Many courses across campus are designated with a “C” in the bulletin, meaning they are meant to be communication intensive. These courses exist at all levels (100-499) and across almost all disciplines (BIOL, MATH, CS, etc.) in order to teach students how to communicate well both in and out of their disciplines.
If a course is C-designated, it must meet the following learning outcomes.
- Students can demonstrate understanding of and analyze texts (e.g., news articles, academic papers, data sets) in order to develop their own claims in writing.
- Students can craft a text with attention to audience, purpose, context, and conventions.
- Students can effectively revise their text or argument based upon detailed feedback.
- Students can present an effective evidence-based argument in the appropriate medium of communication (e.g., written, visual, oral, or other emergent forms of communication).
- Students can communicate specialized knowledge appropriately for a defined audience.
These learning outcomes were designed to a) align with research and best practices in postsecondary communication education, b) make explicit the varied and nuanced writing skills that courses should teach in order to best support students (research shows that making these skills explicit and discrete especially benefits underprivileged students!), c) differentiate communication skills in a way that will allow useful assessment, and d) address Illinois Tech faculty concerns about student communication skills. They were approved by UGSC in Spring 2024, and formed in collaboration with writing faculty, the Humanities Department, Lewis College, Assessment, and with input from faculty focus groups across campus.
Not sure how to make these outcomes work in your class? Take a look at the resources in our Faculty Resource Series!