_UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM



University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Curriculum Proposal Form #2

Change in Degree, Major, or Submajor

Effective Term:

Type of Action:

Degree:

Program Title: English Writing Education Emphasis

GPA Requirement for the Major/Submajor:      

Sponsor(s): Curriculum Committee

Department(s): Languages and Literatures

College(s):

Consultation took place: NA Yes (list departments and attach consultation sheet)

Departments: Education

Proposal Information:

(Procedures for Form #2)

Total number of credit units in program:

Before change 24 After change 0

1. Exact description of request:

Delete program. Current minors will be retained, but no further minors will be accepted.

From (as listed in catalog and on AR)

To (to be listed in catalog and on AR) delete minor track from catalogue.

2. Relationship to mission and strategic plan of institution, and/or college and department goals and objectives:

3. Rationale:

a. Numbers of majors in this program have been on the decline for the last several years.

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b. We have reorganized our curriculum (implemented in Fall 2013), and we are considering measures for further curricular reform. The structures of these major and minor tracks are now out of date, as they have not been revised to align with changes in their cognate programs (English Education, Creative Writing, and English Literature).

c. The use value of this program is limited. And judging by enrollment patterns, both students and advisors are increasingly aware of its limitations. Ostensibly, the major track provides a route through which students can combine English Education with Creative Writing. The minor track similarly promises a supplemental route toward job training. Jobs at the K-12 level dedicated to Creative Writing are very rare, however, so this degree track and its cognate minor promise preparation for a job field to which very few (and fewer as time goes on) can aspire.

d. As a hybrid program, the English Writing Education degree track asks more than can be accomplished outside the context of a “super-major.” Twelve courses inadequately cover the need for reasonable competency in the three fields under the program’s umbrella (English Literature, English Education, and Creative Writing). Without a major overhaul, this program will grow more outdated as we continue to reform our other major tracks even as it promises preparation in a career field becoming rarer each year. This problem is intensified at the level of the minor. Students currently have the option of pursuing an ENGLISH, ENGLISH WRITING, or ENGLISH EDUCATION minor, and the ENGLISH WRITING EDUCATION minor dilutes these options rather than creating a strongly focused alternative. The few students who would like to combine minor options will still have the opportunity to create a self-designed minor if they feel their needs are not met by the three existing minor tracks, and such a self-designed minor would have the additional benefit of drawing on up-to-date courses responsive to the changes we are currently making in our curriculum.

4. Cost Implications:

The few minors that are already enrolled in the program will be allowed to complete their work, but no new minors will be allowed. This will incur no costs for our Department, and it will save faculty and administrative time, given that the alternative is an overhaul of the minor that would require an investment in curricular design, assessment, proposal, and implementation.

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