Composition

The ability to write clearly and skillfully is among the most fundamental of academic skills, and a foundation for most advanced work. It is also a subject never fully mastered, and even students who arrive at college with adequate writing skills benefit from improving them.

What Will They Learn?TM gives schools credit for Composition if they require an introductory college writing class focusing on grammar, clarity, argument, and appropriate expository style. Remedial courses and SAT/ACT scores may not be used to satisfy a composition requirement. University-administered exams or portfolios are acceptable only when they are used to determine exceptional pre-college preparation for students. Writing-intensive courses, "writing across the curriculum" seminars, and writing for a discipline are not acceptable unless there is an indication of clear provisions for multiple writing assignments, instructor feedback, revision and resubmission of student writing, and explicit language concerning the mechanics of formal writing, including such elements as grammar, sentence structure, coherence, and documentation.

What's on This Website?

What Will They Learn?TM provides unique information on whether colleges make sure their students learn the things they need to know. You can find what they expect their graduates to study outside their majors, how much they are charging, how many of their students graduate, and what the colleges say about the education they offer. You can find out which ones follow the best practice of using a standardized assessment to measure student learning gains in core collegiate skills. There are more than 1,000 institutions currently covered, and we'll be updating continuously.

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