The process
What happens when you reach out
Initial conversation
Tell CWSP about your department, program, or group through the intake form, or by email. Kirsti Cole follows up to set a first conversation about your curriculum, your students, and the writing and speaking you expect of them. The first meeting is exploratory and commits you to nothing. You need no background in writing pedagogy.
Scoping the engagement
Together we decide what the engagement covers: a department's full curriculum, one degree program, a college-wide effort, or a set of related courses taught by a group of faculty. We set a rough timeline and a few goals.
Choosing liaisons
The department chooses up to three of its own faculty as liaisons. They lead the work locally, with Kirsti Cole and Roy Schwartzman of CWSP.
Working through the stages
Liaisons work through the Inquiry, Design, and Evidence stages in the WOLF Workbook, meeting with CWSP at each stage. A department moves at its own pace, usually over two to three years.
Plan and certification
The workbook produces the Writing and Speaking Curriculum Plan, which belongs to the department and goes to the chair for approval. Departments that complete Stage 3 earn CWSP certification, and each liaison (up to three per department or program) receives $1,000.
A few things to know
Before you reach out
You do not need to have a problem
Many departments bring curricula that already work well. They come to strengthen what they do or to document it.
Any discipline is welcome
WOLF has worked with departments and programs in engineering, business, social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, and professional programs. Each discipline communicates in its own way, so CWSP brings frameworks your department adapts to its field.
Timing matters
The most productive engagements start a semester or more before a program review or curriculum revision. Write to us early.
The model rests on research
WOLF follows the University of Minnesota's Writing-Enriched Curriculum model. The scholarship behind it, and behind CWSP's AI literacy work, is on the Research and presentations page, which you can share with faculty before a first conversation.
AI Literacies is available
If your interest is specifically in AI, authorship, and academic integrity, tell us. We will plan an engagement around the AI Literacies extension or combine it with a full WOLF engagement.
AI Policy Lab is available
If your department or curriculum committee needs to write or revise AI use policy (at the course, program, or institutional level), the AI Policy Lab is a standalone workshop. It runs on its own or alongside a WOLF engagement.