Important Information Regarding New Database

Before submitting your WI proposal, please watch this brief introductory video to our new database: https://vimeo.com/181997941

Propose or Update a Course

The following document outlines the procedures for approval of the University of Missouri’s (MU) Writing Intensive (WI) courses. Approval authority rests with the Campus Writing Board, an 18-member faculty group divided into three subcommittees: Education and Social Sciences (ESS), Humanities and Arts (H&A), and Natural and Applied Sciences (NAS). Evaluation and approval are based on compliance with the Board’s WI Guidelines, available at the Campus Writing Program’s (CWP) website. The Board approves courses as WI by-instructor and by-semester, for up to one academic year at a time.

Subcommittee Work Toward Board Approval

Subcommittees may vote to recommend approval of a course, or may request that one of the CWP Coordinators correspond with an applying instructor for more information or modifications to the course in question. Courses may be tabled if the subcommittee’s questions/concerns are not answered in time for the next Board meeting, or may not be approved. In practice, courses are rarely denied, though an iterative process is often employed to adjust proposals.

Recommended Schedule for Submitting WI New Proposals, Updates, and Individualized Experiences

The Campus Writing Board meets approximately three times a semester, with subcommittee meetings preceding full Board meetings by approximately 1 week. Faculty are encouraged to complete New Proposal and Update forms 4-6 weeks prior to Pre-Registration, to ensure courses are reviewed and flagged as WI before enrollment begins. During semester intercessions, the Board has granted its Advisory Group – the Chair of each subcommittee, the Board Chair, and the Program Director – authority to evaluate and approve or reject courses.

Procedure for Courses Taught for the First Time

1. The instructor submits a New Proposal form via the Campus Writing Program’s (CWP) database website: https://nextcatalog.missouri.edu/termadmin/
2. The New Proposal is submitted to its designated subcommittee, based on content-area. The subcommittee may vote to recommend approval, ask the CWP Coordinator for clarification from the instructor, or recommend changes to the course plan. The (revised) New Proposal is then presented to the Campus Writing Board for approval.
3. All approved New Proposals are then submitted to the Registrar by the Campus Writing Program’s Administrative Assistant for flagging as WI.

Note: It is important for instructors submitting “New Proposals” to fill out in detail all areas designated on the form.

Note: WI courses are approved under a particular “instructor-of-record.” If that same course is later taught by a different instructor, that instructor must submit a New Proposal rather than an Update. Likewise, instructors who have taught other courses as WI are asked to submit New Proposals for courses they have not previously taught as WI.

Procedure for Courses Previously Approved by the Board, and To Be Taught by the Same Faculty Member

1. The instructor submits an edited Course Proposal via the Campus Writing Program’s (CWP) website: https://nextcatalog.missouri.edu/termadmin/
2. The Edited course is submitted to its designated subcommittee, based on content-area. The subcommittee may vote to recommend approval, ask the CWP Coordinator for clarification from the instructor, or recommend changes to the course plan. The (revised) Update is then presented to the Campus Writing Board for approval.
3. All approved Updates are then submitted to the Registrar by the Campus Writing Program’s Administrative Assistant for flagging as WI.

Note: WI courses are approved under a particular “instructor-of-record.” If that same course is now going to be taught by a different instructor, that instructor must submit a New Proposal rather than an Edited course. Likewise, instructors who have taught other courses as WI are asked to submit New Proposals for courses they have not previously taught as WI.

Individualized Experiences

Problems courses, Independent Studies, and Honors Theses which are formally designated WI are submitted for approval via a New Proposal form. These courses are evaluated using the same Guidelines and following the same committee procedures as other submissions. Instructors are also encouraged to consult the WI Honors Thesis Guidelines.

Propose or Update a Course