San Francisco State University had a graduation requirement where everyone in the undergraduate program had to take and pass JEPET (Junior English Proficiency Essay Test). If you failed, you had to take English 414 and pass it with a C or better grade in order to graduate.
JEPET was the most hated graduation requirement on campus. I took the test and passed but I am wondering if I still have to take a writing intensive course within my major to graduate according to newly implemented Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement or GWAR.
GWAR is different from JEPET because you take a writing-intensive course within your major and not a standardized test. This means one more class in addition to all the other classes required for a particular major. SFSU has begun offering GWAR courses Spring ’09 semester but not all majors currently have the GWAR course.
Personally, I am and tired of this “lets waste more money and start something new” approach that SFSU takes from time to time. I need to graduate and I need all the classes I want to be available in order to complete my Major requirements. I wasn’t able to enroll in one class this spring semester because of all the budget cuts. Class I was enrolled in was cancelled!
Instead of making sure that students graduate in a timely manner, SFSU is busy adding unnecessary classes that don’t even make sense. I am currently taking BUS 360 which is a core requirement for Business majors and it teaches me how to WRITE and communicate orally. Every Accounting class I take at the upper division level requires one writing assignment that involves research and logical thinking. I am graded for my grammatical errors and not even given an opportunity to revise my paper. I don’t get re-rakes, there is only one final shot!
The purpose of a GWAR course is to help me become a better writer in my field of concentration. For that purpose, GWAR course will allow students to revise their papers numerous times. As a Business Major, GWAR course doesn’t make sense for me. It won’t offer me anything new and it is not likely to help me in any way.
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