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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Communication Across the Curriculum (CAC for short) is a new, campus-wide curricular and professional development program at HSU designed to provide support for faculty interested in integrating written and oral communication into their courses and fostering CAC across the disciplines. CAC expands the writing across the curriculum (WAC) program to include oral communication as well.

HOW THE CAC PROGRAM CAN HELP FACULTY AND THE UNIVERSITY:

The CAC Program offers individual consultation and workshops for faculty across the university on various topics related to writing and speaking. Because active learning research supports the connections between interactive classrooms and content learning, writing and speaking in the classroom are often excellent ways to improve learning of content material. Students need various opportunities to express what they have learned and retain more when provided with such opportunities. Incorporating informal as well as formal writing and speaking activities in classrooms across campus can improve teaching and student learning.

All disciplines have many opportunities to address the first HSU learning outcome: effective oral and written communication skills. Mastery of the concepts in any field requires the ability to explain them clearly. The CAC program can help faculty members use communication activities effectively to enhance content knowledge as well as to improve communication skills.

 WHAT THE CAC PROGRAM CAN DO FOR STUDENTS:

The ability to communicate effectively in speaking and in writing has been identified by business leaders and industry representatives as an essential skill for future workers. The CAC program can provide faculty with resources that help prepare students to become proficient writers and speakers in their respective disciplines.

Research shows that “as students move to progressively more complex subject matter in their disciplines, their ability to communicate effectively diminishes unless their learning is continually reinforced and communicated to others” (Costello & Blakesly, 1999, p. 10). The CAC program offers resources for faculty to provide students the opportunities they need in order to excel in the more demanding courses in their disciplinary areas. As communication becomes a more integral part of students’ undergraduate experience, students will learn to appreciate the value of being a good writer and speaker, as well as to appreciate the courses that encourage them to effectively communicate their learning to their teachers and their peers.