ASCRC Writing Committee Minutes, 4/8/13
TODD 203
Members Present: G. Burns, B. Chin, J. Glendening, J. Melcher, M. Stark, M. Triana, G. Wiex
Ex-Officio Members Present: C. Coder, K. Ryan, J. Hanson
Members Absent/Excused: C. Corr, J. Drew, D. Raiford
The meeting was called to order at 10:15 p.m.
The minutes from 3/4/13 were approved.
Communication Items:

Director Webster had her baby girl named Wenonah Jane on St. Patrick’s Day. A picture was
displayed for members.

The Information Literacy Workshop was well presented by Kelly Webster and Sue Samson. Eight
Unfortunately it was not well attended. The Committee may need to think of other ways to provide
the information. Camie will send the video link to writing instructors.

A form was received for WRIT 222 and sent to the committee electronically for review. A quorum
of members responded to approve the course and it was put on the March Faculty Senate agenda.

The form to remove LIT 201 as an approved writing course was received to confirm last month’s
committee action. It will be removed from the Writing Course in the 2013-2014 catalog.

Chair Chin spoke to Nancy Hinman, interim Associate Provost regarding the requirement that
students take the upper-division writing requirement at UM. The current catalog language (below)
is sufficient.
Upper-Division Writing Requirement All students must meet the approved upper-division
writing requirements specified by their majors. Students should seek specific information about
the upper-division writing requirements in their major in the section of the catalog where
information about their chosen major is given.

ASCRC sent the motion regarding the W / WD designation for writing courses. It was not clear
how this would be implemented or how the distributed model and 1-credit add on courses would be
handled. Camie solicited input from DBS, Forestry, and Political Science and revised the motion
to address these courses explicitly. The Writing Committee approved the revised motion
(appended). [However, when the motion was sent to the ASCRC Chair it was apparent there were
still concerns. Forestry believes the WD prior to the course title will not serve their students and
not all Forestry students take the distributed writing courses, which will not have a WD. Political
Science felt the WD was an ambiguous term given that writing-approved courses can also be in the
student’s major discipline, and suggested UDW. Another concern was how the change would be
communicated to instructors / departments. Since it is too late for this change to make the 20142015 catalog, the Writing Committee will need to refine the suggestion for fall consideration by
ASCRC]

