The Faculty Senate will discuss how effectively student writing is being assessed at Eastern Tuesday.

The electronic writing portfolio is available for students to submit selections each year from writing centered or writing intensive classes.

Four representatives related to the program will likely address senate concerns on assessment, learning and grading instruction, said chair Anne Zahlan.

Faculty could be concerned about the system of evaluating writing submissions is too different from the way instructors grade or what specifically students are learning from the portfolios, she said.

Students are asked to turn in to the program a selection from each academic year, including one from a specific class freshman year and senior seminar their last year.

The portfolio is meant to show a progression of writing over a student’s college career, said English professor Robin Murray, who is involved with the program.

The writing portfolio, started in fall 2002, will undergo an assessment next year because the program will then be able to show records of students’ submitted writing over four years, Murray said.

She said the portfolio shows a greater difference in writing compared to the writing competency exam, which some students can choose to take instead of submitting all the writing selections.

“The portfolio is much more effective in terms of assessment. It does demonstrate how important writing across the curriculum is,” she said.

Murray said the program could go through a second assessment following the review next year.

The communication Tuesday will “encourage and facilitate communication” between university departments, and the senate members will be able to see the outline of the portfolio, especially since some are faculty helping students with submissions, Zahlan said.

“The faculty would appreciate a little more guidance,” she said.

The senate could also discuss the possibility of statewide testing and results of a faculty forum held last month.

Illinois Board of Higher Education is in support of the testing and will be optional for Illinois universities to participate in.

The faculty forum focused on issues surrounding academic freedom, and the senate could discuss results that were compiled, she said.

Information from the forum not covered in the new faculty contract could lead to the creation of future senate subcommittees or resolutions, Zahlan said.

The Faculty Senate meets at 2 p.m. Tuesdays in Booth Library Conference Room 4440.