By Vicki Tolar Burton, WIC Director

In an article in this issue, Kevin Gable, Chair of the Baccalaureate Core Committee (BCC), describes the process and data used by the Bacc Core Committee in
determining whether WIC courses in colleges under review will be recertified.  Reviewed in 2013-14 were Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, College of Business, and College of Public Health and Human Sciences.  Gable’s article also alerts readers to the key problems the committee saw in this first WIC review—problems that led to some courses being only provisionally recertified (with a given time to fix problems) or even not recertified. The review results are summarized here.

WIC status was removed from four courses at the request of the units offering the courses.  These were primarily housekeeping removals for courses that had been discontinued or replaced by other WIC courses.

Congratulations to faculty whose courses were recertified.  I especially want to recognize two faculty whose course materials were named Exemplary by the BCC: Scott Heppell for FW 454, and John Lambrinos for HORT 318.

Regarding class size for WIC courses under review: only two courses in CAS and two courses in College of Business were over allowed class size.  No courses in PHHS were over class size limit.  Thus overall 81% of WIC courses reviewed fell within class size guidelines (under 30 students).

In spring of 2015, half of the WIC courses in the College of Liberal Arts will be reviewed—those in the Schools of Writing, Literature, and Film; Psychology; Arts and Communication. Remaining units in CLA will be reviewed in 2016.  Colleges of Engineering and Forestry are currently under review.

Upcoming WIC events include a winter term workshop for units who have courses with provisional recertification.  The WIC staff will answer questions and help with course revisions to meet Bacc Core standards.  There will also be faculty events for the College of Liberal Arts in preparation for their upcoming reviews.