Although each instructor designs assignments, delivers course material, and determines deadlines independently, there are certain policies that are universal across all first-year writing classes at Grand Valley. A description of those policies can be found below:

Required Passing Grade

You must pass WRT 150 or WRT 130 with a grade of C or better (above C–) to satisfy the University's General Education Foundations-Writing Requirement. If you do not receive a grade of C or better, you will need to take WRT 150 or WRT 130 again.

Portfolio Submission Eligibility

In order to submit your final portfolio, you must have completed the following by the end of Week 11 for classes offered in the fall and winter semesters, and by the end of Week 8 for classes offered in the 12-week spring/summer session:

• Attended at least 9 weeks of class (equivalent to 18 class meetings for M/W or T/R classes; 23 class meetings for M/W/F classes; or 80% of synchronous online class meetings)
• Submitted at least 70% of the assigned course work for the class
• Earned a Process Grade of at least 65%

If you have not met this milestone, your instructor will inform you that you are no longer eligible to pass your FYW class, and any future work you submit (including your final portfolio) will not be graded.

Learning or Physical Disabilities

If you have any special needs because of learning, physical, or any other disabilities, please contact Disability Support Resources at (616) 331-2490. Any student needing academic accommodations beyond those given to the entire class needs to request assistance from DSR. Writing faculty work with DSR to accommodate students’ special needs and devise a plan that is fair to all students. Furthermore, if you have a disability and think you will need assistance evacuating a classroom and/or building in an emergency situation, please make your teacher and DSR aware so that Grand Valley can develop a plan to assist you.

Attendance

Regular, timely, and full attendance is necessary to succeed in first-year writing classes. We require students to miss no more than the equivalent of two weeks of classes because missing more will make it difficult for you to complete the work of the course successfully. Your instructor may also establish specific attendance expectations, which will be communicated in the course syllabus.

We understand that life events (illness, family emergency, etc.) may make attendance challenging for short periods of time. If you find yourself in a situation where you will not be able to attend class, please reach out to your instructor to let them know about the situation and discuss ways for you to stay on track in the course.

Updated for Winter 2024 semester

Course Completion Milestones

We have identified specific milestones throughout the semester to help you mark your progress and complete your first-year writing course(s). After each milestone below, you’ll see the minimum expectation we have for your attendance and course work, as well as the options you’ll have if you do not meet those milestones. Your instructor may identify additional expectations, so we encourage you to review your course syllabus and material posted on Blackboard carefully.

If you find you are not meeting the course milestones, we strongly recommend that you reach out to your instructor as early as possible to let them know you are experiencing difficulty. Your instructor will work with you to make a plan to help you get back on track in your class and connect you with campus resources for additional support.

Writing with Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT

First-year writing courses at Grand Valley State University teach students important writing, information literacy, and critical thinking skills that lay a foundation for the writing students will do as university students and in their professions. However, the introduction of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools create interesting challenges and learning opportunities for students as they build their writing skills. 

While the future of GenAI suggests there will be exciting opportunities and developments, currently much of the material these tools create may be inaccurate, outdated, biased, or otherwise problematic. Moreover, relying too heavily on GenAI tools during the writing process may stifle your own independent thinking, creativity, and growth as a writer. 

In FYW courses, you may not submit any work generated by an AI program as your own without properly citing it. Additionally, you are not permitted to submit an entire paper/project that has been wholly generated by AI tools for a grade. If your instructor is concerned that your work includes uncited material from an AI tool, they will follow the procedure for addressing plagiarism as outlined in the FYW plagiarism policy.

If you use GenAI in a first-year writing course, we recommend that you follow these guidelines:

• Use AI Critically and Cautiously: As a writer, you are ultimately responsible for what your text says and how it says it, including any inaccuracies, problematic language, or misrepresentations that an AI tool might generate. We encourage you to:
  • Check the material that is generated carefully. Make sure that the facts are correct and up-to-date. 
  • Review the material to determine it does not contain (intentional and/or unintentional) bias. 
  • Ensure that you are not violating GVSU or first-year writing academic honesty guidelines outlined in the Student Code. 

• Limit Your Use of AI. It is important that your voice, ideas, and perspectives are clear in the work you do, so we encourage you to not rely on AI tools so much that your views get lost or you miss out on opportunities to develop your critical thinking skills. 

• Cite Interactions with AI: Interactions with ChatGPT or other forms of AI must be cited as a source in your essay/project. If you paraphrase or directly quote material generated through an interaction with ChatGPT or AI, that information must also be cited with an in-text citation and on your works cited or citation list. Your instructor will provide you with guidelines for how to cite AI interactions correctly.

Plagiarism

According to the GVSU’s Student Code: The Statement of Students’ Rights and Responsibilities, plagiarism is defined as the appropriation of, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means material that is attributable in whole or in part to another source without any indication or citation of the original source, including words, sentences, ideas, illustrations, structure, computer code, and other expression or media, and presenting that material as one’s own academic work being offered for credit or in conjunction with a program, course, or degree requirements” (Student Code, Section 5.1.5). 

Because academic honesty is highly valued by the university, faculty are required to report instances when students commit acts of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism or submitting work for this class that was completed in another class without discussing it with your professor before submission.  If your professor suspects that you have submitted plagiarized work, he/she/they will contact you to discuss their concerns with you in person. If your professor determines that you have plagiarized some or part of an essay draft, he/she/they may report the case to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (OSCCR) with the recommendation that you must re-write the draft. If it is determined that you have plagiarized some or part of an essay that you submit in your final portfolio, your professor will report the case to the OSCCR with the recommendation that you fail the class. In that case, you will be given a temporary “Incomplete” grade for the semester until a final resolution is reached by the OSCCR.

Grade Appeals

If for any reason you need to appeal your final grade, please consult the Student Code for the applicable procedures. Your first contact should be with the teacher of your class. After you have spoken with your instructor, if you still wish to appeal your grade, please compose a message requesting a departmental review of your portfolio. Your request should do the following:

• Explain how your portfolio demonstrates the characteristics of the grade that you seek. You should refer to the First-Year Writing Portfolio Grading Characteristics to explain why you believe you earned a different grade.
• Attach a copy of the portfolio you submitted for grading at the end of the semester. 

Appeals should be sent to the Director of First-Year Writing at [email protected] or delivered to the Department of Writing directed to the attention of the Director of First-Year Writing.

Once your appeal request is received, you will receive confirmation that the appeal process is underway. The Director of First-Year Writing will review your portfolio and, if necessary, ask another first-year writing instructor to review the portfolio. Once a decision about your request is made, you will be notified via email, usually within one month of the date your request was received.