NOTE:  The First-Year Composition Program became the ISUComm Foundation Courses Program beginning in Fall 2007. As part of this process, English 104 and 105 have been renumbered (English 150 and 250); refocused from an emphasis on writing-only to an integration of written, oral, visual, and electronic communication (WOVE); and restructured (shifting the second course to the sophomore level).

How do transfer students fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement?

Students transferring to Iowa State University with credit deficiencies in ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) should be advised to complete the requirements for their ISUComm Foundation Courses as soon as possible. Eleventh-hour requests for credit waivers may delay a student's graduation.

NOTE:  Transfer credit must be earned from an accredited English speaking college or university in the United States.

• Transfer students without credit for English 150 (104) or 250 (105). Students who enter Iowa State University without credit in the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) will have an opportunity to earn credit for English 150 (104) if their ACT-E or SAT-V meets the placement criteria as described on the English 150 (formerly 104) Placement and Placement Assessment information page.  Other transfer students are encouraged to take the English 150 (104) Placement Assessment during an orientation testing session.

• Transfer students with only English 150 (104) credit. If the transfer students are freshmen or sophomores, they must take English 250 (105). If the students transfer in as juniors or seniors, they may take English 250 (105) or they may be able to take an advanced communication course (English 213, 302, 309, 313, 314) if they receive written approval (waiver) from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) and permission from their major department. Transfer students may also choose to take the 250 (formerly 105) Test-Out Exam.

• Transfer students with only English 250 (105) credit. These students do not need to take English 150 (104). Instead, they will need to take an advanced communication course (English 213, 302, 309, 313, 314). Before this is done, they must receive written approval (wavier) from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) and permission from their major department. These students cannot take the English 150 (104) Placement Assessment. The English 150 (104) Placement Assessment is only for students who have been placed directly into English 150 (104) due to ACT-E/SAT-V scores or no scores at all.

• Students who transfer Rhetoric 10:3 from the University of Iowa with a "C" or better meet the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement. These students will receive 3 credits of English 250U (105U) (the designated transfer credit from the University of Iowa). These students, however, will not receive credit for English 150 (104). An English waiver is not required, but the major department must document the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with 3 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).

• Students who transfer 2 credits of English 150 (104) and 2 credits of English 250 (105) from the PAIDEIA course from Luther College with a "C" or better meet the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement. An English waiver is not required, but the major department must document the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with 4 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).

• Transfer students with a total of 5 credits in English 150 (104) and 250 (105). Transfer students with 5 credits in English composition will have the remaining 1 credit automatically waived. These students do not need a waiver from the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition). A student's major department must indicate the deficiency by indicating on the degree audit that the student can graduate with the 5 credits in Area 1 (Basic Education).

• Transfer students with quarter credit. Students enrolled in schools with 9 or 10 quarter-credit English composition programs are advised to complete the full sequence at those schools before transferring to Iowa State University. Six quarter-credits transferred in ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) will not meet the Iowa State University requirement.

• Transfer credit for non-composition English courses. Courses not clearly identifiable as English composition (e.g., Introduction to Literature, Humanities, Colloquia, etc.) transfer as humanities or elective credits but not as English composition credits. However, some transfer courses in various disciplines are designated as "writing intensive." Students with transfer credit in these courses should meet with the Director of ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) to see if credit can apply to English 150 (104) or 250 (105). When doing this, students must bring a catalog course description, syllabus, and any assignments they composed in class.

• Exemptions from other schools. Exemptions from Foundation Communication requirements at other schools will not be applied to the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement at Iowa State University unless those exemptions carry with them academic credit. However, as outlined above, this policy does not apply to students who transfer Rhetoric 10:3 from the University of Iowa.

What are the requirements for students with undergraduate degrees?

• Students who are seeking a second undergraduate degree do not have to fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement unless their undergraduate degree was earned from an institution outside the United States or from a non-English institution in the United States.  A waiver must be processed for these students.

• Students who are in graduate school do not have to fulfill the ISUComm Foundation Courses (First-Year Composition) requirement.

ISUComm Foundation Courses (formerly First-Year Composition) Office
Department of English
403 Ross Hall
Ames, IA 50011-1201
(515) 294-6814 (FAX)

Director
Dr. Barb Blakely
(515) 294-3217
blakely@iastate.edu

Secretary
Deanna Stumbo
(515) 294-3516
stumbo@iastate.edu