Upper-division Writing Requirement Review Form (12/1/08)
I. General Education Review – Upper-division Writing Requirement
Dept/Program
Course # (i.e. ANTH
DBS
Subject
455) or sequence
Course(s) Title
Description of the requirement if it is not a single course
Students with DBS majors (Biology, Microbiology, and Medical Technology) will take a
combination of courses to satisfy the Upper Division Writing Requirement for their Major. All
of the learning objectives for writing courses will be achieved within each DBS writing course;
however these courses do not base 50% of the grade on writing, nor do they necessarily require
20 pages of written work. Therefore, we have sorted our writing courses based on % of grade
based on writing and number of required pages. Some of these courses are 2/3 writing courses
(at least 33% of the course grade will be based on writing; 11 – 13 total pages submitted), while
other courses are 1/3 writing courses (at least 17% of the course grade will be based on writing;
6 – 7 total pages submitted). Students, depending on their major/option, will take a
combination of at least 2 – 3 courses to reach the equivalent of one full writing course. Having
a large number of partial writing courses allows our diverse group of undergraduate students to
choose upper division writing courses that are in line with their own personal interests. It also
spreads the work load of teaching writing courses for our roughly 500 students among many
faculty members.
Courses that will be considered 2/3 writing courses are: BCH 486 (Biochemistry Research
Laboratory), BIOE 371 (Ecology Laboratory), BIOL 342 (Field Ecology), BIOL 460 (Medical
Physiology), BIOM 410 (Microbial Genetics), and BIOB 411 (Immunology Laboratory),
BIOB, BCH or BIOM 499 (Senior Thesis). Courses that will be considered 1/3 writing courses
are: BCH 482 (Advanced Biochemistry II), BIOB 410 (Immunology), BIOB 425 (Advanced
Cell and Molecular Biology), BIOE 403 (Vertebrate Design and Evolution), BIOE 406
(Behavior and Evolution), BIOE 428 (Freshwater Ecology), BIOL 483 (Molecular
Phlyogenetics and Evolution), BIOL 484 (Plant Evolution), BIOM 402 (Medical Bacteriology
and Mycology), BIOO 320 (General Botany), BIOO 434 (Plant Physiology Laboratory), BIO0
470 (Ornithology), and BIOO 475 (Mammalogy). Syllabi for all of these courses (with the
exception of the senior theses) are attached. Senior theses are individualized courses in which
students write the results of their original research in a formal paper, under the guidance of their
research mentor. These courses are almost entirely based on writing (and re-writing), and often
include an oral presentation at UMCUR.
II. Endorsement/Approvals
Complete the form and obtain signatures before submitting to Faculty Senate Office.
Please type / print name Signature
Instructor
Phone / Email
Program Chair
Associate Dean
Charles Janson
III Overview of the Course Purpose/ Description
Date
IV Learning Outcomes: Explain how each of the following learning outcomes will be achieved.
Typically in lecture courses, students are asked
Student learning outcomes :
to pursue a question that goes beyond what
Identify and pursue more sophisticated
they have learned in the course, in order to
questions for academic inquiry
explore a topic in which they are interested. In
laboratory courses, students are often required
to ask their own question, and to design their
own experiments (with guidance from
instructors).
Students are expected to use the primary
Find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize
literature for the specific field of biology
information effectively from diverse sources
(see http://www.lib.umt.edu/informationliteracy/) related to the course. They are expected to
incorporate this information into their writing
(e.g. putting their findings in context of the
literature).
Students are expected to understand and
Manage multiple perspectives as appropriate
acknowledge alternative hypotheses in their
writing. When their writing is on a
controversial topic, they are expected to
consider information from all sides.
Students are expected to submit papers that
Recognize the purposes and needs of
conform to editorial guidelines of the journal(s)
discipline-specific audiences and adopt the
of the specific field related to the course.
academic voice necessary for the chosen
discipline
Use multiple drafts, revision, and editing in
conducting inquiry and preparing written work
Follow the conventions of citation,
documentation, and formal presentation
appropriate to that discipline
Develop competence in information
technology and digital literacy
Students are given an opportunity to revise at
least one of the written assignments, after the
instructor has provided written and/or verbal
feedback.
Students are expected to submit papers that
conform to the individual style of the journal(s)
of the specific field related to the course.
Students will use scientific database resources
(e.g. literature search engines) appropriate to
the field of study.
V. Writing Course Requirements Check list
Is enrollment capped at 25 students?
If not, list maximum course enrollment.
Explain how outcomes will be adequately met
for this number of students. Justify the request
for variance.
Are outcomes listed in the course syllabus? If
not, how will students be informed of course
expectations?
Are detailed requirements for all written
 Yes  No
For some classes, enrollment is capped at 25 or
even fewer students. Other courses have larger
enrollments (up to 60, but most are closer to 30).
All of these courses are partial writing courses, so
there are fewer pages to grade overall. In
addition, the instructors of these courses often
have graduate teaching assistants to help grade
assignments.
x Yes  No
Please see attached syllabi.
x Yes  No
assignments including criteria for evaluation in the
course syllabus? If not how and when will students
be informed of written assignments?
Briefly explain how students are provided with
tools and strategies for effective writing and editing
in the major.
Please see attached syllabi.
Varies course to course. Some instructors
utilize the writing center or library resources;
some give writing workshops; some give
detailed handouts. All give detailed personal
feedback.
Will written assignments include an opportunity for x Yes  No
revision? If not, then explain how students will
In all courses, students are given an opportunity
receive and use feedback to improve their writing
to revise at least one of the written assignments,
ability.
after the instructor has provided written feedback.
Are expectations for Information Literacy listed in
x Yes  No
the course syllabus? If not, how will students be
Please see attached syllabi.
informed of course expectations?
VI. Writing Assignments: Please describe course assignments. Students should be required to
individually compose at least 20 pages of writing for assessment. At least 50% of the course grade
should be based on students’ performance on writing assignments. Clear expression, quality, and
accuracy of content are considered an integral part of the grade on any writing assignment.
This varies course to course. In the 1/3 writing
Formal Graded Assignments
courses, at least 17% of the course grade is based
on written assignments of at least 6 -7 total pages.
In the 2/3 writing courses, at least 33% of the
course grade is based on written assignments of at
least 11 – 13 total pages.
See above.
Informal Ungraded Assignments
VII. Syllabus: Paste syllabus below or attach and send digital copy with form.  The syllabus
should clearly describe how the above criteria are satisfied. For assistance on syllabus preparation
see: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/syllabus.html
Paste syllabus here.