legal Counsel to review.

Efforts to improve the bridges between WRIT 095 and WRIT 101 have been delayed due to Cathy
Corr’s retirement and the budget situation. Director Wecker planned to attend a meeting at
Missoula College, but was asked not to because of other items on the agenda. Erin will reach out to
Tammy. There is some concern that Cathy Corr’s position will not be filled.

Chair Stark thanked everyone for their efforts on the review. She asked whether it would be
appropriate for the Committee to send a statement to the administration and the Faculty Senate
regarding concerns the budget situation may have on the writing program, especially given English
was one of the programs identified for reduction. The success of WRIT 101 depends on funding for
TAs. Also the UPWA program is gaining a reputation as a good example for assessment. We don’t
want it to be undercut. Five members were in favor and three abstained. Chair Stark will draft a
letter and send it to members for input.

Maria Mangold forwarded a letter to Chair Stark and Director Wecker that is sent to students
needing help meeting the writing requirement for full admittance. It is sent with the provisional
admittance. The letter was displayed for the committee. It had several grammatical errors and
there were concerns with the tone. Director Stark will reach out to the author and encourage
review / collaboration with the Director of Composition. The letter was also sent to the leadership
of the Faculty Senate and ASCRC. This type of communication is problematic especially in a time of
declining enrollment.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.