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Developmental English--English 010 and English 100 are non-credit developmental courses. Grading options in these courses are A B CR and NC. A grade of CR or higher is required for most financial aid and for movement into the next course in the composition sequence.

Freshman English--English 101 and 102 are college-credit composition courses. Grading options in these courses are A B C D F (fractionated). A grade of C or higher (not C-minus) is required for transfer credit and/or movement to the next course in the sequence.

The Composition Program at Valencia Campus is administered by UNM-Valencia’s English Department with support from the Director of Freshman English at UNM.

· For writing teachers--Please see these links to helpful resources to supplement your composition classes:

Placement in English Courses at Valencia Campus

Before enrolling in English courses at UNM-Valencia, students who do not have ACT scores are required to take the COMPASS test and advised to register on the basis of their scores. The department considers these scores prerequisites for courses and requires instructors to drop students who are improperly placed in their classes. The placement scores for composition classes are as follows:

	ACT	TABE	ASSET	COMPASS
ABE	5 or lower	5^th grade or lower	29 or lower	0-5
Engl 010	6-11	6^th-8^th grade	30-37	26-55
Engl 100	12-18	9^th-12^th	38-45	56-77
Engl 101	19-28	12^th and above	46 or higher	78-100
Engl 102	29 or higher	N/A	N/A	N/A

Prerequisites and Advancement through Writing Courses

According to UNM policy, students may only enroll in one course within the composition sequence per semester. In order to enroll, the student must have satisfactorily completed the previous course (or placement requirements). These requirements are considered to be prerequisites for each course. NOTE: A student who has not met the prerequisite will be promptly dropped from the course by the instructor.

The prerequisites for each course are as follows:

· English 010: a degree-seeking student must have a GED and an appropriate placement score.

· English 100: a student must have earned a grade of CR (Credit) or higher in English 010 or have an appropriate placement score.

· English 101: a student must have earned a grade of CR (Credit) in English 100 or have an appropriate placement score.

· English 102: a student must have earned a grade of C or higher in English 101 (not C-minus) or have the appropriate placement score. According to the current UNM catalog, students may no longer enroll in English 102 if they earned a C-minus in 101.

NOTE: In order to enter most colleges at UNM, a transfer student must earn a grade of C or higher in English 102; therefore, most students with a C-minus will have to repeat the course.

Placement Based on the Introductory Essay and Instructor Recommendation

Students are assigned an in-class introductory essay (often called a Diagnostic Essay) during the first week of classes. After evaluating the introductory essay, the instructor may strongly advise a student to transfer to a higher-level or a lower-level writing class. Even though these recommendations are not mandatory, students are urged to comply in order to have the best opportunity for success in the program.

Concurrent enrollment students (students who are attending high school) may enroll in English 101 if they have an adequate ACT or COMPASS score. Concurrent enrollment students may enroll in English 102 only if they have an adequate ACT score or have passed English 101 with a C or higher.

Concurrent Enrollment Credit

Concurrent enrollment students may receive high school credit for English 101 or English 102 if they receive a D, but they may not continue to the next higher course in the sequence at UNM-Valencia or satisfy the English requirement at UNM for transfer.

English as Second Language (ESL) Courses

On an as-needed basis, specific sections of English 100, 101, or 102 are offered to ESL students who meet the prerequisites. These courses are indicated by an ‘R’ on the schedule. Parallel to the regular English composition courses, these courses are taught by instructors with specific training in ESL.

Instructors are required to distribute a clearly defined course syllabus during the first week of classes. Each syllabus should clearly state program requirements, such as course goals and objectives, required texts, writing requirements and/or portfolio requirements, exam information, as well as the instructor’s office hours, work phone number, email address, grading practices, and attendance policies.

Instructors are also encouraged to provide their students with a course outline-a weekly schedule of assignments and due dates-so that UNM-Valencia’s students can arrange their work and family schedules effectively around their course work.

Grading Standards

At Valencia campus, the composition program strives to help prepare students for college and the workplace by structuring courses, assignments, and classroom strategies in such a way as to lead students toward what they most need to learn as well as to encourage and acknowledge their accomplishments. For this reason, the Valencia program emphasizes effective teaching far more than four-year research institutions tend to do. We also strive to base our course expectations and grading standards upon clearly stated, reasonable criteria that we ourselves establish and maintain through professional development, collegial discussion, grading workshops, core exams, grading panels, and exchange grading.

