The WAC Liaison Committee has primary responsibility for administering the Institute's core writing-intensive course requirement. Each cadet is required to take a minimum of two upper-level courses that are officially designated as writing-intensive (W-I). At least one of these courses must be in the cadet's major.

To qualify for the W-I designation a course must a) be numbered 200 or above; b) require substantially more writing than a non-W-I section of the same course, with a minimum of 10 pages of carefully revised writing submitted for grade; and c) provide substantial guidance in techniques of revision. A complete list of courses that have thus far earned the W-I designation may be found by clicking here. Enrollment caps are placed on W-I courses to enable the professor's careful attention to each student's written work. In addition, because W-I courses build on the foundations laid in the EN 101-102 (freshman composition) sequence, only students who have satisfied the Institute requirement to pass EN 102 with a grade of C or better may enroll in W-I courses.

Faculty who wish to designate a course as writing intensive may complete the online proposal form (click here) but must also submit a statement indicating the department head's endorsement of the proposal. This endorsement may be sent directly to the Institute Director of Writing and chair of the WAC Liaison Committee, Lt. Col. Christina McDonald (mcdonaldcr@vmi.edu). Annually, proposals received by February 1 will be reviewed in time to appear in the following fall's schedule of classes; those received by September 1 will be reviewed for the spring and summer schedules. These deadlines are firm. If you have questions about the WAC Program in general or the W-I course requirement in particular, please don't hesitate to contact any member of the WAC Liaison Committee.