Inside Iowa State

November 10, 2004

ISUComm gets senate approval

by Linda Charles

The Faculty Senate approved ISUComm -- a new way to teach communication to students -- during its meeting Nov. 9.

The new curriculum substitutes two ISUComm foundation courses taught around "WOVE" (written, oral, visual and electronic) communications for English 104 and 105. Departments will be responsible for certifying communication proficiency for their graduates under the new curriculum and are encouraged to incorporate communication education into upper-level classes.

Part of the senate discussion centered on ISUComm's role in upper-level classes.

Veronica Dark, director of undergraduate studies in the department of psychology, asked where the resources would come from to incorporate ISUComm into the upper levels.

During the planning phase for ISUComm, she said, departments were asked to determine the best means for achieving good communication outcomes for their students.

"We said if we could, we would like to offer a small course (dealing with communication skills) to our juniors and seniors," Dark said. However, the psychology department does not have the faculty resources to teach the number of students in the department in small courses. (Currently, the psychology department requires its students to complete English 314, Technical Communication.)

"We thought there would be discussion of the resources before the vote on ISUComm," she said.

Michael Mendelson, who headed the ISUComm effort, said the new curriculum does not dictate to departments what they must do to certify English proficiency. He said the psychology department could continue requiring English 314 as its measure of English proficiency. He also noted that because the foundation courses will be taught differently, faculty may find their students better prepared by the time they take the upper-level courses.

Mendelson added that ISUComm staff could work with departments to help integrate various communication skills into their courses.

Senator Hans van Leeuwen, civil and construction engineering, said his department already has begun integrating communication skills into its curriculum. "All indications are this is the way to go," he said.

Asked how the new curriculum will affect transfer students from community colleges, Mendelson said the ISUComm staff had kept community colleges informed of the planned changes. Donna Niday, a member of the ISUComm Steering Committee, added that the university will keep its transfer student agreements.

Senator Stephanie Madon, psychology, said she is "sympathetic" with the goals set for ISUComm, but added, "Look at the data. It just didn't work."

Her comments referred to a study that compared the progress of students in ISUComm 105 to that of students in traditional English 105 courses. After correcting for ACT score differences, the researchers concluded comparisons between the two groups were "not statistically significant."

Mendelson responded that the original intent of the study was to assess the progress of ISUComm 105 students, and those students showed progress in all five areas assessed. The comparison to English 105 students was added at the request of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Caucus. The LAS Caucus members later agreed to disregard the results, in large part because the English 105 sample group was so small (18 students).

Some senators suggested waiting until additional research could be done to compare the results of ISUComm 104 and 105 to the traditional English foundation courses. However, John Schroeter, chair of the senate curriculum committee, said in all the time he has been involved in the curriculum, only one curriculum proposal has been accompanied by any assessment -- ISUComm.

"In criticizing the assessment efforts of ISUComm, we're criticizing a group that went 100 miles further than anyone else and saying they didn't go far enough," Schroeter said.

On a voice vote, the senate approved the ISUComm plan. During its December meeting, the senate will discuss the ISUComm description for the next university catalog. The new curriculum will be phased in during the 2005-2007 catalog period and fully implemented by 2007.

The Faculty Senate approved ISUComm
Nov. 9. The new curriculum substitutes two ISUComm foundation courses taught around "WOVE" (written, oral, visual and electronic) communications for English 104 and 105. Departments will be responsible for certifying communication proficiency for their graduates under the new curriculum and are encouraged to incorporate communication education into upper-level classes.