Grading

In accordance with the grading standards established by the Freshman English program at UNM, student papers are evaluated on the basis of the following criteria: Content, Development, Organization, Expression, Grammar, Mechanics, and Usage.

The following descriptions provide an overview of the differences in A, B, C, D, and F papers:

“A” This paper demonstrates a compelling, original, and thoughtful thesis which is supported by accurate details, examples, and explanations. The paper is easy to follow because it is clearly organized and has transitional markers. In addition, precise and lively word choices are combined into balanced, clear sentences. There are very few, if any, deviations from standard usage, grammar, and mechanics.

“B” This paper is also strong in the evaluation criteria, but it is weaker than the ‘A’ paper in the quality of the thesis, the diction, or the sentence variety. It has few, if any, errors in usage, grammar, and mechanics.

“C” This paper is an adequate, solid essay; it is clearly organized around a thesis but may not as fully developed as an ‘A’ or ‘B’ essay. Typically, expression is clear and sentences are correct. There may be errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics, but they are not profuse.

“D” This is a failing essay. Usually no thesis or organizational pattern is evident, or the thesis or development is too general to be effective. Sentence-level problems, incorrect word choices, or serious punctuation, usage, spelling, or mechanics errors lower the grade.

“F” This paper is unacceptable. It is off the topic, plagiarized or unintelligible.

In some cases, an instructor may decide to give a student an incomplete ("I") and ask that student to enroll in the one-credit General Studies 193 course the following semester. This particular I grade is given for two reasons: First, students may have completed almost all of the coursework, but due to some unforeseen circumstance, are unable to complete the portfolio. Second, students may not be ready to pass the course because their writing contains one or two problems that still need to be addressed. Therefore, if students earn an I, they must enroll in the General Studies 193 course and revise the portfolio or improve their writing skills according to the instructor's comments. Once GS 193 is completed, the instructor will then replace the I with the appropriate grade. Students enrolled in GS 193 will also receive a grade for this course. If they do receive the I, students need to contact their instructor, receive instructions for completing the GS 193 course, and complete the work by the end of the following semester to avoid having the I turn into an F.

Before a student can lodge a complaint about a course grade, he or she must pick up the portfolio in the Academic office and study the evaluation provided by the instructor. From this point, the steps outlined in the Valencia Campus Catalog under the heading “Grade Petition Procedure” must be followed. Please see Appendix B of the UNM VC Catalog.

Instructors who have made a mistake in grading or who are assigning a grade after a student has completed an Incomplete need to make the grade change on the “Instructor Grade Change” form available in the Registrar’s Office.

Regular attendance is obviously important to a student’s success in the class. The instructor may drop a student who misses four class meetings or a full week of class without an explanation. All instructors should have a clearly stated attendance policy in their course syllabus.

Instructors are encouraged to use the Early Alert forms (placed in wall-mounted boxes in all classroom buildings). These forms are especially helpful in the first three weeks of class and again at midterm, but they can be used at any time as a means of alerting students to the possibility of academic failure because of absence, missing work, or poor grades.

Withdrawals

There are a number of valid reasons for students to withdraw from classes, such as economic difficulties, family crisis, unreliable transportation, poor grades, course overload, changes in work schedules, or illness.

If the student drops the course after the 6^th week, the instructor assigns a grade of WP or WF. After the 12^th week, students need the approval of the Dean of Instruction but may drop a course right up to the last day of instruction before taking the final exam. NOTE: Students are responsible for completing the paperwork for the drop process in order to avoid a grade of NC or F at the end of the course. Students should notify the Registrar’s Office if they plan to drop a class. They should either see the Registrar in person right away or call 925-8581 for information. Students should not simply disappear!

If a student has attended the course regularly and has satisfactorily completed all prior written work, he or she may be given an Incomplete for the following reasons: inability to finish the last two or three weeks of the semester or inability to take the final exam as scheduled.

Students who are missing work throughout the semester or who have missed more than three weeks of the course should repeat the course rather than taking an Incomplete.

Students are responsible for making up the incomplete in a timely fashion in order to avoid receiving a NC or F in the course. Registered students must complete the incomplete by the end of the following semester. Non- registered students have a total of three semesters to complete the work. It is the student’s responsibility to meet with the instructor, complete the missing assignments, and turn them in to the instructor. The instructor then completes the “Removal of Incomplete” form (available in the Registrar’s Office) and assigns a final grade for the course.

Final exams and writing portfolios are required in all UNM-Valencia composition courses. After final grades have been posted, students are responsible for picking up their portfolios in the Academic Office. The portfolios will include final exams, teachers’ evaluation sheets, and explanations of grading procedures. The Academic office stores all portfolios for one semester only.

