Purpose of the Program
The purpose of the TCAC program is to both support the objectives of the QEP and help assess achievement of the objectives. Specifically, the program will encourage development of writing- and speaking-intensive courses at the sophomore, junior, and senior levels–across the academic disciplines–as a way to help students develop their critical and creative thinking skills.

Founding Assumptions
As the QEP theme implies, the acts of writing, thinking, and speaking are closely connected because they are all language-based. Writing and speaking not only help us communicate our ideas, but they help us develop, clarify – and even revise – our thinking. Conversely, as we become better thinkers (i.e., better at analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating, and solving problems), our writing and speaking often develop in ways that help us capture and communicate complex ideas. If we really want to improve students’ critical and creative thinking skills, then, we must provide many opportunities for them to write and speak about (and through) their ideas – and to present them to others for feedback.

Benefits for Students
Because courses designated by the program as writing- and/or communication-intensive build upon the skills developed in first-year general education communication courses (ENG 101 and 102, ENG 105 or HON 102, and CMS 100 or 210), students will be better able to appreciate the connections between these foundational experiences and the writing and speaking situations they will encounter as they matriculate through their majors. Additionally, students will be afforded opportunities to further develop their communication skills in ways that will enhance the critical and creative thinking required for success in advanced courses.

With respect to long-term program benefits, EKU students who take communication-intensive courses will be better prepared for the contemporary workplace. Obviously, employers want to hire people who can analyze issues, synthesize various kinds of information, and solve problems. And because a company’s ultimate success is often based on how well it conveys its purpose, mission, and product/service benefits to customers, employees who can communicate effectively are in great demand. With respect to writing skills, specifically, evidence of this demand has been offered by the National Commission on Writing. In their 2004 report, A Ticket to Work. . . Or a Ticket Out: A Survey of Business Leaders, they discuss many relevant findings: 1) effective writing is seen by employers as a “threshold” skill for both initial employment (i.e., getting hired in the first place) and eventual promotion; 2) the majority of “salaried employees” in major American companies are required to write regularly and effectively; and 3) on-the-job writing takes a variety of forms (including, for example, “technical reports,” “formal reports,” memos, letters, e-mail messages) and requires keen awareness of how writing strategies change depending on purpose and audience.

Benefits for Faculty
Faculty who participate in the program by designing and teaching writing and/or communication-intensive courses will benefit from smaller class sizes (the enrollment cap on TCAC courses is 25) and reassigned time (as outlined in the Request for Proposals). They will also benefit from faculty-development sessions on such issues as assignment design, instructor and peer feedback, and writing assessment. Most importantly, faculty participants will benefit from seeing how regular, purposeful writing and speaking can help students remember and understand course content.