Feasibility Review Template

UCC document 10/30/2018

The first step in program revision is feasibility review, a process through which the UCC assists proposing faculty members in evaluating
the strategic implications of their proposals.

Please use the questions on this template to guide discussions within your department or program and develop your reasons, goals, and
justifications for the proposed changes.

Type the requested information directly into this document, leaving all prompts and questions. Please try to keep the entire document
to no more than 5 pages; you may find it useful to include links to materials available online.

Attach the resulting document and a pro forma budget to an email directed to the Chair of the UCC.

For ideas in their early stages, ask the UCC to include your plans in a charrette to brainstorm possibilities more informally.

What is being proposed?

New program_X_ Change to existing program__ (Place ‘X’ after one)

Degree_X_ Certificate__ Minor__ (Place ‘X’ after one)

Title of program: M.A. in Rhetoric, Writing & Professional Communication

If program currently exists, what is its 4-letter Banner code:

Proposing Faculty Member (PFM): Jenna Sheffield

Custodial Department: English
Custodial College: Arts & Sciences

1. List the reasons this creation and/or change of the program is being proposed.

This new program will enable the college of Arts & Sciences to attract more graduate students. It will also allow the English
Department to increase enrollments when paired with the proposed Accelerated English Degree program as a 3 + 2. It meets a
need in the area for a Rhetoric & Composition master’s degree program that will prepare students for a wide variety of
professional writing careers or for graduate school. A degree in Rhetoric & Writing provides students with the skills and
abilities to pursue a variety of careers in industry and academia; outside of academia, they often go on to pursue careers as
content strategists, communications specialists, grant writers, content writers, technical writers, editors, workplace writing
consultants, and user experience experts. In academia, this degree prepares students to teach writing at a community college,
to pursue law or other advanced degrees, or to pursue a PhD program in Rhetoric & Composition or professional/technical
communication. The tenure-track job market for Rhetoric & Composition scholars is typically much stronger than the market
for Literature scholars and has maintained steady growth over the past few years.

2. List the program’s goals and student learning objectives that identify the competencies at graduation. Competencies can
include interpersonal and technical skills.

3. Describe likely impact of the program on the graduates’ career opportunities five to ten years following graduation.
Include any eligibility for certification or other credentialing likely to be available to graduates.
 4. Provide the evidence that supports your responses to item 3. This can come from advisory boards, professional organizations,
accreditation agencies, licensing boards, or employers. This also may include internal UNH assessment data.

5. What is the anticipated market for the program? Append any preliminary market research documentation, e.g., data from
Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, its Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Robert Half Salary Guide, and relevant
professional publications that present trends for supply and demand.

6. List the ways this program directly delivers on our University’s mission, vision and values and those of the custodial college.

7. Propose a curriculum, listing likely “Major Requirement” courses, identifying those that need to be created, and those that
already exist.

PROPOSED CURRICULUM – 30 Credit hours beyond bachelor’s degree. All courses need to be created.

Required Courses (12 credits)

 Introduction to the Field of Rhetoric/Composition

 Histories of Rhetoric
 Research Methods in Rhetoric & Composition
 Technical & Professional Communication: Theory and Pedagogy

Elective Courses (12 credits)

 Composition Pedagogy
 Seminar in Language and Linguistics
 Computers and Writing
 Visual Rhetoric
 Graduate Study in Workplace Writing
 Grant Writing (cross-listed with current undergrad English offering)
 Rhetoric of Science
 Community Literacy Practicum
 Teaching Writing to English Language Learners and Language Minority Students
 Stylistics and Editing
 Document Design
 Content Management
 Scientific Writing
 Writing Program Administration
 Writing for Healthcare Professions (if it does not conflict with already offered courses)
 Writing for Government and Law Enforcement (if it does not conflict with already offered courses)

Master’s Capstone (3 credits)

Students prepare a portfolio with a take-home comprehensive exam, write a thesis, or revise a previous essay for publication.

Teaching Practicum (3 credits)

As is common in many rhet/comp programs, students should be allowed to apply to become teaching assistants for First-Year Writing. If
selected, they must enroll in a 3-credit teaching practicum they take in their first semester. Students who are not teaching assistants
take an additional elective course. (While it is useful for small private universities to be able to boast that courses are taught by faculty
with PhDs, teaching assistants who are specifically trained in composition pedagogy at our university are actually more likely to provide
the English Department with a stronger workforce compared to a constantly changing adjunct workforce.)
8. Identify the NSSE High Impact Practices incorporated in the program, with reference to how they will be identifiable to
students (e.g., course titles, program names)

9. List potential contributors among UNH faculty and departments. Identify the anticipated roles that those contributors would
need to play and to what degree they have agreed to play that role.

10. Identify likely needs for new faculty and support personnel, referencing data from your pro forma budget.

11. Identify likely needs for new or modified facilities, technical resources, accreditation costs, and library resources.

12. In its evaluation of new programs and program changes, the UCC must be mindful of all programs presently offered by the
university. How does this program relate to other programs?

13. Identify any supportive connections to industry, community, arts organizations, government, or further education institutions.

14. Identify potential areas for grant-writing, industry support, or other new funding.

15. Summarize any input that has been provided by advisory boards (e.g., for a department or college).

16. What is the anticipated market for the program? Append any preliminary market research documentation, e.g., data from
Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, its Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Robert Half Salary Guide, and relevant
professional publications that present trends for supply and demand.

17. Which other universities and colleges offer programs that compete (or would compete) with the envisioned new or changed
program, and in what way are they competitive?

18. Provide details of the University’s ability to recruit to and retain students in this program made by the University Office of
Enrollment Management.