Quest Speaking (COMM 111) and
Quest Writing (WBIS)
Syllabus Checklist
Quest Signature Question (choose one per section; you have the SQ in common with your
paired course):
Intercultural Knowledge and Competence
Sustainability
Civic Learning
First Year Experience component of the USP includes: Quest I and II disciplinary courses,
Quest Speaking (Communication 111) and Quest Writing (WBIS)
First Year Experience Student Learning Outcomes for the UW Oshkosh University
Studies Program:
1. Students will be able to describe the value of a Liberal Education.
2. Students will become familiar with the expectations of a college-level education, the
UW Oshkosh Essential Learning Outcomes, and the University Studies Program.
3. Students will begin their acculturation to life at this university, developing
familiarity with the academic resources and community engagement opportunities
at UW Oshkosh.
4. Students will engage in learning communities to enhance their connections to the
class, the university, and one another.
5. Students will participate in campus and community life through co-curricular
activities.
6. Students will begin to take personal responsibility for their intellectual development
by archiving learning artifacts in the ePortfolio.
Part I: University Studies Program General Expectations for Quest
Speaking and Writing Courses
This collaboratively constructed checklist includes elements expected to appear in Quest Writing
(WBIS) and Speaking (COMM 111) syllabi.
As we work together to become a coordinated program for the purpose of enhancing first year
student learning in oral communication and writing (as well as other Essential Learning Outcomes),
these guidelines are presented as a resource.
Note that sample syllabus language for these elements is provided on the CETL teaching
resources website. Sample syllabi for COMM 111 and WBIS are also provided.
The COMM 111 and WBIS instructional teams also work collaboratively with their Directors to
create student learning outcomes, assignments, and assessment related to other components of the
courses including the written and oral communication Essential Learning Outcomes.
Please use this list as a guide for the University Studies Program components.
The following elements are expected in ALL Quest Speaking and Writing syllabi:
Brief note about the USP and the role of your course in the USP
Brief note about the goals of liberal education and how your course contributes to them
Introduction to ALL THREE UW Oshkosh Signature Questions, with a brief explanation of how
your course will address a Signature Question
Explicit evidence that the Signature Question content has been integrated into the learning
outcomes, assignments, and assessments
Explicit evidence that Information Literacy has been integrated into the learning outcomes,
assignments, and assessment
Explanation of Early Alert grading process and rationale
Inclusion of one or more assignments to be graded by the 4th week of class so that you can
participate in Early Alert
Explanation of the ePortfolio
Specification of the assignment(s) that will be uploaded to the ePortfolio for assessment (see
Signature Question material for additional information)
Reference to the “learning community” (course pairing) and peer mentor for their learning
community
Inclusion of academic resources relevant to first-year students (see USP website for a complete
list; you may wish to include this resources list on your D2L site)
Assessable student learning outcomes (e.g., “By the end of this course, students will be able to…”)
that include the integration of your Signature Question integrated and Information Literacy
An explanation of the role of the Information Literacy Librarian
Part II: Signature Question Content. Each Quest course including Quest Speaking and Writing
introduces all of the Signature Questions but focuses on one. The syllabus expectations are listed
below, and these were determined collaboratively by the teaching community at the May 2012
Faculty College. For additional information and resources, please see the CETL/USP Teaching
Resources for each Signature Question.
Intercultural Knowledge and Competence:
The full text of the Signature Question;
The full definition of Intercultural Knowledge and Competence from the USP Teaching
Resources website;
A course description that includes central concepts of the SQ that will be taught over the
semester and an explanation of the importance of the SQ to an incoming student;
A list of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will be taught in the course that, at minimum,
include those central to the AAC&U VALUE rubric on Intercultural Knowledge and Competence
(see USP Teaching Resources website);
An acknowledgment within the syllabus that the course will provide actual experiences of
cultural differences for students and a forum for discussing those experiences
Instructors are encouraged to integrate intercultural knowledge and competence fully into
their courses;
Course must be designated as either Ethnic Studies or Non-Western Studies. (If it is not NonWestern, Intercultural courses are designated as Ethnic Studies.)
Sustainability:
The full text of the Signature Question;
The Sustainability Learning Outcome used at UW Oshkosh (see Teaching Resources site);
A definition of sustainability (see Teaching Resources for multiple definitions);
Course description must mention sustainability and provide an explanation of the importance
of the SQ to an incoming student;
Course should introduce students to the three “pillars” of sustainability and the connections
between them, but courses only need to focus primarily on one pillar. NOTE: Disciplinary
courses bear more responsibility for introducing students to definitions and pillars of
sustainability than Quest Writing or Quest Speaking courses, although all instructors must
include sustainability in their course;
Instructors are encouraged to integrate sustainability fully into their courses.
Civic Learning:
The full text of the Signature Question;
The definition of Civic Knowledge and Civic Engagement from the USP Teaching Resources
website;
Course description must mention Civic Knowledge and/or Civic Engagement and include an
explanation of the importance of the SQ to an incoming student;
At least TWO of the expected course outcomes which are assessed and listed in the syllabus
will be from the list of “Outcomes” offered by Caryn McTighe Musil (see USP Teaching
Resources site for full list of outcomes [PDF])
Instructors are encouraged to integrate civic knowledge and engagement fully into their
courses.