General FAQs

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.

WOVE is an acronym that stands for “written, oral, visual, and electronic” communication. More commonly referred to as “multimodal communication,” this pedagogy serves as the basis for ISUComm’s efforts toward student-centered, contemporary curriculum reform. In the new foundation courses that ISUComm has developed, ISUComm is building upon an integrated approach to writing instruction that has been underway at ISU for some time.

ISUComm is Iowa State University’s communication-across-the-curriculum initiative. The goal of ISUComm is to strengthen student communication and enhance students’ critical thinking skills by creating opportunities for them to practice communication skills throughout their academic careers. While many institutions have similar outreach efforts to train and encourage faculty from all disciplines to include writing assignments in their courses, ISUComm speaks to a broader set of communication competencies.