English 101 courses revised for Spring 2009

Beginning next semester, all English 101 courses will be aligned to produce the same learning outcomes as part of the five-year Title V Grant that was awarded in 2007.

The revision of English 101, along with the establishment of required writing intensive courses in every discipline and the construction of the Center for Academic Writing, is part of the "Improving Retention through Academic Literacy" project which is funded by the Title V Grant.

The grant was awarded as part of the Higher Education Act based on Northeastern Illinois University's status as a Hispanic Serving Institution.

Vicki Byard, an English professor at NEIU, was named coordinator of the First Year Program in Jan. 2008 and has since been working with other professors to revise English 101 syllabi to include seven specific learning outcomes that were approved by the English Department. The goal of aligning English 101 courses is to better prepare every student for their writing- intensive courses.

"We want to make sure that when students leave 101, that they'll be ready for those writing intensive courses, that they'll have the skills that they need in terms of the writing to then be able to succeed with the disciplinary writing that they'll be asked to do," said Byard.

The English department is also hiring more full-time instructors who teach only English 101. These instructors will be required to teach seven sections of English 101 a year.

Some other goals of the revision and alignment of English 101 are to get students more used to using electronic resources such as Blackboard, to provide a smoother transition from the English Language Program into English 101, and to define grading standards for every section so students who take 101 feel confident that the grade they're getting is what they would get with a different teacher, according to Byard.

Since the grant is for five years, some long-term goals are to develop hybrid classes that are both online and in the classroom, to develop strictly online courses, and to address English 102 and make sure there is more similarity across sections of that course as well.