WAC LIAISONS - Memo Sample

To:  Dr. Fontaine, Dr. Stern, and Dr. Mexal

From:  University Writing Proficiency Committee & Mark Filowitz, AVP for Academic Programs

Subject: Certification of Courses for Writing Based on UPS 320.020

May 7, 2019

Dear Dr. Fontaine, Dr. Stern, and Dr. Mexal,

At the request of the Academic Senate, the University Writing Proficiency Committee has begun the process of reviewing courses for certification of the Upper-Division Writing Requirement (UDWR). The review and approval process is articulated in the  revised UPS 320.020. According to this UPS, courses that fulfill the UDWR in each major must be certified as “writing intensive,” “writing complementary,” or thesis courses by the University Writing Proficiency Committee using the online curriculum system (i.e., Curriculog).

The enclosed timeline indicates when each college or unit shall submit its courses to the online curriculum system for UDWR certification. As you can see, in  AY 2019-2020, the  Department of English  in the  College of Humanities and Social Sciences  is scheduled to submit any courses it wishes to be eligible for UDWR certification to Curriculog, including its support courses that are used to fulfill the UDWR in other undergraduate majors (e.g., ENGL 301).

Once certified, each course will appear on an online list, indicating its certification status as a writing-intensive, writing complementary, or thesis course. The course remains UDWR-certified for eight consecutive years. Courses that fail to be certified (either because the course does not meet the requirements of a UDWR-certified course or because the unit did not submit the course for consideration as specified on the timeline) are allowed a grace period (described in UPS 320.020), but thereafter will no longer be eligible to fulfill majors’ UDWR. Thus, it is imperative that each academic unit completes its proposals for UDWR certification in a timely and diligent manner.

Please note the following deadlines:

Oct. 2019  Academic unit shall inform the UWPC and AP by memo (1) which courses are  currently  used to fulfill its majors’ UDWR, and (2) which courses, if any, it  intends to submit   for UDWR certification.

Feb. 2020  Academic unit shall submit courses for review of UDWR certification in Curriculog.
Note: If any changes are made to how majors fulfill the UDWR using newly certified courses, then a program change proposal must be submitted in Curriculog reflecting that change in the major  after  the courses are certified.

The University Writing Proficiency Committee is committed to supporting academic units as they prepare courses for UDWR certification. Representatives from the UWPC will gladly meet with your unit or attend one of your unit’s meetings to provide information about and support for the certification process, or your unit may send representatives to one of our monthly meetings in the fall.

At this time, we encourage your unit to review and evaluate the ways it supports students’ writing. Please address questions or concerns about UDWR certification to Dr. Janna Kim, Chair of the University Writing Proficiency Committee, at jkim@fullerton.edu.

 Sincerely,

The University Writing Proficiency Committee

Mark Filowitz, AVP for Academic Programs

8-Year Review Cycle For UDWR Certification