In a unanimous vote Tuesday, the University Senate passed a motion eliminating the English Competency Exam from graduation requirements.

The new change will be implemented in the 2004-05 University Catalogue.

However, immediate acceptance of a C or better in English 110 or 112, or Honors 101, will fulfill the UW-Eau Claire graduation requirement for writing competency, according to the motion.

Transfer students who were scheduled to take the Oct. 11 exam are no longer required to take it, said Karen Welch, English composition director.

Students who are enrolled in English 110, 112 or Honors 101 this semester also will be exempt from the exam, which would traditionally take place in December.

However, students who have not earned a C in English 110, 112 or Honors 101, or a transfer equivalent, still need to pass the College Level Examination Program before graduation, Welch said.

The CLEP is a computerized essay examination offered by Academic Testing for $60, Welch said. Students can schedule a time to take this exam by calling the office.

Freshman Heather Zart thought it was a good idea that the exam was dropped. She wasn’t worried about it because English has always been a fairly easy subject for her but was still happy.

“It’s less stress, and that’s always nice,” she said.

With elimination of the competency exam, students are required to achieve only a grade of C or better in English 110 or 112, Honors 101 or a transfer equivalent to fulfill the university graduation requirement for writing competency.

“A student who needs help will repeat the course instead of studying for an exam,” said Marty Wood, English department chair. “And students who weren’t in any writing trouble don’t need to bother.”
The main arguments for removing the exam were that it did not measure what students learn in English 110 or 112 and the advancement and accessibility of technology have outdated the system, according to the motion.

“When this test was begun, we were not teaching writing as a process,” Welch said. “Now we pay attention to drafting, revising, editing – things you can’t do with the competency exam.

“Students do not have time to go through the process we teach them, and they can’t revise because they do not have a computer,” she said.
Eliminating the exam also saves the university and transfer students money. For each exam attempt, $30 was charged for transfer students and students retaking the test.

The fee was set to cover the costs required to conduct the exam, including photocopies, staff to monitor the exam and faculty to read the essays, Welch said.

“It’s going to save the University a lot of money and replace a system that did not really tell us very much,” Wood said.
Overall, Welch thinks the change is positive. If a student did not get a C, then it shows he/she needs more instructing, which is certainly better than more testing, she said.

“I think it’s a better measure of their ability than having their whole lives affected by this competency test,” Welch said.