DepartMental

Dr. Brian Railsback, former Dean of the Honors College, now head of the English department here at Western Carolina University, is very excited about the changes his department is undergoing. A tentative plan has been set up to work on such areas as advising, student involvement, curriculum, and building the number of majors.

Why should you care? Well, obviously if you are an English major, it affects you. But what if you’re not? As long as we live and breathe we will be using language, and for most of us that language will be primarily English. Having a strong English department means that while you are here at Western you have the opportunity to take English classes that can strengthen your own use of the language. Reading, writing, and communication skills are vital in any well-paying job market.

The English department presently has a total of 106 undergraduate majors; forty in Professional Writing, 26 in English education, and 18 with no concentration as of yet. There are many students that list English as their second major, with 15 in literature, and seven in journalism. Of course, the goal of every department is to build up the numbers of majors they have.

In this particular area, Dr. Railsback’s main concern is the lack of English Literature majors. “In an era of program review and a lack of support for the humanities, we need to increase our majors in all concentrations but particularly literature.”

Railsback believes that literature “is the soul of the [English] department.” It is also the foundation of any English concentration, be it Professional Writing, Education, or Journalism. Strengthening this area of the department can only benefit the faculty and students.

Student input is also important, not only to better the department, but so that students of English don’t feel that they are in a department and the professors run it. The goal is to have the students feel that they are a part of the department with the professors.

The English department will also be throwing away the stale notion of committees, where a group meets once a week, or once a month and no one really knows why. Instead, task forces (which are kept small) will be instituted, to target one specific goal or problem, and then “dissolve” when the job is done.

So how does this affect you, the student? You are at Western Carolina University for a reason. That reason is to get an education. You or your parents are paying for said education, and that includes advising.

With unnecessary committee meetings as a thing of the past, professors will now have more time to devote to student advising and tutoring. “Although often considered a ‘service,’ good advising is really another form of teaching,” according to Railsback. “Advising is the key to retention and advisors control the curriculum.”

If you would like to know more about what is going on with the English department at Western Carolina University, call 227-7264, visit their main office on the 3rd floor of Coulter, or check them out on the web at www.wcu.edu/as/english.