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Faculty Governance

I.C.2 College of Liberal Arts Writing Policy

The faculty of the College of Liberal Arts is committed to improving the written, oral, and general communication skills of RIT students. We recognize our responsibility “to uphold an acceptable standard of writing competence in all courses... in which writing assignments are appropriate” (Institute Writing Policy).

Although there are many ways to improve student writing, the surest is simply practice. Writing, like any skill, must be worked at, and any improvement in writing that a student at RIT makes must be reinforced by still more writing if the improvement is to last. Because of this need for practice and improvement, the College of Liberal Arts faculty agrees:

1. To assign in all appropriate lower division courses written work totaling at least 1250 words. Individual instructors will determine the exact nature of the assignments (for example, a research paper, book reports, a paper involving no outside reading, a journal, essay examinations, etc.).
2. To assign in all appropriate upper division courses written work totaling at least 2500 words. Again, individual instructors will determine the exact nature of the assignments.
3. To consider the quality of students' written work as one factor in assigning grades. As always, the method of grading and weight given for a certain piece of work are up to the instructor, but students should be aware that their writing ability will be assessed and taken into account in the grading.
4. To refer to the Learning Development Center or to the College of Liberal Arts writing program students who require formal instruction to achieve writing competence appropriate to the college level.

The College Writing Committee, composed of one member from each department, will annually review the effectiveness of this Policy and make recommendations to the faculty.

Approved by the Faculty
Faculty Meeting
March 17, 1987
Revised May 18, 2001