Preparing Your SWS Course Proposal

Before beginning your proposal, review the following GVSU SWS documents:

• How to Construct an SWS Course Syllabus
• Frequently Asked Questions about SWS instruction

If you are creating an online or hybrid SWS course, you must also review Preparing an SWS Online or Hybrid Course Proposal.

To obtain SWS course approval, the University Writing Skills Committee requires that your proposal include:

1. A cover letter. A brief letter addressed to the committee requesting SWS approval of the course syllabus. This letter should explain the place of the course within the unit, major, minor, or program.  If you are preparing an online or hybrid SWS course, your letter must also include a detailed explanation of how the course will meet the four hours of class writing discussion/activities and 3,000 words of writing requirements.
2. A sample SWS course syllabus. The syllabus should forthrightly explain the writing-specific student learning objectives aligned to information about how and when writing instruction will be delivered.  The syllabus should visibly demonstrate that writing will be a method of learning course content and that students will learn discipline-specific writing purposes, processes and text-types.  Again, make certain that the course syllabus follows the instructions at How to Construct an SWS Course Syllabus.

NOTE: If approved, the submitted course syllabus becomes the SWS syllabus of record and is kept on file. Thus, the syllabus must stand on its own without the need of further clarification in the cover letter.  Specific dates and assignments may evolve in future iterations of the course, but the student learning objectives and instructional methods should align with the approved course proposal.