Minutes: Minutes of October 13, 1998 were approved as distributed.

Old Business: Placement in GE Mathematics Classes:

The committee will continue to collect information concerning this issue for ongoing deliberation at future meetings.

CECS: The committee approved BME 300, EGR 199, EP 231, EP 432, EE 473 (chair to ask department to edit course description to 34 word limit), HFE 300.

LAKE Campus: Tabled TOA 243(chair to clarify credit hour allocation between class and lab to reflect 2:1 ratio for lab); TMG 201 (approved pending clarification from Management department concerning articulation)

Minor in Computer Science for Engineers and Scientists: The committee reviewed and approved the proposal for this minor. The objective of the minor is to satisfy the needs of students not majoring in computer science or in computer engineering, but with engineering or scientific background in their major. The minor would serve these students by offering the opportunity to increase their knowledge and skills in programming, data structures and in one of the data management, operating systems or software design areas. A total of 23 quarter hours in five basic courses followed by one elective course are required. All course prerequisites must be satisfied.

Changes to International Studies Major: The committee reviewed and approved the proposal specifying changes to the International Studies Major from the College of Liberal Arts. The changes integrate internationally-oriented Women's Studies courses already identified into the existing International Studies tracks and create a fifth International Studies track devoted to Global Gender Studies. These changes position WSU to compete for external funding. There are no changes in credit requirements to complete the major nor additional resource implications for these modifications.

Joe Law, WAC Committee Chair and Director of the WAC Program brought forward two proposals for guidelines for independent writing projects as specified in the WAC requirement for writing in the major. The committee reviewed and approved the following two guidelines.

Designated Writing Intensive Independent Reading Course: If a student elects to take an independent reading course to satisfy this requirement, that course must be designated as WI through the Office of the Registrar, just as any other designated WI course in the major would be. The same general guidelines for WI courses in the major should apply to this course as well-i.e., the student must produce "at least 4500 words of writing, at least half of which will be evaluated formally and all of which will count as part of the student's performance in the course."

Independent Writing Project: "Under exceptional circumstances," students may undertake an independent writing project, a paper of at least 2500 words, approved by the chair of the student's major department and written under the supervision of a faculty member in the student's major. Because the WAC Committee is charged with "approval of criteria for Independent Writing Projects," the proposed project must also be reviewed and approved by the WAC Committee.

The proposal for the independent writing project should include the following information: (1) an identification of the "exceptional circumstances," (2) the nature and length of the proposed paper, and (3) the extent of the faculty member's involvement in the project . In connection with item (3), the WAC Committee recommends that the supervising faculty member meet at least twice with the student to oversee the project and evaluate early drafts. 

Because this project puts additional demands on faculty time, it should be employed only when "exceptional circumstances" warrant it. Several groups of students may fall into this category: transfer students who do not need to take the designated WI course in the major because they have taken a course elsewhere covering the equivalent content; students who take a WI course in the major but do not pass the writing component; students in majors with only the minimum number of WI courses that are offered only once a year or less frequently.

Once the project has been approved and completed to the supervising faculty member's satisfaction, he or she should inform the WAC Committee in writing and submit a copy of the paper for WAC Committee files.