General Education Course Development Grant: Intensive Writing
Office of Academic Affairs
This announcement invites proposals for the purpose of developing new Intensive
Writing (IW) courses that will fulfill the two-course intensive writing requirement
adopted by the Faculty Organization on October 20, 2006 (see accompanying document
entitled “The Intensive Writing Requirement at IU Northwest”). Grants will be made to
departments, programs, or schools for this purpose. The general description of the IW
requirement reads as follows:
To qualify for IW credit, a single course or a pair of designated courses must
require that students write at least 5,000 words (20 double-spaced pages).
Revisions, in-class essay examinations and informal writing (e.g. journal entries)
will not be included in the page count. Students should be required to redraft at
least one paper in response to the instructor’s comments. Generally, students will
write a series of papers over the course of a semester, rather than one, long paper.
However, a single, long paper (such as an honors thesis) may be acceptable, if it is
drafted in sections that are reviewed during the semester, and if the entire paper is
revised at least once.
The instructor is expected to provide feedback to the student (through marginal
notes on papers and/or private conferences) on the quality of the writing—its
organization, logic, correctness, and style—as well as its substance.
Grant Requirements
Proposed IW courses must be offered at the 200 level or above. Once IW approval is
granted, the IW designation becomes a permanent feature of the course, not an optional
feature depending on the preference of particular instructors.
Proposals should include the following components:
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Name of the unit making the proposal & chair’s, director’s, or dean’s contact
information,
Name and course description of the proposed IW course,
Description of the course format (lecture, seminar, etc.), classroom methodology,
and the kinds of writing assignments to be used (including an explanation of
why/how you think those writing assignments will enhance student understanding
of the course concepts and at the same time will improve the students’ writing
skills in the particular discipline),
Current typical course enrollment and anticipated increases once the IW
requirement is implemented,
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A plan for a pilot offering the course during the 2007-08 academic year, and
An assessment plan for measuring student learning outcomes. After the course is
developed, the department or school must commit to submitting the course for
approval as a designated IW course.
Grant proposals (5 copies) are due in the Office of Academic Affairs (attn: Robin Hass
Birky) by 5:00 pm on Monday, April 2, 2007.
Additional Provisions
1. Grants will be awarded to departments, programs, or schools, not individuals.
2. The department/school will receive a $1,000 grant for each advanced course
proposal that receives an award.
3. These funds may be used for the following purposes: small stipends and travel
related to developing the course as well as photocopies or supplies.
4. The Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will work with the
Co-Chairs of the General Education Committee to form a selection committee
comprised of representatives from the different divisions.
5. A final report must be submitted to the Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for
Academic Affairs on January 30, 2008 (if the course is piloted in the Fall of 2007)
or June 10, 2008 (if the course is piloted in the Spring of 2008), and this report
should include:
a.) the challenges and benefits that the course presented for the instructor,
students, and department, program, or school,
b.) assessment data related to student learning outcomes, and
c.) the percentage of majors in the unit/program/school who currently
complete the proposed course if it is offered regularly and the likely
enrollment increase in that percentage once the IW requirement is
implemented.
The instructor(s) must also present the results under the auspices of CETL in the
semester following the pilot offering.