NONPF 39th Annual Meeting
With the prospect of a major curriculum revision (from MSN to DNP) on the horizon, faculty examined the feasibility and necessity of re-introducing writing as a component of the graduate education program (Writing Across the Curriculum). It was first established that faculty perceptions of student writing ability were in line with the actual ability of the students (Voss & Knestrick, 2011). The next step was to develop a standard rubric to assess academic and scholarly writing —using exemplars from the faculty (Voss & Knestrick, 2012). The third step was to determine which courses in the new curriculum should be designated as writing-intensive. This first required a definition of what constitutes a writing-intensive course. This presentation will discuss why writing-intensive courses are useful for student learning, and define the five hallmarks of a writing-intensive course. Examples of writing assignments will be provided.