U. committee mulls overhaul of writing program

It's a basic skill, but an important one. And Penn promises to teach it to every single one of its College students. But the program that provides students with that much-needed skill may soon have a different look. Penn's writing program is currently undergoing a review process to determine the best possible structure and format of writing courses at the University. Following an external review of the program last fall, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman convened a faculty committee to examine possibilities for altering the current program and requirements. "Other universities around the country were taking significant steps to improve their programs," Beeman said in an e-mail statement. "We should adopt a proactive stance in looking at ways to improve our own program." The committee includes members of the Committee on Undergraduate Education and representatives from the College Writing Committee and the School of Arts and Sciences Dean's Office. Currently, students have the option of fulfilling the writing requirement one of two ways. One option is to take a "writing about" course, which is taught by the English Department. The material these courses cover is highly varied. Another option is to take two writing intensive courses, which are affiliated with Writing Across the University. This program allows students to meet the writing requirement without having to take English courses. Although Beeman said the committee was not convened in response to student requests, one of most common complaints about the program has been the lack of faculty members directly involved. Engineering freshman Alice Huang, who is currently taking "Writing About Victorian Circulations," said she feels that her teacher is not always fully prepared to teach the subject. "In terms of organization, they're a little less organized," Huang said. "My teacher seems to know her stuff, but sometimes, the discussion trails off and she can't pick it up." Currently, faculty members make up the syllabi for the courses. But rather than teach the classes themselves, they train graduate students to teach the courses. Writing Across the University Program Director Deborah Burnham said one of the problems with getting more faculty involved with the program is the amount of time that is involved in teaching a writing course. "It's very labor intensive, much more complex than people want to believe, and sometimes more work than people want to do," Burnham said. English Department Chairman John Richetti said the department is already working on increasing faculty participation in the writing program. "We're looking into the possibility of having actual faculty teach writing courses," Richetti said. "It could be just what the doctor ordered." But some faculty say graduate students can play a major role in the learning process. "I think the graduate students are able to give full attention to this," said English Professor Toni Bowers, who oversaw all sections of "Writing About Film" last fall. "They can give a quality of attention to writing that a faculty member couldn't give." "I think their closeness of age really helped [the graduate students] in teaching the course," she added. And Engineering junior Brett Shangold said he is happy to be taught by someone who is not as far removed from the world of a student as a faculty member might be. "I like it, with writing especially, because I feel more easy talking with a graduate student," Shangold said. "I feel like it's helped me a little with my writing." The committee is also focused on examining is the structure of the program, which currently allows students to take classes in any subject rather than limiting students to the English Department. Burnham said she believes that there is a benefit in allowing students to pick a topic of their own interest to fill their writing requirement. "It's not just providing people with a cafeteria of goodies to choose from," Burnham said. "There's lots of different people here who have really highly developed intellectual taste. The teachers are more engaged, and the students are more interested." Bowers said she believes writing can -- and should -- be applied to places outside of the traditional course format. "Good writing may take slightly different shapes in anthropology and art history, but the basic tools are the same," Bowers said. "I think teaching it in an interdisciplinary way allows students to be more comfortable with the subject matter." "People are used to hearing English professors and graduate students nag them about writing," Richetti added. "But when a political science professor does it, it may have more of an impact." And Penn is not the only university to rethink its writing requirement and program. Recently, Princeton reviewed its program, creating a writing requirement for all freshmen and increasing the amount of writing intensive courses in other departments. "For people to write well, they need to care about what they're writing about," Princeton University's Associate Dean of the College Hank Dobin said. "The focus is still on teaching academic writing, but it gives students a chance to choose something that they are interested in."