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Get WE certified

A page within Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning (CATL)

Once an instructor is approved by the following procedure, they may elect to teach any course in a writing emphasis mode without further approval.

  1. Contact CATL Fellow - Writing. Indicate your interest in writing emphasis certification in an email message to Chris McCracken.
  2. Complete a WE training. Instructors are required to complete a Canvas-embedded training on designing, implementing, and evaluating writing assignments in the classroom. Instructors will then meet with the CATL Writing Programs Coordinator as a follow-up to the Canvas training. (Instructors who have substantial training/background in college-level writing instruction may be exempted from this requirement.)
  3. Complete an approval form. Send a completed approval form to Chris McCracken for review by members of the Writing Programs Advisory Board and/or other approved WE instructors. Instructors may need to revise and resubmit approval forms before proceeding. (Note: Instructors may request provisional WE approval status the semester they are preparing their WE approval forms. Provisional status enables instructors to teach WE courses immediately but typically only for one semester.)
  4. Gain final approval. The CATL Fellow - Writing submits recommendations to Records and Registration and then adds names to the official list of approved WE instructors (see next tab).

Review Criteria for Approval Forms

Reviewers will use the following criteria for evaluating WE approval forms.

I. Integration of Informal Writing (Writing-to-Learn)

"Writing to Learn" refers to brief assignments or activities, in or out of class, in which students use writing as a learning tool to improve their understanding of course materials, concepts, or topics. Such informal writing is often completed in the moment, with little or no revision or editing. 

Course reviewers submit comments on writing emphasis approval forms, indicating that they Agree,  Disagree, or are Not Sure about course for review meets the following writing emphasis attributes: 

  • Teacher describes specific types.
  • Students write at least 40 pages.
  • Assignments linked with course goals.
  • Students practice regularly. 
  • Teacher manages workload. 
  • Teacher clarifies guidelines for evaluating student work.

Reviewers then add comments about the integration of informal writing in the course up for WE certification.

II. Integration of Formal Writing

These assignments require students to work through a composing process, including drafting and revising, to produce a text that follows discipline-appropriate conventions related to format, style, documentation, etc. Students typically receive feedback and guidance related to explicit criteria. 

Again, course reviewers submit comments on writing emphasis approval forms, indicating that they Agree,  Disagree, or are Not Sure if the course for review meets the following writing emphasis attributes: 

  • Teacher describes specific types. 
  • Students write 10 or more pages. 
  • Teacher indicates audience(s) to be addressed. 
  • Teacher specifies stylistic conventions to be followed. 
  • Students are provided with models or examples.
  • Students receive feedback.
  • Teacher clarifies guidelines for evaluating student work.

Reviewers then add comments about the integration of formal writing in the course up for WE certification.

III. Sample Course Materials

Course reviewers submit comments on writing emphasis approval forms, indicating that they Agree,  Disagree, or are Not Sure if the course for review meets the following writing emphasis attributes: 

  • Teacher includes portions of a syllabus or handouts related to the writing component of the course. 
  • Teacher provides guidelines for a sample formal writing assignment.

IV. Overall Recommendation

Finally, reviewers then add comments about their Overall Recommendation if the course meets the criteria to become a Writing Emphasis-certified course, and indicate whether they recommend for approval or recommend the course be revised and resubmitted if the course is not yet ready to meet the criteria of a writing-emphasis certified course.

Recommended Submission Dates

Approval forms should be submitted at least one semester prior to teaching writing emphasis courses. To ensure adequate time for review and revision, approval forms should be ideally submitted near the beginning of the preceding semester and no later than mid-term.

Certified Writing Emphasis Instructors

Please send corrections to Chris McCracken, CATL Fellow - Writing.

Current WE Instructors

Accountancy

none

Art

Jennifer Williams

Biology

Keith Beyer
Scott Cooper
Rick Gillis

Chemistry

Keith Beyer
Janet Kirsch
Adrienne Loh
Aric Opdahl
Bernadette Taylor
Todd Weaver

Clinical Science

Carol McCoy
Amy Pelikan
Timothy Uphoff

Computer Science

Kenny Hunt
Kasilingam Periyasamy

Economics

Nabamita Dutta
Marissa Eckrote-Nordland
Lisa Giddings
Mary Hamman
Michael Haupert
Adam Hoffer
James Murray
Sheida Babakhani Teimouri
Cody Vaughn

Educational Studies

James Carlson

English

Bradley Butterfield
Matt Cashion
Susan Crutchfield
Virginia Crank
Rebekah Fowler
Ryan Friesen
Bryan Kopp
Haixia Lan
Stephen Mann
Christopher McCracken
Marie Moeller
Lindsay Steiner
William Stobb
Kelly Sultzbach
Darci Thoune
Robert Wilkie
Louise Zamparutti

Exercise and Sport Science

Rich Mikat
Brian Udermann
Chia-Chen Yu

Finance

Nilakshi Borah
Adam Stivers
Diana Tempski

Geography and Earth Science

Colin Belby
Cynthia Berlin
Joan Bunbury
Gargi Chaudhuri
John Kelly
Niti Mishra
Daniel Sambu

Health Education and Promotion

Dan Duquette
Gary Gilmore

History

Ariel Beaujot
Mark Chavalas
John Grider
Penelope Hardy
Gerald Iguchi
James Longhurst
Victor Macias-Gonzalez
Gita Pai
Patricia Stovey
Tiffany Trimmer
Jennifer Trost

Information Systems

Ye Han
Peter Haried

Management

Christine Ascencio
Uzay Damali
Brad Dobbs
Randika Eramudugoda
Nicole Gullekson
Christa Kiersch
Anup Nandialath
Kelly Nowicki
Scott Reber
William Ross

Marketing

Gwen Achenreiner
Elizabeth Crosby
Kenneth Graham
Maggie McDermott
Nese Nasif
Linda Sherony
Stacy Trisler
Dan Wallace

Mathematics

Susan Kelly
Jennifer Kosiak

Microbiology

Bonnie Bratina
Marc Rott
Bernadette Taylor

Music

Jonathan Borja
Mary Tollefson

Philosophy

Samuel Cocks
Sheryl Tuttle Ross

Physics

Eric Barnes
Eric Gansen
Seth King
Shelly Lesher
T.A.K. Pillai
Shauna Sallmen
Gubbi Sudhakaran
Steven Verrall
Lyndon Zink

Political Science and Public Administration

Alan Bigel

Psychology

Melanie Cary
Betsy Morgan

Race, Gender, & Sexuality Studies

Terry Glenn Lilley

Current Writing Emphasis Course Offerings

Course offerings vary from semester to semester. To find available Writing Emphasis courses, please go to UWL's Course Timetable and take the following steps:

  • Select Term
  • Select Course Career: Undergraduate
  • Select the Requirement Designation category.
  • Choose Writing Emphasis from the pull-down.
  • Click the Search button to list current or future Writing Emphasis-certified courses.

 WE-Timetable-Search