The Writing Retreat this Friday, April 12th is at the Keep Restaurant on Ben Hogen Drive in
Missoula. Unfortunately, Salmon Lake has not thawed enough to allow travel to the Montana
Island Lodge.
Four anchor papers have been sent to the 29 attendees along with details and menu choices. Chair
Chin reviewed the goals below and the agenda for the Writing Retreat.
1. To discover how the training/scoring process supports scorers’ ability to assess students’ papers
with validity, reliability, and efficiency;
2. To critique and revise the draft 4-point holistic rubric;
3. To create training materials for next year’s assessment by identifying and writing draft
annotations for training papers; and
4. To consider the feasibility and sustainability of conducting an annual assessment of students’
writing through a writing retreat.
The agenda will start with an introduction to the holistic rubric and anchor papers and a discussion
of the annotations (appended). Next attendees will discuss training papers and annotations to norm
their scoring. Then the random papers will be scored and tables will discuss to come to consensus.
This will continue after lunch with tables drafting annotations for future retreats. Faculty that
attended last year’s retreat will be table leaders and responsible for keeping the table focused,
productive and engaged in respectful discussion of student writing.
There was concern that there were few tenure-track faculty attending the retreat. The invitation was
sent to all instructors of writing courses. Spring semester is a busy time for faculty and it takes
time for the process to gain support.
Business Items
 The Committee must complete a report on the pilot project and submit to ASCRC. Ideally this
should be completed by the end of the semester so ASCRC can discuss it early fall prior to starting
curriculum review. A section of the report will need to address phase 1: using a rubric to assess
writing courses submitted for review. Director Ryan is working on the data analysis and will ask
Professor Corr, Burns, and Sattler for input if necessary.
It was suggested that a one-page history of the issue be included with the report to unable members
of ASCRC, ECOS and the Faculty Senate to understand the issue and engage in a productive
discussion. The Committee should also think about preparing responses to frequently asked
questions. Professors Weix and Stark will work on this document. Carl Corder and Jake Hanson
will draft the section on phase 2: using a holistic rubric to assess students writing in approved
writing courses.
It would be helpful to have a title for the phases in the pilot project. A possibility for phase 2 is
“Assessment of Student Writing in Writing-approved Courses.” In reviewing the catalog language
for the current requirement it was noted that “English Writing Skills” is somewhat outdated. The
committee unanimously passed a motion to revise the label of the General Education Group I to
“Writing”. Professor Weix and Stark will follow-up with exact language to be submitted to the
General Education Committee, ASCRC and then the Faculty Senate. A preliminary justification
includes 1) the full requirement is the responsibility of all departments, not just English, 2) the use
of the term skills is redundant, 3) the label should be parallel to Group 2: Mathematics, and
Modern and Classical Languages
In addition an annual report for the committee is provided to the Faculty Senate at the May 9th
meeting. Camie will provide a summary of items from the minutes to be reviewed by Chair Chin
and discussed by the Committee May 6th.
 Chair Chin was nominated and agreed to serve as chair for one more year to complete the pilot and
hopefully help with full implementation. The committee unanimously approved a motion to
commend the work of Carl Corder, the Writing Assessment Project Coordinator and recommend
rehire for the transition of the UDWPA to Holistic Writing Assessment.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:50 p.m.
Change to Writing Requirement
Motion to ASCRC, 4/9/13
Writing Requirements for Graduation
To fulfill the writing requirements at UM and to demonstrate proficiency in the skill of writing,
students must satisfy the following four requirements in the order given:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Entry-level Composition WRIT 101 or 201 (ENEX 101, WTS 101, ENEX 200, or equivalent),
One Approved Writing Course (designated W),
The Upper-Division Writing Proficiency Assessment, with a score of 3/3 or better,
Upper-Division Writing Course in the Discipline (designated WD) *
* This requirement may be fulfilled by:
• One upper-division writing course (numbered 300-400), determined by the department
and approved by the ASCRC Writing Committee
• An upper-division writing expectation, determined by the department and approved by
the ASCRC Writing Committee**
** This could be a distribution model which includes a synthesis of upper-division courses
that collectively meet the learning outcomes of WD or a 1 credit add-on attached to an
upper-division course that collectively meet the learning outcomes of WD. *
Note: The Approved Writing course will be identified in the catalog and on students’ transcripts by
titles that start with W: course title. The Upper-Division Writing in the Discipline course will be
identified with a title that starts with WD: course title.
Upper-Division Writing Courses
The following courses are approved as meeting the criteria for the upper-division writing course in
the discipline. Students should consult with their advisor regarding the requirement specified by their
major.
Note: DBS majors (Biology, Microbiology, and Medical Technology) may take a combination of two
or three courses to satisfy the Upper Division Writing Requirement in the discipline. See listing at:
(list maintained on Department Website)
Forestry majors in Resource Conservation, Forest Management, Wildland Restoration, and Parks,
Tourism, and Recreation Management may satisfy the Upper Division Writing Requirement in the
discipline by taking a combination of three courses. See Listing at: (list maintained on Department
Website)
Include in normal Upper Division Writing Course listing:
PSCI 400 *
WD: Advanced Writing in Political Sciences
*1 credit ad-on course for Political Science Majors taken in conjunction with
another upper-division PSCI course.
Sample of Courses listed on DBS website
2/3 Writing Courses
BCH 486
BCH 499
BIOB 411
BIOB 499
BIOE 371
BIOL 342
BIOH 462
BIOM 410
BIOM 499
Biochemistry Research Lab
Senior Thesis
Immunology Lab
Senior Thesis
General Ecology Lab
Field Ecology
Principles of Medical Physiology
Microbial Genetics
Senior Thesis
1/3 Writing Courses
BCH 482
BIOB 410
BIOB 425
BIOE 403
BIOE 406
BIOE 428
BIOL 483
BIOL 484
BIOM 402
BIOO 320
BIOO 434
BIOO 470
Advanced Biochemistry II
Immunology
Advanced Cell Biology
Vertebrate Design & Evolution
Behavior & Evolution
Freshwater Ecology
Mol. Phylogenetics & Evolution
Plant Evolution
Medical Bacteriology & Mycology
General Botany (S)
Plant Physiology Lab (S)
Ornithology (S)
BIOO 475
Mammalogy