There is substantial variance in the sections of this course in the College of Education. The strong courses are excellent and meet all the requirements. The weakest course appears to fall well short of the minimum expectations.

ENG 306: EXPOSITORY WRITING

All requested review materials were submitted for nine (9) sections of the course. Several of the syllabi submitted were from a quarter other than the one requested, but this does not change the picture that emerges of 306 as it is implemented by the English department.

As was true during the last review, English 306 looks to be quite consistent across all sections. The course continues to be well coordinated, and the requirements are generally met in each section. All instructors include a statement about course objectives (although not all of them use that terminology). Almost all include a weekly course plan. Generally speaking, a student in any section of English 306 will know how much work to expect in the course and how the final grade will be determined.

The department chair, in his response to the questionnaire, comments on the potential problem of asking instructors in English 306 to focus on “competence in the primary genres of their academic disciplines.” As he says, “even in sections of English 306 on this campus, students from many majors and colleges are usually enrolled.”

Under the area that I have labeled as “G E Goals,” the English department is doing an excellent job with each of the elements listed (excepting “Discipline Specific Focus”). It was more difficult to evaluate whether the minimum number of pages was being required. In most cases, I could extrapolate to determine that the word count was being met, and I found substantial compliance. The Chair’s report indicates that all sections are meeting the requirement.

HUM 306: EXPOSITORY WRITING FOR HUMANITIES

As was true in the last review, only one section was reviewed. The class clearly meets the goals and objectives for all 306 courses. The instructor noted that it is impractical for students “to gain competence in the primary genres of” this particular discipline because the Humanities encompasses so many different fields. She does include reading selections from a variety of these fields, but her focus in on helping her students to gain competence in written communication, and she is happy if she can achieve that goal.

MGMT 306: EXPOSITORY WRITING FOR ADMINISTRATION

The Chair of the Management department filled out the departmental questionnaire, and in his review of the material, he found that his department was in full compliance with the requirements for 306. Five faculty members submitted materials for review, and there is substantial evidence that the goals and objectives for 306 are being met in Management 306. The two part-time instructors do not state office hours or availability, though one of them does state he is available by appointment in the questionnaire. It is clear that there are common standards and that there is consensus in the department about what should be done in that course.