If you believe your final grade is unfair, first contact your instructor, who may be able to clarify the grade or, in the case of an error, correct it. If, after talking to your instructor, you still believe the grade is unfair, you may file a grade appeal any time before midterm of the following semester. To file an appeal, submit original papers of all your major graded work and a letter stating your grounds for appeal to ISUComm Foundation Courses Office (403 Ross Hall). The Director will contact the instructor to see if additional material should accompany the appeal. The appeal will then go to members of the ISUComm Foundation Communication Committee. Your grade will be changed only if the committee recommends a higher grade.
As ISUComm continues to grow, our goal is an ambitious one. You should encounter more communication in many of your courses, not just your ISUComm Foundation Course. Not only will you be practicing communication more, but you’ll be hearing more about the hows and whys of effective communication. You should encounter much of the same terminology as well. As you take courses in your major, expect to run into some of the communication terms presented in this guide. Even if you don’t, use these terms as a way to analyze the communication situations and perform the communication tasks that you’ll be using in your career. Communication learning never ends. To be a responsible citizen in a democracy like ours requires our best communication skills. Build on what you learn here to contribute to the activities that strengthen our society.
The ISUComm Foundation Courses are designed to provide all Iowa State students with a common communication learning experience. Below are some of the general requirements for both courses in the program:
- You will write 4,000 to 6,500 words each semester.
- Every section will have a final exam at a time set by the ISU Registrar.
- You will revise most of the writing you do in the course. Your instructor may ask you to hand in drafts of your paper, to do peer review exercises, to revise all or parts of your assignments after they’ve been graded, and to include annotated revisions in a communication portfolio.
- You will be expected to attend class regularly. The work you do in class is important to your progress as a communicator. Your instructor will set an attendance policy that you’ll be expected to follow. Not following these policies may lead to your failing the course or receiving lower grades on class work.
- You will read a number of essays during the term, and you will be expected to come prepared to discuss these essays in class. Reading is an important aspect of your ISUComm Foundation Course and you’ll receive practice in critical reading.
The 250 Test-Out exam has two parts. In the first part you'll do a rhetorical analysis of an essay (we'll give you the essay at the test-out); in the second part, you'll write an argumentative essay of your own. Below are some suggestions for preparing for these two parts of the exam. As a general preparation for the exam, you might also consult the Student Guide: English 150 and 250, which you can purchase at the University Book Store. The essays will be evaluated by the criteria explained in the Student Guide: English 150 and 250: context, sources, organization, style, and delivery. For more information click here
- Students who are seeking a second undergraduate degree do not have to fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement unless their undergraduate degree was earned from an institution outside the United States or from a non-English institution in the United States. A waiver must be processed for these students.
- Students who are in graduate school do not have to fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement.
Students transferring to Iowa State University with credit deficiencies in ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) should be advised to complete the requirements for their ISUComm Foundation Courses as soon as possible. Eleventh-hour requests for credit waivers may delay a student's graduation.
NOTE: Transfer credit must be earned from an accredited English speaking college or university in the United States.
- Transfer students without credit for English 150 (104) or 250 (105). Students who enter Iowa State University without credit in the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) will have an opportunity to earn credit for English 150 (104) if their ACT-E or SAT-V meets the placement criteria as described on the English 150 (formerly 104) Placement and Placement Assessment information page. Other transfer students are encouraged to take the English 150 (104) Placement Assessment during an orientation testing session.
- Transfer students with only English 150 (104) credit. If the transfer students are freshmen or sophomores, they must take English 250 (105). If the students transfer in as juniors or seniors, they may take English 250 (105) or they may be able to take an advanced communication course (English 302, 305, 309, 314) if they receive written approval (waiver) from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) and permission from their major department. Transfer students may also choose to take the 250 (105) Test-Out Exam.
- Transfer students with only English 250 (105) credit. These students do not need to take English 150 (104). Instead, they will need to take an advanced communication course (English 302, 305, 309, 314). Before this is done, they must receive written approval (waiver) from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) and permission from their major department. These students cannot take the English 150 (104) Placement Assessment. The English 150 (104) Placement Assessment is only for students who have been placed directly into English 150 (104) due to ACT-E/SAT-V scores or no scores at all.
- Students who transfer Rhetoric 10:3 from the University of Iowa with a "C" or better meet the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement. These students will receive 3 credits of English 250U (105U) (the designated transfer credit from the University of Iowa). These students, however, will not receive credit for English 150 (104). An English waiver is not required, but the major department must document the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with 3 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).
- Students who transfer 2 credits of English 150 (104) and 2 credits of English 250 (105) from the PAIDIEA course from Luther College with a "C" or better meet the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement. An English waiver is not required, but the major department must document the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with 4 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).
- Transfer students with a total of 5 credits in English 150 (104) and 250 (105). Transfer students with 5 credits in English composition will have the remaining 1 credit automatically waived. These students do not need a waiver from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition). A student's major department must indicate the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with the 5 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).
- Transfer students with quarter credit. Students enrolled in schools with 9 or 10 quarter-credit English composition programs are advised to complete the full sequence at those schools before transferring to Iowa State University. Six quarter-credits transferred in ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) will not meet the Iowa State University requirement.
- Transfer credit for non-composition English courses. Courses not clearly identifiable as English composition (e.g., Introduction to Literature, Humanities, Colloquia, etc.) transfer as humanities or elective credits but not as English composition credits. However, some transfer courses in various disciplines are designated as "writing intensive." Students with transfer credit in these courses should meet with the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) to see if credit can apply to English 150 (104) or 250 (105). When doing this, students must bring a catalog course description, syllabus, and any assignments they composed in this class.
- Exemptions from other schools. Exemptions from Foundation Communication requirements at other schools will not be applied to the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement at Iowa State University unless those exemptions carry with them academic credit. However, as outlined above, this policy does not apply to students who transfer Rhetoric 10:3 from the University of Iowa.
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