The purpose of this new class is to give students confidence in grappling with phrases, clauses, sentences, and grammar in general. Students will also study dialects, history of the English language, and a few other topics to prepare them for the university environment.Potential students for the class will not only be those who want to gain more confidence with writing, but also those who need a 200-level linguistics class when they transfer to Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. The class may also transfer to other state university programs. We also hope that some students will take our course who attend other schools since the class will be offered online. Why would we put this class online? So we can draw from the entire county as well as from our own students who have transferred to a four-year school and who feel the need for some fortification of their writing once they arrive.
First I searched the Web sites of both Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Arizona State University (ASU) thinking these were the two most likely places our Yavapai College students would go. Neither site gave access to outside individuals to see their Course Outlines. I could find some program-level information as well as a list of classes offered at least for the next semester, but that is not what I was looking for.
Next, I contacted one of my former professors at NAU, and she referred me to a linguistics professor there who taught the equivalent course at that school. The professor sent me a copy of his syllabus. I also contacted the NAU English Department, and the office personnel sent me a syllabus from his course as well as that of another professor. Now I was in business.
After having such a positive experience with the NAU English Department staff member, I contacted ASU and found that English department helpful as well. I received a syllabus for their equivalent class. When I had these three syllabi, I started creating Course Content and Learning Outcomes as a blend of what these professors' courses offer. I also wrote a Course Description.
Then I sent out the draft of the Course Outline to Burt Coffin, our ATF representative; Keith Haynes, English faculty assisting with developing new classes; Joani Fisher, Faculty President; Dean Holbrook, Division Dean; and Laura Cline, Curriculum Committee representative. These interested parties gave me feedback, and I continued working on the outline. Laura also told me that I would need to fill out the curriculum form, and I chose to use the Permanent Course Proposal since I would like this class to count as a Written Communication course in General Education.
While writing the Permanent Course Proposal, I decided to see if I could find a similar class offered at the University of Arizona (U of A). This time I called the English Department without doing an extensive search of the Web site and was emailed Course Descriptions the same day. I included the course number of the most similar class offered at the U of A into the Permanent Course Proposal and hope that the new ENG220 class will articulate.
The Course Outline and Permanent Course Proposal have been sent on to Patti, and now I can sit and wait to see how the course is received, how it will articulate, and to see when the new class can be developed. I look forward to a positive reception from our Yavapai College English Department for this new class, and I wish the first instructor well as s/he develops this class online. Blessings! Tina
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