WI Transfer Credit

Students seeking to transfer credit for Writing Intensive courses from other universities can sometimes find the process frustrating. When we ask them what makes a course “writing intensive,” the answer is usually, “Well, we wrote a lot in that class” but the “a lot” varies from five to fifty pages and often crosses genres in ways that can make it hard for ECU to know if students met the same (or similar) outcomes to the ones that we require for WI courses. If you’re looking to determine if a course taken elsewhere will transfer to ECU as Writing Intensive (WI), then this page should help you and/or your advisor to figure that out.

If you are familiar with the process of requesting WI transfer, you can go directly to the WI Transfer Evaluation form.

What is the WI requirement?
According to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, “Students enrolling at East Carolina University must fulfill the writing across the curriculum requirement prior to graduation. Writing intensive courses at ECU help student writers meet the University Writing Outcomes, which involve communicating effectively with diverse audiences about complex and significant issues. To fulfill this requirement, each student must complete a minimum of four writing intensive courses, typically including ENGL 1100 and ENGL 2201; at least one writing intensive course in the major; and any other writing intensive course of the student’s choice.” For more information, see the current ECU Undergraduate Catalog.

What if I transfer credits for English 1100 and/or English 2210?
According to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, “Students transferring credit for only ENGL 2201 are not required to take ENGL 1100, but must still fulfill the WI course requirement. Similarly, students who receive placement credit for a course have not satisfied the WI requirement for that course. Courses that do not meet the above criteria must be approved by the director of the University Writing Program.” For more information, see the current ECU Undergraduate Catalog.

How do I know if other courses will transfer to ECU as WI?
According to the ECU Undergraduate Catalog, “a course will transfer into ECU as WI if the course is a writing intensive course in a writing across the curriculum program at the university or college where it was taken, or transfers as equivalent to ENGL 1100 or ENGL 2201.” For more information, see the current ECU Undergraduate Catalog.

What if I took a writing course elsewhere but it doesn’t transfer as English 1100/2201 credit?
One of the confusing things about Writing Intensive is that it isn’t a “content” determination so much as a pedagogical/teaching determination. Content and teaching practices vary a lot for these courses across various college campuses. For example, let’s say you took a course at a community college that was a first-year writing course, perhaps one called Technical Writing. This course might not transfer to ECU as either English 1100 or 2201, but it would still transfer as Writing Intensive. So your transcript would likely have an English elective course listed, ENGL 1XXX, with a WI flag on the course. You wouldn’t transfer the content credit because the course doesn’t match up with our own English 1100/2201 course, but you still get credit for the Writing Intensive nature of the course.

What if I took a course at another university and its course transfer equivalent at ECU is WI? Do I get the WI credit or just the content credit?
Again, the content v. pedagogy divide may be confusing here. When a course transfers to ECU, you automatically get credit for the content of the course, but you do not automatically get credit for additional markers like “writing intensive” or “cultural diversity,” both of which are additional course flags that ECU expects students to earn as part of their coursework. For example, let’s say you took a course at Former University called History 200: Introduction to History; ECU has transferred that course as History 2000: Introduction to History since both courses have similar content: both are introductory history courses. However, at Former University, History 200 was NOT part of a writing across the curriculum (WAC) or similar program; you may have done some writing, but that university either didn’t have a WAC program or didn’t consider that course appropriate for their program. But History 2000 at ECU is Writing Intensive and part of our WAC program. In this case, you would receive transfer credit for History 2000 WITHOUT the WI flag on the course. You would need to satisfy those WI credits with some other course

But what if I took a course that was Writing Intensive at another university and the equivalent course here isn’t writing intensive? Do I lose the WI credit?
No, you do not lose your WI credits. However, those credits may not transfer automatically, which means you or your advisor would need to request that the course be reconsidered as WI. To do that, you would need to provide evidence that the course at your previous institution meets the criteria stated in the ECU Undergraduate Catalog:

1. The course must either be a writing intensive course in a writing across the curriculum program at the university or college where it was taken,
2. And/or the course must transfer as equivalent to ENGL 1100 or ENGL 2201.

How do I request that a course be (re)considered for Writing Intensive credit?
If the course were part of a Writing Across the Curriculum or similar program (sometimes called Writing in the Disciplines, Writing Enhanced, Writing Intensive, or Communication Across the Curriculum), then the course should be identified as such in the university’s course catalog. Providing a link or print-out of that page in the catalog should be sufficient. If there is no indication in the course catalog or other official publication of the college or university, then you may need to secure other kinds of evidence, like a letter from a university official who can verify that the course is offered as Writing Intensive in a WAC or similar program.

If a course meets the above qualifications but did not transfer automatically as WI, you should have your advisor request that the course be reviewed for WI Transfer using the WI Transfer Evaluation form.