ECB halts use of portfolios for placement

The English Composition Board has decided to discontinue requiring incoming LSA students to submit a writing portfolio.

The decision, which will affect incoming transfer students next term, was reached during the summer, but had not been publicly announced for fear of discouraging incoming students from submitting portfolios.

Under the new regulations, students will be asked to make a self-assessment of their writing ability, after which they will decide for themselves whether to enroll in a writing practicum or go directly into an introductory composition class.

In the past, most LSA students were required to submit a portfolio that was used as a basis for placing them into the appropriate first-year writing course.

Students will no longer be granted exemptions. All students must enroll in one of the first-year writing courses.

Phyllis Frus, associate director of the English Composition Board and Sweetland Writing Center, said the ECB decided upon the change after concluding the amount of time and energy spent reviewing portfolios could be better spent elsewhere.

"It takes a lot of money to review portfolios," said Frus, noting that four out of five students would be placed into an introductory composition course, while 10 percent would enroll in a practicum and only 8 percent received an exemption.

The new program, which is modeled after a similar program at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., has a number of advantages, Frus said.

First, the money saved will benefit the Sweetland Writing Center, which is joined with the ECB. Already, the center offers daily writing workshops, but more programs are in store.

"You can look for big things from Sweetland in the future," Fruss said.

Second, Frus noted the new self-selection program may help de-stigmatize practicums. She suggested that because students will choose to take practicums rather than be assigned into them, students' attitudes regarding the course may change.

George Cooper, an English lecturer and member of the ECB, said allowing students to select their writing courses may bring positive changes.

He noted that some students resented being assigned into a practicum and said the new program may alleviate this.

"I want to teach a practicum that students want to be in," Cooper said.

But he questioned how many students will end up enrolling themselves in a course perceived to be remedial, as some of the practicums are.

Jean Leverich, an LSA academic adviser, also questioned how many students will place themselves into a practicum.

"Most students will not self-place into a practicum," Leverich predicted.

Leverich added, however, that the significance of the change may be overstated by some.

"I don't see it in the long run making a big difference," Leverich said.

Amy Kullenberg, a member of the Graduate Employee Organization, said she was not aware of the change and was not in a position to comment on how the change would affect GSIs or say whether the group would support or oppose the change.

University students are of mixed opinion regarding the change.

LSA first-year student David Victor questioned whether the change would be good for students.

"I thought the ECB was a pretty good plan," Victor said, adding that as long as the ECB evaluated portfolios, he believed students would end up in the right class.

Theodore Velie, an LSA first-year, said he wondered whether students would be as good judges of their work as the ECB.

"I think students probably wouldn't be as objective as the University would," Velie said.

Sarah Verlee, also an LSA first-year student, said she thinks the change is for the best.

"I would rather have been able to decide for myself," Verlee said of her first-year writing requirement placement.

11-30-98