Senate Passes Proposal to Modify Composition Requirements

Composition II Would be Replaced by Content Based Writing Courses

The Yeshiva College and Sy Syms School of Business Senate has passed a proposal which calls for and outlines the revision of Composition + Rhetoric 1102, the second of the English Composition classes required for all Yeshiva University Main Campus undergraduate students. An experimental program which will partner a writing course with a traditional content based class, is slated to be offered to students by the Spring of 1999. Completion of this course will satisfy the current English Composition II requirement.

The Senate has jurisdiction over various academic affairs at YU's Main Campus. It is responsible for investigating matters relating to academic standards, admissions policy, curriculum, and degree requirements. However, its proposals are non-binding and are considered to be suggestions to the faculty and deans. Last year, the Senate, which is comprised of students as well as faculty members and deans, passed a proposal which paved the way for SSSB students to minor in Yeshiva College.

This academic year there is a consensus among Senators that the writing ability of the typical graduating student is inadequate. In order to remedy the situation, they have proposed the creation of an experimental course which may eventually replace the English Composition II requirement.

According to the text of the proposal, the experimental course will entail a writing class which will be "loosely associated" with another class in a student’s major area of study. The instruction in the writing class would pertain to the content and syllabus of the counterpart course. The writing class would be taught by a "professor of composition who possesses some background in the subject of the counterpart course and is thereby familiar with the material."

The purpose of this program is twofold. The primary goal is to create a structure for the English Composition II requirement. It is also hoped that students will be more interested in devoting effort to honing their writing skills, aiding their academic achievement in their major.

Students will be required to enroll in both the writing course and its partner class, which will be treated for credit purposes as two separate classes. Subject matter, as well as specific course material, is to be coordinated by the instructors and departments of both courses. Details concerning adding or dropping one of these courses have yet to be decided upon.

This proposal was initiated as a result of the perceived lack of basic writing skills among many graduates. The belief was that this flaw stemmed from a variety of sources, the most visible of which was the standard English Composition II course. This class has been maligned by students and professors alike for its amorphous quality. Unlike most other courses offered in YC, Composition + Rhetoric 1102 does not have a standardized curriculum. There are no predetermined texts or written assignments that must be included within the the course's curriculum.

The Senate investigation determined that the absence of a regular syllabus has created a situation in which the goals of the course are not clearly defined. This has caused an inordinate amount of difficulty for instructors who create courses with an unfocused character that fail to promote student interest.

This contention has, however, been disputed by some in the English Department which determines the official guidelines for the course. Among the course aims listed by the department, are the ability to defend a thesis and to produce an analytical research paper. Yet, the concerns expressed in the Senatorial forum provoked action.

In October, the Senate set up a task force in order to investigate the need and feasibility of a general revision of the writing curriculum. Neil Berman, a student Senator, was slated to head this task force consisting of both student and faculty members of the Senate.

After extensive investigation, the task force introduced an early version of the proposal of the pilot program which it hopes will replace the current English Composition II requirement. When the proposal was introduced to the larger Senate body, many reservations were addressed. Among these reservations was the potential need for new professors qualified to teach the writing course. The task force quelled these fears by showing that a number of the writing instructors currently on staff, have qualifications in other fields of academic study and could be considered candidates for the professorial positions of the new content related course.

After minor revisions, the proposal was unanimously ratified on February 12. Subsequently, the proposal was handed over to the English department, which in conjuction with the other academic departments will determine determine if and what changes will be made to the status quo. Dr. Joan Haahr, who is currently heading up the English Department analysis of the proposal, claimed that the department "hasn’t discussed the proposal at all yet. It will come up in the next meeting." She suggested, that any decision would be postponed until Dr. William Lee returns from sabbatical, since he was the faculty member from the English Department who took part in this Senate proposal.

Norman Adler, Dean of Yeshiva College, stressed the need for improved writing skills among all YC students. Although he did not specifically endorse the Senate proposal, he expressed the fact that he is "very enthusiastic about seeing emphasis on writing spread throughout the curriculum."