Teacher-Student Conferences

Individual conferences between teacher and student provide a highly effective way for instructors to get to know their students better and to discuss writing within a less formal context than the classroom. Teachers can cancel their classes (we recommend two classes maximum) and combine this time with their office hours in order to meet with each student for 15-20 minutes.

A precollege grammar, language skills, and writing course. Emphasis is placed on writing and revising paragraphs, as well as on reviewing basic parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, usage, sentence structure, and paragraph development. The course is intended for students whose placement test scores indicate a need for intensive study of language fundamentals. Credit does not count towards degree. Co requisite ENGL 010L (lab) and Acad 100.

The course should strive to help students become familiar with writing fluently as well as to help them acquire and apply needed skills. Grammar and skills should be evenly integrated with writing. Revision should play a large role in the writing process.

Each three-credit developmental-level course at Valencia Campus is accompanied by a required one-credit hour lab offered on an ARR basis. To receive credit or a grade in the English 010 lab, students must complete lab assignments given to them by their instructors. These assignments are intended to supplement classroom instruction by incorporating out-of-class tasks, such as computer-assisted revision of essays, library assignments and projects, working with a tutor in the TLC, and attending workshops or study groups at the TLC. The Developmental Studies Lab in the TLC is equipped with software to supplement Valencia Campus’s developmental classes and employs a full-time instructional technician to provide academic and technical assistance. In addition, the Developmental Studies Lab Classroom at the TLC is designed to allow developmental classes to meet several times each semester in a lab setting.

Students with access to computers at home may use them to complete lab assignments; otherwise, they should be directed to use the Developmental Studies lab in the TLC. The TLC provides lab orientations and maintains an attendance log. All developmental studies teachers are compensated for assigning and grading lab assignments as well as for assigning a lab grade at the end of the course.

· e-mail (responses to readings, brief paragraphs, discussions with each other)

· internet exploration for research and writing tasks; use of specific Websites for on-line writing help or topics of interest

· Skills software (Bedford Handbook, ALLWRITE!) for individualized skills drill.

· Workshops and study groups can also be assigned as lab assignments, as well as library tours, library projects, and basic library research.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS

SPECIFIC SKILLS FOR ENGLISH 010 (included on the core skills exam)

WRITING REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH 010

Students will create a portfolio with a minimum of five student-selected, fully revised paragraphs/essays (with rough drafts attached). Paragraphs should be at least 150-200 words long (with approximately ten sentences).

1. Final Skills Test-core skills test written by English 010 teachers. Test covers skills areas mentioned above.

2. Final Essay Exam-extended paragraph or essay written during exam week. Exams are exchange-graded or panel-graded with other 010 instructors. Final Exams are evaluated in terms of the following criteria:

Content
Focus-topic sentence
Organization-use of transitions
Development-examples after transitions
Sentence Indicators-capital letters, end punctuation, boundaries
Conventions-reasonable spelling and grammar for communication

By the end of the semester, students’ writing should reveal that they are able to

· Organize and develop a unified paragraph with a clear topic sentence, body, and conclusion

· Use basic expository patterns of development in their paragraphs, such as narrative, description, contrast, or sequenced steps

MAIN REASONS FOR FAILING THE FINAL EXAM OR COURSE

Students may earn A, B, CR, NC in the course and in the lab. Students must earn a grade of CR or higher to enroll in English 100. A grade of NC will require students to repeat the course. A grade of NC will also jeopardize most lottery scholarships (any student who receives a NC should see his or her advisor).

NOTE: A student who passes English 010 must re-take the placement test and receive an appropriate score in order to be placed in English 101 rather than English 100. No matter how well they do in English 010, most students are not successful in English 101 if they skip English 100.

Developmental writing course providing concentrated practice writing and revising basic essays, as well as intensive study of grammar, punctuation, and usage. For students who score 128 or below on the SAT or whose placement test scores indicate a need for additional study of writing and language fundamentals. Credit does not count toward a degree. Co requisite ENGL 100L and Acad 101.

English 100 is designed to help students prepare for college-level writing. It combines basic skills such as grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure with strategies for creating basic essays. Using a process approach to writing instruction, the course helps students develop fluency and makes use of computer-assisted revision to help students learn and incorporate needed skills.

