FYS/W1 Course Proposal Resources


Annotated Coursedog Infosheet (This document annotates all of the elements in CourseDog that instructors must complete when submitting an FYS/W1 course. It may be helpful to review before you begin the course proposal and submission process): LINK

Coursedog Questions, editable document (This document is a worksheet that you can use to craft your course proposal. It contains all of the elements of the proposal that must be completed. After the worksheet is filled in, simply cut and paste the material into CourseDog. Using the worksheet first allows you to work on the proposal over multiple sessions; CourseDog currently lacks a “save” function so the actual proposal must be submitted into CourseDog all in one sitting): LINK

Interpreting FYS Course Proposal Coursedog Questions Infosheet (When submitting a proposal for an FYS, you must also complete the W1 content as all FYS courses are also W1 courses. This document explains what key aspects of that content are): LINK

W1 Questions Examples (When submitting a W1, you will be asked to respond to 5 specific questions. This document reviews those questions and provides some examples of how to think about it): LINK

Suggestions for W1 Course Learning Objectives Infosheet (All course proposals ask for learning goals. This document provides sample goals for you to consider, especially as may relate to the writing instruction portion of the FYS): LINK

Catchy Course Titles & Course Descriptions Infosheet (This document contains strategies for crafting course titles. Please know that currently all students are asked to select no fewer than 8 FYS courses (1 top choice and 7 unranked alternates). Informative titles and descriptions help students make decisions about which FYS courses to select): LINK

GECs at Bates Infosheet (This document contains some information about the General Education Concentrations, which can be a “+1” for the part of the general education requirements that include the “Major + 1.” FYS courses can be included in GECs and the course proposal will ask for whether your FYS should be added to a GEC. You can also access information about the GECs in the Bates Catalog here): LINK

MOIs at Bates Infosheet (This document reviews all of the 5 Modes of Inquiry. The MOIs are part of the general education requirements (5 MOIs, 3 W courses (W1, W2, and W3), Major + 1, and 2 short-term courses all adding up to no fewer than 32 credits for degree). FYS courses can be tagged with up to 2 MOIs. All students must complete a separate course in each of the 5 MOIs. For a course to count toward an MOI it must meet no fewer than 3 of the learning goals of the MOI: LINK

W-CAT Infosheet (Each FYS has a Writing-Course Attached Tutor or W-CAT who is a peer tutor trained by Director of Student Writing and part of the staff of the Student Writing and Language Center within the Peer Learning Commons (Ladd Library Ground Level). This document contains information on the role and nominating students to be considered for that role. To nominate a student for the W-CAT position you can also click here: LINK

Google Slides Presentation from the October 10, 2023 FYS/W1 Course Proposal Workshop (These are slides from the presentation and workshop on October 10, 2023. It may serve to contextualize and further explain all of the resources above.) LINK