Creative Writing
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
To: Board of Undergraduate Studies From: Patricia Tersigni, Director, Academic Programs and Policies CC: Gwen Chapman, Provost and Vice-President Academic Cate Dewey, Associate Vice-President (Academic) Date: May 10, 2021 Re: Proposal for new Honours Major – Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing Please find enclosed a proposal for a new honours major, Creative Writing, in the Bachelor of Arts program, requiring the recommendation for approval to Senate. The proposal has the support of the Provost and AVPA, the COA Dean and Associate Dean (Academic) and approval and support of the Bachelor of Arts Degree Program Committee. The new program was subject to an external review per the University of Guelph’s Institutional Quality Assurance Process (IQAP) and the reviewers’ report is included in the package. The additional material for the proposed major includes the schedule of studies, program learning outcomes, the full new program brief, memos of support from all of the sponsoring units and colleges, and the responses from the Chair and Dean to the external review report and corresponding curriculum additions and changes. A list of documentation is included below in order as it appears in the submission. Should a member have questions in advance regarding this proposal or wish to review any of the supporting documentation held on file, please contact me or the staff in our office: Alyssa Voigt, Manager, Curriculum and Academic Quality Assurance Clarke Mathany, Manager, Curriculum and Academic Quality Assurance The Director, School of English and Theatre Studies, the Chair of the Working Group, and the Associate Dean Academic, College of Arts, will also attend the meeting to provide an overview and answer questions from BUGS members. If approved by BUGS and Senate, the proposed new program undergoes external review and approval by the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance (OUCQA) and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU). The expected first intake will be Fall 2022. List of Documents included in the proposal package: • New Program Proposal Brief, including list of faculty dedicated to teaching courses in BA.CRWR • Appendix C: Learning Outcomes – Program Learning Outcomes and Undergraduate Degree Learning Outcomes Alignment Template • External Reviewers Assessment Report • Site Visit Itinerary • Program Lead’s Response to External Reviewers’ Assessment Report • College of Arts, Dean’s Response to External Reviewers’ Assessment Report • Curriculum Changes – Summary of new courses • Curriculum Templates NB: Additional appendices held on file include: • Appendix A: College of Arts, Dean’s Letter of Support • Appendix A: School of English and Theatre Studies, Acting Director’s Letter of Support • Appendix A: Student Letters of Support • Appendix B: List of Course Details and New Courses • Appendix D: Library Assessment • Appendix E: Faculty CV’s • Appendix F: Consultation with other units • Appendix G: Student Progression through the Program • Appendix H: Course Implementation Plan May 10, 2021 Dr. Cate Dewey Associate Vice-President (Academic) University of Guelph Dear Dr. Dewey, The College of Arts (COA) would like to thank everyone involved with this proposal for a new major in creative writing, especially the reviewers, Drs. Emily Pohl-Weary and Daniel Scott Tysdal, who undertook this review virtually. We would also like to thank the School of English and Theatre Studies, all committees and their members involved in moving this proposal forward. Full-time Faculty Hiring The COA is currently in the process of hiring a tenure-track assistant professor in Creative Writing who will take over our MFA coordination, while the current MFA coordinator, Catherine Bush, will be joining the undergraduate faculty. In the future we expect Creative Writing faculty to rotate through the MFA coordination to distribute the work more fairly and to better integrate the MFA with the new undergraduate major. We also plan to hire a contractually limited appointment (CLA), who will have a 3-3 teaching load. These two additional positions will mean a sufficient faculty complement to deliver the creative writing curriculum when we welcome our first our cohort to the new major. Should we need to offer additional sections in the short term, we plan to hire sessionals, particularly professional writers who welcome the opportunity to teach but are not necessarily interested in full academic positions. The hiring practice of the COA is that we hire in programs of proven strength and need, a strategy that will also apply to this new major. Connections: Major and MFA in Creative Writing Connections between the new major and the MFA in Creating Writing are a goal of both programs and offer great opportunities. The COA is supportive of the initiatives outlined in the response from the Director of the School of English and Theatre Studies and the Chair of the Working Group, such as the MFA coordinator position rotating among Creative Writing faculty and the undergraduate program offering MFA students the opportunity to work as teaching assistants. These teaching-assistant positions will provide valuable experience to the MFA students. The program will also allow upper- year students to collaborate with MFA students on the interdisciplinary journal, HELD, which will enhance connections between the programs. College of Arts - Dean’s Office MacKinnon Building, University of Guelph 50 Stone Road East Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1 T 1-519-824-4120 x53301 uoguelph.ca/arts 2 Admission Guidelines The COA is excited by the prospect of this new major and expects it to be successful due to its design, theme, and innovative approaches. We are absolutely committed to providing a program that we can support and will apply all necessary mechanisms to grow and maintain the program at a manageable level. To this effect, we will follow certain controls that will allow us both to attract talented students and to regulate the intake, as necessary. This new major will have a GPA cut-off separate from other BA programs, so that we may admit pools of students on their own merit. We will also have to determine a steady state number of majors, which we could adjust as numbers and resources warrant. This steady state number would be maintained from year to year by allowing qualified transfers into the major based on capacities. We will consider other mechanisms, should we find the popularity outpaces program capacity. Ensuring equitable access to our programs is a priority for the COA and we will leverage the university’s Student Profile Forms in which students may identify aspects that might have disadvantaged them or additional pertinent factors that would support their application further. Course Change Recommendations The College appreciates the commendation of the program as a whole and we support the creative writing major in adjusting CRWR*1000 in particular, but also in any additional changes we might find necessary as the program proceeds. Experiential learning is a priority for the college and creative writing offers its students many opportunities to capitalize on these offerings, both within the major and other college offerings. Moreover, creative writing has already included aspects of professionalization as part of its program structure, as such, we support the program’s decision to refrain from including a fourth-year professionalization course at this time but to consider how students develop and to collect their and instructors’ feedback to make possible adjustments. Creative Writing-specific Budget At this time, the College expects present funding sources and options to be adequate but additional needs will be considered as they arise. Schools already have discretionary budgets, which are adjusted, should needs increase. These budgets are intended to allow programs to support guest speakers and student-centred activities. There are also other funding options available with the college (e.g., the Experiential Learning Fellowship) and the university. As for direct program support, we are currently considering various options to adjust administrative support for the home school and expect to find a viable solution. Handbook Handbooks for students have remained a challenge and we believe our continuously improving and growing web resources, the university calendar, faculty advisors, and academic counseling should ensure students understand the program and how to complete it. We expect faculty and instructors would also access these resources to inform themselves in addition to participating in regular meetings where any challenges can be addressed. Should this not prove sufficient, we will support the program in GUELPH ! ONTARIO ! CANADA ! N1G 2W1 ! 519-824-4120 ! FAX 519-837-1315 3 mitigating shortcomings in any way we can. The new major in Creative Writing helps to realize the College’s goal of offering new, innovative programming, and we are excited to see it move forward. The new program helps articulate our vision: The College of Arts is at work unleashing compassion, creativity, and critical engagement with the world through transformative education. Sincerely, Samantha Brennan Dean, COA GUELPH ! ONTARIO ! CANADA ! N1G 2W1 ! 519-824-4120 ! FAX 519-837-1315 COLLEGE OF ARTS School of English and Theatre Studies May 5, 2021 Dr. Cate Dewey Associate Vice-President (Academic) University of Guelph Dear Dr. Dewey, The external review of our proposed BA Major in Creative Writing occurred via videoconference in April 2021. All who were involved wish