Each three-credit developmental-level course at Valencia Campus is accompanied by a required one-credit hour lab offered on an ARR basis. To receive credit or a grade in the English 100 lab, students must complete lab assignments given to them by their instructors. These assignments are intended to supplement classroom instruction by incorporating out-of-class tasks, such as computer-assisted revision of essays, library assignments and projects, working with a tutor in the TLC, and attending workshops or study groups at the TLC. The Developmental Studies Lab in the TLC is equipped with software to supplement Valencia Campus’s developmental classes and employs a full-time instructional technician to provide academic and technical assistance. In addition, the Developmental Studies Lab Classroom at the TLC is designed to allow developmental classes to meet several times each semester in a lab setting.

Students earn credit for the lab primarily by completing lab assignments as directed by their instructors. Students with access to computers at home may use them; otherwise, they should be directed to use the Developmental Studies lab in the TLC. The TLC provides lab orientations and maintains an attendance log. All developmental studies teachers are compensated for assigning and grading lab assignments as well as for assigning a lab grade at the end of the course.

· e-mail (responses to readings, brief paragraphs, discussions with other students)

· Internet exploration for various research and writing tasks; use of specific Websites for on-line writing help or topics of interest

· Skills software (Bedford Handbook, ALLWRITE! ) for individualized skills review.

SPECIFIC COURSE AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGLISH 100

· Portfolios—Each English 100 student will prepare a portfolio consisting of a minimum of four fully revised, word-processed essays (done in the TLC lab or on a home computer) in final-draft form. The essays may be revised several times, and all of the rough drafts and revisions of each essay should be attached to each final draft. The essays should reflect a variety of organizational structures—description, process, definition, example, illustration, cause and effect, comparison/contrast, classification/division, argument, etc.

· Panel Grading—Students whose final essay exams (see below) are satisfactory will have their portfolios graded by their instructor, but if the student’s final essay exam is borderline or failing, the English 100 grading panel will evaluate the portfolios on a pass/fail basis. Students must ultimately receive a grade of “pass” from the panel in order to pass the course.

· Final Exam—In addition to submitting portfolios, English 100 students are required to pass a two-part final exam consisting of a short essay exam and a core skills exam:

a. The essay exam is panel-graded by English 100 instructors and assessed in terms of basic coherence and competence.

b. The core skills exam covers the following skills areas: fragments, run ons, comma splices, comma usage, apostrophe usage, subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, agreement, and point of view, commonly confused words, and parallelism.

By the end of the semester, students should write competent basic essays that

· are coherently organized by means of a recognizable structure, held together by a focus, a thesis, or an overall expository pattern of development

· develop paragraphs sufficiently with details, personal experience, or explanations

· reveal sound sentences—avoiding fragments, run on sentences, comma splices, and mixed constructions

· use basic marks of punctuation adequately: coordinating conjunction commas, commas after introductory elements, apostrophes, periods, and end marks.

Grading options for both the course and the lab include A, B, CR, NC. A minimum grade of CR is necessary in order to pass the course and go on to enroll in English 101. A grade of NC will require students to repeat the course. A grade of NC will also jeopardize most lottery scholarships.

Expository writing and reading. Concentrates on organizing and supporting ideas in writing.

This course focuses upon exposition and serves as an introduction to academic writing with an emphasis upon various writing purposes—summarizing, observing, remembering, explaining, classifying, investigating, evaluating, problem solving, and arguing. Students are encouraged to read for basic content and structure, and their essays should relate to their reading. In addition to expository writing itself, emphasis is upon basic elements of academic writing-grasp of subject matter, coherence of essay structure, transitions to connect ideas, textual support (including quoting and citing), maturity of reasoning, college-level sentence structure, diction, usage, and punctuation. More emphasis is placed upon strategies for writing, revision of writing, and preparing for writing than reading and discussing a multitude of reading selections.

GENERAL WRITING EXPECTATIONS FOR ENGLISH 101

By the end of the semester, students should be able to:

· organize a discussion into an appropriate structure for an academic writing purpose

· create developed, coherent paragraphs that relate to the thesis and to each other

· use appropriate tone and diction for the subject matter, as well mature reasoning for the discussion

· use appropriate punctuation—commas for dependent clauses and for parenthetical expressions; semicolons with transitions; end punctuation, apostrophes, colons.

