Key Resources:
Quick Overview of W [pdf]
Frequently Asked Questions [pdf]
GEOC W Requirements [pdf]
Additional W Course Requirements
Time-Saving Techniques [pdf]
GEOC website
GEOC documents
W Center Workshop Archive (new!)

The General Education Oversight Committee (GEOC) is charged with articulating and overseeing the General Education requirements at UConn, including the W courses. And, while W courses have been around for some time, the new Gen Ed requirements (begun in Fall 2005) include some imporant adjustments in the W course structure. This webpage is a first step in explaining how these changes affect the Tri-Campus faculty.

It is important for each W course instructor to understand what a W course is and to know the expectations of his or her department in offering these courses. At this time, the most definitive statement of the W course requirements is posted here in pdf format (see the the links above). But each department also has its own statement about W courses.

Briefly, a W course is a writing-intensive course designed to connect a student's work in Freshman English to his or her work in a specific field. What this means is that W courses share many features with Freshman English including: a small class size (capped at 19), specific instruction in writing, assignments incorporating drafting and revision (for all students), and an idea that writing is a method of learning and discovery that is deeply connected to the course content. In neither of these settings is writing a "separate" activity, distinct from the contexts of reading and critical inquiry.

We can only add that it might be easiest to think about W courses as building on a foundation that all students should already have. W instructors can rely on the students' common experience with Freshman English, and they can turn to the Writing Center for support in connecting this new W writing to this previous work. To find much more about Freshman English and the Writing Center, look here, and, for some general suggestions about writing instruction, see the link to Time-Saving Techniques (above).

Instructors with questions about the W courses should look for answers in the following three places:

1.) Home Departments. Each department has submitted a plan for the guidelines of W courses in its discipline. Each department will also have a contact person (usually at Storrs) who is responsible for disseminating information and answering questions about the W requirement. [Note: This website will post each departmental plan and contact person as soon as this information becomes available.]

2.) The University Writing Center. The University Writing Center is the new facility at Storrs designed to establish, facilitate, promote, and oversee all implementation of W courses, including those at the regional campuses. The W Center offers workshops and orientations for faculty. The "Quick Overview" and "FAQs" above are provided by the W Center at Storrs.

3.) The Tri-Campus Writing Centers. The Writing Centers at each campus house all available documents and information relating to W courses. In addition, any of the coordinators are happy to answer any questions you may have, especially questions pertaining to the teaching of writing.