search articles:     from the issue of September 6, 2007         ITLE Year 4 focused on improving student writing  BY KIM HACHIYA, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS The fourth year of the Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence will divide $200,000 among projects that help students write better. Proposals are due Oct. 31. Additional information, including application materials, is posted online at www.unl.edu/svcaa/itle. The ITLE Year 4 awards are directed at proposals that accomplish any of the following criteria: • Re-tool courses, curriculum, or programs to incorporate more or better opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate competence in writing in and across the disciplines • Assess students' abilities in writing within the disciplines and use assessment data to re-design assignments, courses, or programs • Investigate writing within a discipline or profession, determining the full range of writing that occurs within the area, and use the results to re-design assignments, courses, or programs • Provide faculty and graduate teaching assistants with strategies for supporting writing and writing development in their classes, developing better writing assignments, defining expectations for writing, assessing student writing, and connecting college writing to students' post-baccalaureate lives • Foster new collaborations between faculty and programs within and across colleges that result in a stronger and more innovative focus on student writing All funds awarded must be expended by May 2009. Recipients will be expected to share their work in a campus presentation/demonstration by December 2009. Proposals will be reviewed by the dean of the college from which the proposal originates; an advisory committee with representation from the Teaching Council, the Academy of Distinguished Teachers, Association of Students of the University of Nebraska, the Academic Planning Committee, the Faculty Senate, and Undergraduate Studies; and the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs will select the funded projects. ITLE demonstrates the commitment of the university to teaching excellence and student learning by investing in undergraduate education. The University of Nebraska Foundation funds the initiative. To strengthen proposals, individuals can: • Attend a workshop from 10:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 5 by Chris Thaiss, Clark Kerr Presidential Chair and director of the University Writing Program at the University of California at Davis, at the Kauffman Center; • Read "Engaged Writers and Dynamic Disciplines" by Thaiss and Terry Myers Zawacki; • Consult the Writing Across the Curriculum Clearinghouse at http://wac.colostate.edu. For more information, contact David Wilson, associate vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at 472-3751 or teaching@unl.edu. GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 6 NEWS HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER 6 SPIRIT goes nationwide Chancellor, Campus Rec roll out wellness plan Sartore to deliver E.N. Thompson's Sept. 13 opener Eiseley centennial kicks off with Sept. 7-8 lectures, tours ITLE Year 4 focused on improving student writing MIXING IT UP 'NURAMP' to reinforce research compliance Paul to outline nanoscience facility plan to Regents REDESIGNED HOLLOW Redox biology center receives $10.8M from NIH Speakers Bureau begins 13th year with 17 speakers Tractor test laboratory finishes track upgrade Vice chancellor issues alert on possible e-mail threats, campus procedures Victim advocate works to increase awareness of campus sexual assaults 732925S37204X