The B.S. in Communication program has expanded its curriculum with two new courses.
Program Chair Dr. Janice Colvin says the two courses, offered as electives, will add value to the degree by increasing skills, therefore meeting needs employers report they require for multi-faceted employees.
Communication Editing (COM 255) will provide foundational training in editing written material for both print and digital presentations. Thorough, careful and sensitive editing is needed to ensure factual and grammatically correct written material prepared for time-pressed readers. This course teaches four types of editing (revising, substantive editing, copyediting and proofreading) for multiple forms of writing. The capstone project combines these skills for a hypothetical website.
“Knowing how to edit your work and the work of others is an important skill no matter where you are employed,” Dr. Colvin says. “Learning the fundamentals of editing and routinely practicing it helps your mind focus on what you or another writer is communicating to the reader. Some say editing is more than a skill, it’s an art.”
The second course, Advanced Technical Communication (COM 355), which continues the work of the introductory course — COM 250, Technical Writing — covering the requirements for designing and developing technical documentation. In this new course, students will further define audience and purpose, determine appropriate format and style, improve the clarity and organization of writing, and review and edit work effectively. Project work will require teamwork, oral communication and presentation skills.
Dr. Colvin also gave details on COM 355’s unique enhancement: the course provides specific training for the international Certified Professional Technical Communication (CPTC) professional certification exam now being offered at Wilmington University.
“The Advanced Technical Communication course, in particular, will be open to all University students who wish to add this training to their skills,” she says. “Employers in many industries and fields need good communicators, and this training will help provide that.”
After training, students may take the qualifying exam for certification if they wish, she says. “And we welcome those already working in the technical communication field who desire to add to their credentials by taking the training and the exam for the professional certification,” Dr. Colvin adds.
The CPTC is offered by the Society for Technical Communication, a professional association for technical communicators and content specialists.