· avoid confusing problems with point of view and with basic grammatical constructions

· present an academic paper adequately: legible handwriting, correct use of margins, front side of page, skipped lines, general proofreading

· do basic research in order to provide several sources for a paper; these sources should be selected appropriately, cited responsibly, and documented accurately

Students will assemble a course portfolio consisting of the following minimum requirements:

· one revised multi-source investigation paper (5-7 pages) with a “works cited” page and 5 sources;

The instructor may require additional writing assignments, quizzes, or coursework to be included within the portfolio. Portfolios are graded by the classroom instructor. NOTE: A midterm version of the portfolio is highly recommended.

MAIN REASONS FOR FAILING

· inability to organize the discussion adequately in response to the question or purpose

· inadequate writing skills—diction, grammar, usage, spelling, sentence structure, punctuation

On exam day, students will write an organized expository essay in response to topics that have been written by 101 instructors. They will have 2 and ½ hours for this and they may also have access to computers for word-processing their essay exams. The exam is panel-graded (pass/fail) by 101 instructors and counts 20% of the student’s grade, as indicated in the teacher’s syllabus. (See English 101 grading matrix.)

Students may earn a course grade of A B C D F (fractionated). Students may pass the course with a C (not a C-minus) and enroll in 102.

Practice writing analytic and argumentative essays based upon expository and literary readings. Some research required.

Critical reading, thinking, and writing are the essential components of this text-based course. Students will read and respond to many texts, including short stories, poems, plays, essays, and visual media. Student responses to texts should be analytical, interpretive, evaluative, persuasive, and/or argumentative. The course has two main goals: 1) to build upon and extend the reading, writing, and thinking skills students learned in English 101 and 2) to develop independent critical thinking in response to the text, expressed with appropriate style and voice in coherent, organized, adequately supported, persuasive writing.

The focus of Composition 102 is writing. Given that focus, students will complete a variety of assignments, which may include annotating, freewriting, brainstorming, explicating, analyzing, and arguing. In their writing, students will consider audience and identify the purpose for the assignment. Drafting, revising, and editing are essential when producing essays. Additionally, research is incorporated in order to extend the scope of the writer’s content, to call upon varied sources of support for an argument, and to synthesize ideas from many types of sources.

Sylvan and Barnet, et al. Literature for Composition: Essays, Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 6th ed. Longman
Ruszkiewicz, SF Writer, 2nd ed. Longman Publishers.

Students are required to write a minimum of five graded essays. Additional writing may be required. Students will be required to include a minimum of two outside (secondary) sources to support arguments in at least two graded essays. Students will be required to revise their essays and turn in a portfolio. The assessment portfolio includes the following writing assignments:

2. One essay (1st and final drafts) using the primary text only (750-1,000 words).

3. Two essays (1st and final drafts) including at least two secondary sources to support, broaden, or deepen student's response to the primary text (750-1,000 words). Teachers will ensure that these papers have not been plagiarized. A works cited page (MLA format) is required for both of these papers.

NOTE: No essay will appear in the portfolio that has not been previously critiqued by the instructor. In other words, the first draft with the instructor's initial comments must be included for each essay.

The Assessment Portfolio is panel-graded, pass/fail. The essays in the portfolios are evaluated on their demonstration of the following criteria:

No student will pass English 102 whose portfolio does not pass the panel evaluation with a C or better.

If the portfolio passes the panel evaluation, the students has successfully passed the course and may earn a course grade of A, B or C (fractionated).

If the portfolio fails the panel evaluation, a student may earn a course grade of C-,D, F, or I

Although some students may technically complete the course with a C-, it is a not a passing grade and will not, in most cases, be accepted by UNM. Most students will need a minimum of C in English 102 in order to complete an Associate’s Degree and/or to transfer to a four-year college. A student earning a C-Minus must take the course again.

A student earning a D or F has not met the standards necessary to pass the course and must take it again.

Students taking English 102 must realize that just completing the coursework and coming to class will not ensure a passing grade. Students must turn in a successful portfolio in order to pass the course. If they do not, they will fail. Just turning in a portfolio does not guarantee a passing grade. The portfolio must demonstrate the student's ability to argue and analyze effectively to meet UNM standards and to be successful in upper-division courses. The following reasons will help students to understand what they must do, or perhaps more accurately what they must NOT do, in order to pass the course. Common reasons a portfolio fails are as follows:

Plagiarism is a form of cheating, or academic dishonesty. It is using another's ideas or work without properly citing the source. Plagiarism and cheating include, but are not limited to, copying another student's paper, using quotations without citing the source, paraphrasing a source without citing the source, having someone else write your papers, or using a downloaded or purchased paper to complete an assignment. The departmental policy on cheating is as follows:

A student guilty of plagiarism or cheating may receive an F on the assignment as well as in the course.