1. Core Curriculum
In the Fall1999 term, the University adopted a Core Curriculum that all undergraduate students must complete as part of their baccalaureate program. Since that time, various University and state officials have suggested refinements to the Core and extensions of it to all New Mexico institutions of higher learning. However, over the last decade, UNM’s Core Curriculum has remained stable.19
• examine proposed changes to the core curriculum;
Associate Prof. Michelle Hall Kells is working on a UNM Core Curriculum Task Force. This UNM Task Force is to gather information from UNM departments and programs, identify key faculty members concerned with issues connected to a core curriculum.
The UNM Core Curriculum Task Force began in August 2009 and will continue through January 2011.
In taking on the UNM Task Force, Kells intends to
• generate feedback from across the University through an open and deliberative process; • involve diverse UNM stakeholders (e.g., Provost Office, Faculty Senate, all Colleges serving
undergraduate students, ASUNM, and UNM student support services); and • evaluate approaches to reconfiguring the UNM Core Curriculum in ways that will • improve the quality of higher education,
• increase graduation and retention of undergraduates, and • enhance student satisfaction.
UNM President David Schmidly fully supports this process internal to UNM.
Associate Professors Wanda Martin and Chuck Paine are affiliated with this committee. This UNM Task Force is to gather information from UNM departments and programs, identify key faculty members concerned with issues connected to a core curriculum, and to draft proposals for a revision of the state-wide core curriculum.
Academic Program Review, 2004-2009 Page59 2. Core Writing Program
The Core Writing program, part of the University's general education Core Curriculum, offers four lower-division writing courses, English 101, 102, 219 (Technical and Professional Writing), and 220 (Expository Writing). These are four of the six courses undergraduates can take to satisfy the Core Curriculum’s three-course Writing and Speaking requirement. English 101 and 102 are required of most first year students; many disciplines recommend English 219 or 220 as the third course; some colleges (Anderson School of Management, School of Engineering, College of Fine Arts, School of Nursing) require one or the other.
Students place into English 101 or 102 on the basis of ACT English or SAT Verbal skills. About sixty percent of each entering class places directly into English 101; 13% score 26 or higher on the ACT and go directly into 102 or are exempt from first-year writing; the remaining 27% must take and pass Introductory Studies English 100 before enrolling in English 101. In addition to these courses, the department offers the Writing Proficiency Portfolio program, which is designed to allow transfer students and others with well-developed writing skills to bypass English 102. This program, begun in 1997, remains underdeveloped and under the radar in 2009.
Each semester, Core Writing offers between 150 and 190 sections with capacities at or near 23 students. For Fall 2009, we have 89 sections of English 101, 55 of 102, 29 of 219, and 15 of English 220—a total of 189 sections of Core Writing. Thirteen of these sections are offered fully online; twenty-five in a hybrid (half online) format. All four courses are enrolled at 96% or more of capacity.
a. Program Curricula and Educational Goals
The Core Writing program helps students develop the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills they will need for success in college and in professional contexts: formulating a problem or question, finding information, evaluating it for relevance and usefulness, and composing an effective document within the context of a defined rhetorical situation.
English 101: Introduction to College Writing
English 101 introduces students to many kinds of writing that are used in academic and
professional situations and helps students learn to analyze and address the different purposes and audiences they’ll encounter in their work at UNM and in their subsequent careers.
Students develop reading and writing skills that will transfer to their own fields of study. They learn to read complex nonfiction texts and to summarize, interpret, and draw inferences from them. They make observations, conduct surveys, and collect information from primary sources and from assigned readings. They write summaries, reports, evaluations, profiles, letters, memos, narratives, essays, blogs, or analyses, choosing their genres and making rhetorical choices according to the purpose of the writing and its audience. And they edit their work to be grammatically correct, with appropriate syntax and diction.
Academic Program Review, 2004-2009 Page60
English 102: Analysis and Argument
English 102 students learn to analyze other writers’ arguments, conduct research, and create their own arguments. Students learn the major strategies writers use to analyze a text or situation and make a convincing argument about it. They conduct source-based research and learn to assess arguments and information they encounter online, through directed readings, and through journal-based library searches. All English 102 classes include at least one library visit, during which students learn to use the university’s information resources. Students write letters to the editor, opinion pieces, essays, reviews, proposals and other forms that convince readers by providing analysis, evidence, and reasoning. In addition to editing for correctness, students learn to incorporate quoted material effectively and to cite sources appropriately.
English 101 and 102 Course Outcomes: Both English 101 and 102 develop students’ skills in
finding and evaluating information, in planning effective writing, and in communicating and presenting information successfully. Both courses require students to achieve the English 101 outcomes; English 102 adds to and expands on these outcomes.
Academic Program Review, 2004-2009 Page61
English 101
English 102
Finding Information
Students will find information about a specified subject by reading, observing, interviewing, and surveying informants.
Finding Information
Students will gather information and ideas about chosen topics by reading
argumentative texts and conducting research in the library and on the internet.
▼ ▼
Evaluating Information
Students will evaluate the information found by summarizing, analyzing, and interpreting texts and data.
Evaluating Information
Students will apply principles of argument to analyze and evaluate readings and sources.
▼ ▼
Planning Effective Writing
Students will consider audience, genre, purpose, and context, and plan their writing accordingly.
Planning Effective Writing
Students will construct an argument that addresses a defined audience and
purpose.
▼ ▼
Communicating & Presenting Information
Students will state a problem or main idea, provide supporting discussion, and conclude regarding significance.
Students will revise their writing to improve clarity, organization, and support.
Students will edit their writing to achieve appropriate diction, grammar, and mechanics.
Communicating & Presenting
Information
Students will incorporate source material effectively.
Students will cite sources in accord with a system appropriate to the argument’s purpose.
The Portfolio in First-Year Writing: To demonstrate that they’ve achieved the course
outcomes, each English 101 and 102 student submits a final portfolio that includes revised versions of work done throughout the semester and a reflective cover letter that explains the student’s understanding of the outcomes and presents evidence that he or she has achieved them. The revised work shows how the student performs college-level reading and writing tasks. The reflection shows that the student understands what he or she has learned and could apply this knowledge in other situations.
Academic Program Review, 2004-2009 Page62
English 219: Technical and Professional Writing
English 219 introduces students to the different types of documents found in the workplace Students focus on how to analyze and understand readers’ needs as well as develop a coherent structure, clear style, and compelling page layout. Students learn useful writing and research strategies they can use as they write correspondence, procedures, resumes, presentations, proposals, and multi-page reports.