Graduate Curriculum Committee Course Proposal Form
for Courses Numbered 5000 and Higher
Note: Before completing this form, please carefully read the accompanying instructions.
Submission guidelines are posted to the GCC Web site: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/gcc/index.cfm
1. Course prefix and number:
ENGL 6702
2. Date:
09/19/2013
3. Requested action:
New Course
Revision of Active Course
X
X
Revision & Unbanking of a Banked Course
Renumbering of an Existing Course from
from
to
#7701
Required
#6702
Elective
4. Method(s) of delivery (check all boxes that apply for both current/proposed and expected
future delivery methods within the next three years):
Current or
Proposed Delivery
Method(s):
Expected
Future Delivery
Method(s):
On-campus (face to face)
Distance Course (face to face off campus)
X
Online (delivery of 50% or more of the instruction is offered online)
X
5. Justification. Identify the committee or group (e.g., Graduate faculty of the Department of
English) that conducted the assessment of curriculum and student learning. Explain why the
unit wishes to offer or revise the course. Include specific results from the unit assessment that
led to the development or modification of the course. If applicable, cite any accrediting
agency/ies and reference the specific standard/s. Indicate the graduate faculty of your unit have
reviewed and approved this proposal.
ENGL 7701, Research Methods in TPC, is a required course for MA-English students
who have identified technical and professional communication as their concentration.
This course introduces students to the research practices and major research problems of
the field. Because many of our students have academic or professional backgrounds in
other fields, the TPC faculty have increasingly advised incoming students to take this
course as early as possible in their program, generally in the first semester. We have also
increasingly advised incoming Certificate in Professional Communication students to
start with this course.
Because the course has come to serve as an introduction to research in the discipline, the
Approved by GCC April 2013 and posted fall of 2013
TPC faculty have determined that it should be a 6000-level course rather than a 7000level course.
6. Course description exactly as it should appear in the next catalog:
ENGL 6702 - Research Methods in Technical and Professional Communication
3 Formerly ENGL 7701
Investigation of research problems and research practices in technical and professional
communication.
7. If this is a course revision, briefly describe the requested change:
Course renumbered to more accurately reflect its role in the graduate program
curriculum.
8. Course credit:
Lecture Hours
3
3
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
Lab
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Studio
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Practicum
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Internship
Weekly
OR
Per Term
Credit Hours
s.h.
Other (e.g., independent study) Please explain.
Total Credit Hours
9. Anticipated annual student enrollment:
s.h.
3
30
10. Changes in degree hours of your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
n/a
11. Affected degrees or academic programs, other than your programs:
Degree(s)/Program(s)
Changes in Degree Hours
n/a
12. Overlapping or duplication with affected units or programs:
X Not applicable
Documentation of notification to the affected academic degree programs is
attached.
Approved by GCC April 2013 and posted fall of 2013
s.h.
s.h.
13. Council for Teacher Education (CTE) approval (for courses affecting teacher education):
X Not applicable
Applicable and CTE has given their approval.
14. Service Learning Committee (SLC) approval:
X Not applicable
Applicable and SLC has given their approval.
15. Statements of support:
a. Staff
X Current staff is adequate
Additional staff is needed (describe needs in the box below):
b. Facilities
X Current facilities are adequate
Additional facilities are needed (describe needs in the box below):
c. Library
X
Initial library resources are adequate
Initial resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief explanation and an
estimate for the cost of acquisition of required initial resources):
d. Unit computer resources
X
Unit computer resources are adequate
Additional unit computer resources are needed (in the box below, give a brief
explanation and an estimate for the cost of acquisition):
e. ITCS resources
X
ITCS resources are not needed
The following ITCS resources are needed (put a check beside each need):
Mainframe computer system
Statistical services
Network connections
Computer lab for students
Software
Approval from the Director of ITCS attached
16. Course information (see: Graduate Curriculum and Program Development Manual for
instructions):
a. Textbook(s) and/or readings: author(s), name, publication date, publisher, and
city/state/country. Include ISBN (when applicable).
Approved by GCC April 2013 and posted fall of 2013
Hughes, Michael A. and George F. Hayhoe. A Research Primer for Technical
Communication: Methods, Exemplars, and Analyses. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
2008. ISBN: 0-8058-6335-4.
b. Course objectives for the course (student – centered, behavioral focus)
If this is a 5000-level course that is populated by undergraduate and graduate students,
there must be differentiation in the learning objectives expected.
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Formulate research questions appropriate to technical and professional
communication.
2. Find and evaluate peer-reviewed research relating to a TPC research question.
3. Evaluate electronic and print sources.
4. Prepare an annotated bibliography and literature review.
5. Identify research methods best suited to different types of research questions.
c. Course topic outline
The list of topics should reflect the stated objectives.
Week 1-3: Primary and secondary research in technical and professional
communication.
Week 4: Formulating a research question.
Week 5-7: Evaluating research methods and secondary research.
Week 8-10: Writing a research proposal.
Week 11-13: Situating research within the field. (Literature Review)
Week 14-15: Communicating and reflecting on research.
d. List of course assignments, weighting of each assignment, and grading/evaluation system
for determining a grade
Course Assignments
Reflection on published research: content and evaluation (10%)
Reflection on published research: search process (10%)
Annotated bibliography (20%)
Literature review (30%)
Research proposal (10%)
Group discussion participation (20%)
GRADING SCALE
90-100%: A
80-89%: B
70-79%: C
0-69%: F
Approved by GCC April 2013 and posted fall of 2013