Eastern Michigan University: General Education

Vision Statement

As a vital part of the Education for Participation in a Global Community program (the General Education Program), the Writing-Intensive courses are a critical aspect of EMU students’ educational experiences. WI courses serve as a tangible bridge between the General Education Program and the specialized major experience as the WI outcomes both build on those of the earlier foundational courses and ask students to deepen their work with those outcomes within a particular discipline. These courses also provide a later-career experience common to all EMU students, yet focused within each major.

EMU has the exciting opportunity to support cohesive, thoughtful WI courses. A high-quality WI experience at EMU is:
--Embedded in and strengthened by a thriving Writing Across the Curriculum Program;
--Ideally taught by tenure-track faculty from across campus who are invested in and energized by teaching writing within their disciplines;
--Ideally made up of small classes (20 students or fewer), whose faculty have the time, energy, and pedagogical support to teach writing in thoughtful ways;
--Supported by a robust Writing Center, and ideally supported by college-specific Writing Centers throughout campus.

Faculty who are Writing Across the Curriculum Fellows have developed a particular expertise in disciplinary writing instruction and are especially well-prepared to teach WI courses. The Writing Across the Curriculum Program offers faculty support for those teaching WI courses, including Summer Institutes.

*The National Council of Teachers of English Statement on Class Size and Teacher Workload states in part, “No more than 20 students should be permitted in any writing class. Ideally, classes should be limited to 15. Students cannot learn to write without writing. In sections larger than 20, teachers cannot possibly give student writing the immediate and individual response necessary for growth and improvement.” http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/level/coll/107626.htm