The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee

  The Writing Across the Curriculum Committee is a subcommittee of the Academic Affairs Committee. It consists of six members of the university faculty who have demonstrated a significant interest in writing: the Director of Writing or a representative from the Composition Program and five other members from academic disciplines across the curriculum. These five members are appointed to a three-year term by the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee. No more than one person per academic discipline may serve on the committee.

The duties of the Writing Across the Curriculum Committee include:
  1. reviewing all proposals for WAC courses each semester,

  2. ensuring that writing designations (W) appear beside appropriate courses on semester schedules,

  3. ensuring the appropriate status of WAC courses (new, provisional, permanent),

  4. reviewing established WAC courses,

  5. considering appeals,

  6. acting as a writing resource for faculty,

  7. monitoring the WAC program and suggesting changes in criteria, policies and procedures when appropriate.

Writing Across The Curriculum Course Criteria

Even though each WAC course is highly individual because each is created by a different professor, all WAC courses should have the following elements in common.

  1. W courses involve students in regular, frequent writing, much of which the professor responds to regularly. This writing includes, but is not limited to the following: essays, summaries, abstracts, journals, logs, responses to study questions, essay examinations, case studies, and lab reports.

  2. Extended writing projects are assigned in such a way that the students have an opportunity to revise them.

  3. A student's mastery of the conventions of writing in a particular W course is taken into consideration when arriving at the course grade.

Application and Implementation Procedures for WAC Courses


  1. To begin preparing a WAC schedule for a given semester, the WAC Committee will request a departmental WAC schedule from each department chair and will provide a deadline for the submission of these schedules. After checking with departmental faculty and consulting the current WAC Master List, department chairs will create and submit a departmental WAC schedule (to include class number, course title, and professor's name) to the WAC Committee, with supplemental information attached as outlined below.

    1. Courses by individual professors or staff that are identified on the Master List as having permanent W status already have an approved checklist and syllabus on file and no further information is required.

    2. Courses that are identified as having provisional W status have an approved checklist on file and require the submission of a syllabus.

    3. Courses not appearing on the Master List are requesting first approval and provisional W status and require the submission of a completed checklist.


    (Please refer to the Sample Departmental WAC Schedule Submission.)

  2. To receive permanent status for a practicum, departments may submit a generic checklist and syllabus or guideline by which each professor teaching/supervising the practicum agrees to abide. Similarly, professors who frequently teach the same individual study or selected topic course may submit a checklist and syllabus for permanent status.

  3. Keep in mind that a course's provisional or permanent status is conditional on the professor teaching the course. Also, professors will report significant changes in courses with a permanent status to the WAC Committee and may be asked to supply a new syllabus or other supporting material.

  4. Once the WAC Committee has received proposed schedules from departments, it will confirm the status of proposed classes and ensure that all supporting material is provided. It will then notify department chairs of approval of the departmental schedule via the Department Proposal Response, will create a master WAC schedule for the semester, and will submit the master WAC schedule for inclusion in the university's master schedule.