Course Waiver Portfolio Instructions

UIC First-Year Writing Program: Portfolio Waiver Petition Process

Demonstrating Writing Proficiency for a Waiver of ENGL 160 or ENGL 161

The UIC First-Year Writing Program (FYWP) in the Department of English is responsible for administering waivers of ENGL 160 (Academic Writing 1) and ENGL 161 (Academic Writing 2) to eligible students. Students who wish to have one or both of these courses waived should submit a portfolio that shows they have met the proficiency requirements of the course(s) by prior college-level written coursework.

Students may submit portfolios at any time during the year. The portfolios are read and evaluated by the FYWP staff. The FYWP is usually able to contact students and their academic advisors with the results of the portfolio evaluations within one week of receiving the portfolio. Decisions of the FYWP office are final; no appeals will be considered. Students who do not receive the waiver on the basis of the portfolio are required to take that course in a future term. Failure to meet these course requirements may result in being dropped by the college

 

 

 

 

The ENGL 160 requirement is waived for students who:

  • Received an official ACT English subscore of 27 or higher or an SAT Evidence-Based Critical Reading subscore of 630 or higher. Students who submit this official test score receive 3 hours of passing credit for ENGL 160.
  • Received a score of 3 or higher on the AP English Language & Composition test (but not the AP English Literature & Composition test). Students who submit this official test score receive 3 hours of passing credit for ENGL 160.
  • Received a score of 6 or 7 on the IB English A (Language & Literature) test. Students who submit this official test score receive 3 hours of passing credit for ENGL 160.
  • Qualify for and submit a writing portfolio that is approved by the FYWP that shows that the proficiency requirements of ENGL 160 have already been met through prior coursework, ideally done at a previous
  • ENGL 160 is described online here.

The ENGL 161 requirement is waived for students who:

  • Qualify for and submit a writing portfolio that is approved by the FYWP that shows that the proficiency requirements of ENGL 161 have already been met through prior coursework, ideally done at a previous
  • ENGL 161 is described online here.
  • The FYWP will not waive placement into these preparatory courses.
  • Transfer students. The FYWP portfolio option for demonstrating proficiency in ENGL 160 or 161 is intended for transfer students in their first two semesters at UIC who can demonstrate that there are extenuating circumstances regarding why they should be exempted from this required course; however, we’ll consider portfolios of transfer students who have attended UIC for longer than two semesters if they state their reasons for waiting to submit the
  • Note: Most often, the portfolio option is given to transfer students who weren’t required to take a certain FYW course at a prior institution, but who arrive at UIC with no transfer credit for one (or both) of UIC’s FYW courses, ENGL 160 or 161. Thus, the UIC FYW course requirement still stands but could possibly be waived by the portfolio petition without the transfer student needing to take the course.
  • Regular-admitted first-year students without the appropriate standardized test scores listed
  • Upper-division students who have been enrolled at UIC but have not made progress towards completing their university writing requirements. The FYWP will not consider the portfolios of regular-admitted students who have attended UIC for more than two semesters and have not made progress towards completing their university writing requirements.

Qualifying students may submit an ENGL 160 writing portfolio that includes the following:

  • Three college-level papers that demonstrate your ability to read and write with proficiency in various academic or professional contexts. It’s in your best interest to submit papers for which you received high grades. These papers should demonstrate your ability to:
  • Determine a purpose and an audience and construct writing
  • Organize your writing so that it is unified, coherent, engaging, and well-
  • Write sentences that are complete, varied, and free of major
  • In addition, these three papers should each represent a different genre of writing (such as an argumentative essay, project proposal, research paper, personal essay, etc.). Also, the student must be the sole author of each paper submitted. Co-written papers will not be considered.
  • A one- to two-page cover letter addressed to the FYWP staff in which you make an effective argument for why you believe you should not be required to take ENGL 160. In this letter, please include your name, UIN, college, and email

The portfolio should be emailed to comptalk@uic.edu by a single email with separate file attachments for each component of the portfolio, or with all components gathered in an attached ZIP folder.

 

 Qualifying students may submit an ENGL 161 writing portfolio that includes the following:

  • Three college-level papers that demonstrate your ability to read and write with proficiency and to conduct scholarly research within an academic discipline. It’s in your best interest to submit papers for which you received high grades. These papers should demonstrate your ability to:
  • Identify a problem or issue within an academic field of study and advance your own argument about
  • Use academic texts—including scholarly books and/or scholarly journal articles—gathered through research to construct an argument about this problem or issue within the context of previous arguments and current
  • Quote and paraphrase properly, citing sources within a specific documentation format (e.g., MLA or APA).
  • Also, the student must be the sole author of each paper submitted. Co-written papers will not be considered.
  • A one- to two-page cover letter addressed to the FYWP staff in which you make an effective argument for why you believe you should not be required to take ENGL 161. In this letter, please include your name, UIN, college, and email

Where to submit completed portfolios:

  • Please email the finished portfolio to the FYWP Staff at comptalk@uic.edu. Your waiver results will be emailed to you, and to your college academic advising office, within one week of submitting the portfolio.