21st Century Writing Competency
Hartwick College’s 21st-Century Writing Competency Requirement
Director of the 21st-Century Writing Competency Program and Writing Center: Dr. James Cochran
Mission: In preparing students to produce coherent, focused, purposeful prose arguments and written communications, Hartwick College’s 21st-Century Writing Competency Program delivers GEO1 (“Communicate competently using oral and written skills”).
The following is an at-a-glance summary of the component parts of the 21st-Century Writing Competency Program:
- Directed Self-Placement Process;
- ENGL 101 and/or ENGL 110;
- Two “Writing-Designated” (“WD”) courses
Sequence of Requirements:
1) Directed Self-Placement Process
Prior to matriculation, students will complete a directed self-placement survey intended to encourage students to reflect on their past and current writing abilities and practices and introduce students to the format and expectations of Hartwick College’s first-year writing courses (ENGL 101 and ENGL 110). Based on this survey and other academic measures, students will receive a writing course recommendation.
*Barring extraordinary circumstances, students are expected to complete ENGL 110 before the end of their first year of college study.
**Transfer students who have earned a C or better in a college-level composition course from an accredited collegiate institution will not need to complete the Directed Self-Placement Process.
Hartwick College Transfer Credit Policy: Transfer credit from nationally and regionally accredited colleges is given for courses substantially similar to those offered at Hartwick College. For the purposes of Hartwick College’s Writing Competency Program, students who before matriculation have attained a grade of C or better in a college-level composition course offered at an accredited collegiate institution will receive college credit for ENGL 110 (“College Writing”). College-level composition courses taken as part of a dual-enrollment program qualify for this allowance. “AP” credit high school courses do not qualify for this allowance.
2) ENGL 101 (“Writing Essentials”)
ENGL 101 provides individual/workshop-style instruction that outfits students with the skills that will help them to succeed in ENGL 110. ENGL 101 consists of small group writing labs in which students work closely with peer writing consultants in the Writing Center. Students who chose to take ENGL 101 must also take ENGL 110.
3) ENGL 110 (“College Writing”)
For students who place at writing placement exam Level 2. ENGL 110 introduces the core features of and strategies for producing written texts defined by college-level writing competencies.
**Students who have failed ENGL-110: College Writing must take the course again. If a student fails the course a second time, then they have the option to take an additional Writing Designated course (for a total of three WD courses) in place of ENGL-110. The grade earned in the additional WD course will not replace the F grade earned in ENGL-110.
4) 200-level WD course offered within Academic Departments
For students who have completed their first-year writing course (ENGL 110).
200-level WD courses introduce students to research techniques, stylistic conventions, and (as the instructor deems warranted) to formatting protocols appropriate for and to a specific discipline. These 200-level writing-designated courses may also be useful for those students exploring different majors or changing majors.
5) 300-level WD course offered within Academic Departments
Intended to provide additional disciplinary writing practice beyond the first WD course. 300-level WD courses will continue to provide students with discipline-specific writing, research, and citation techniques.
*In selected instances, departments may not in fact currently offer WD courses. Students whose majors offer no writing-designated courses may fulfill the writing requirement by taking any two 200-level writing-designated courses or, if the student wishes, a 200- and 300-level sequence of writing-designated courses. Throughout Hartwick College’s course catalog, “writing-designated” courses will be identified by the abbreviation “WD.”