Second-Year Writing courses require a lot of individual attention, so we do not overenroll them. If a section is full, your surest bet is to pick a different section. If you need the specific section that is full, or if all sections are full, you may add yourself to a waitlist; see “What should I know about joining a waitlist?” below. Please do not email individual instructors requesting that they overenroll you into their course. If you have a truly urgent need for a WRT course (e.g., you are trying to graduate before the next time an open seat is available) and you cannot find any open options, you may contact Dr. Sam Looker-Koenigs, Director of College Writing, at lookers@uwosh.edu for help.

 

College Scheduler says there are open seats in the WRT section I’m looking at. Why can’t I enroll?

There are two main reasons why a class might appear to have open seats but not be open to you:

• If a class has a waitlist and a seat opens up, it typically takes a couple days to complete the process of us notifying the first student on the waitlist and that student claiming their seat. During this process, you may see a seat or two “open,” but in reality those seats are not available. If you are using College Scheduler and the “seats open” number is less than 5, try redoing your search in the TitanWeb Search interface and see if that clarifies things.
• If a class is restricted to students in online programs, you will not be able to register for it unless you are enrolled in a fully-online degree program. Typically, the 7-week online sections of WRT 288 have this restriction. You can check if the section in your cart is one of these by opening the class details; under Enrollment Requirements, it will say “Prerequisite: Must be a student in an online program . . .” You can also pay attention to the dates of the course: if they run only half the semester, you are most likely looking at a restricted section.

I am seeking a seat in an online WRT 288 section. What are my options?

If you are enrolled in a fully-online program, we reserve sections of WRT 288 for students like you, since you don’t have the option of taking a face-to-face section if the online ones fill. Typically, the sections restricted to fully-online students are 7-week ones designed to fit well with the other courses you are taking for online programs. We typically set aside one first-seven-week and one second-seven-week section for students in online programs, so look for a section number that starts in “1” or “2” rather than “0.”

If you are not a fully-online student, you still have multiple options to take WRT 288 online:

• 14-week online sections in fall and spring. These tend to fill fairly quickly, so if you know you are aiming for one of these, make sure you register as soon as you are eligible. If the 14-week online sections are all full, you may add yourself to one or more of the waitlists. We periodically sweep these for students who have been waiting for a particularly long time and prioritize them for any seat that comes open in any section, so don’t worry that you have to add yourself to every section’s waitlist. If we get very close to the start of the semester and there are still any seats open in the online-only 7-week sections, we will offer those seats to any students still waiting on the 14-week waitlists.
• 3-week online sections in J-term and May-term. January and May registration opens at the same time as the previous 14-week semester, so it is typically easy to get a seat in one of these sections if you register right away when you’re eligible.
• 8-week online sections in summer. Summer registration typically opens in February; like in January and May, we offer multiple summer sections, so it is typically easy to get a seat if you register promptly.

What should I know about joining a waitlist for WRT 288 or 310?

How to waitlist: Joining a waitlist usually must be done separately from other enrollment you’re doing in College Scheduler. See instructions for waitlisting a course on the Registrar’s Registration Toolkit site.

Backup possibilities: Depending on how urgently you need WRT, it may be a good idea to register for an open seat in another section while you wait. If any other sections are possible for you, even if they’re not ideal, consider first signing up for the possible section, and then you may also add yourself to one or more waitlists. That way you’re guaranteed to be able to take the course in your desired semester. Alternatively, if your urgency for 288 is less about semester and more about having an online seat, you might consider snagging an available seat in the January, May, or summer term following your first choice term, which you can later drop if you end up getting a waitlist seat in the 14-week term.

Frequency/quantity of offerings: We offer the most WRT 288 and WRT 310 in spring semesters. If you are unable to get a seat in a fall semester, you are nearly certain to be able to get one the following spring as long as you register promptly when you’re eligible.

What is WRT 288?
WRT 288: Connect: Advanced Writing, is a required writing course that provides you with the opportunity to “connect” and synthesize what you’ve learned during your first three or four semesters at UW-Oshkosh. Students may enroll in WRT 288 after they’ve taken Quest 1, Quest 2, and Quest 3 courses.

 

What can I expect to read and write in WRT 288?
A one-semester, three-credit advanced writing course, WRT 288 requires you to use the three signature questions of UW-Oshkosh’s University Studies Program as tools for analyzing, researching, and composing arguments about contemporary public issues: How do people understand and engage in community life? How do people understand and create a more sustainable world? and How do people understand and bridge cultural differences? In other words, the course asks you to make “connections” among the liberal arts courses that have been the focus of your early university studies. The course is broken into three units: Unit One will engage you in a broad discussion of the purpose of a liberal arts education through shared readings, discussion, and reflective writing. Unit Two will apply several perspectives to local, national, and/or global issues raised by a shared, book-length class reading. In Unit Three, you will write a researched essay (including works cited) of a minimum of 2,000 words on a significant issue of local, national, or global importance. Your essay will utilize evidence from peer-reviewed primary or secondary sources that engage the multiple lenses of UW-Oshkosh’s essential learning outcomes: sustainability, civic knowledge, and intercultural knowledge. By the end of the semester, students in all sections of WRT 288 will compose a minimum of 6,000 words, of which at least 2,500 will be based on sustained analysis of a significant topic or issue.

Are all sections of WRT 288 the same?
All sections of WRT 288 follow the same general syllabus and require the same number of graded writing assignments, though readings and the subjects of student research, in Units Two and Three particularly, may vary from one section to another.

How does WRT 288 fit into the University Studies Program?
WRT 288 is a course designed to engage you in thinking and writing about the role your University Studies courses have taken in the liberal arts education you are receiving at UW-Oshkosh. One of the goals of the course is to help you make connections between those courses and also between course work you take on campus, co-curricular activities, and life in the wider world.

What resources are available to help me in WRT 288?
There are several campus resources you may find helpful (in addition to visits to your Advanced Writing instructor’s office, which are encouraged!) Here are a few of them:
• The Writing Center (http://www.uwosh.edu/wcenter)
• English language tutoring (http://www.uwosh.edu/car/campus-resources)
• The Reading Study Skills Center (http://www.uwosh.edu/readingstudycenter)
• The English Program (http://www.uwosh.edu/english)