Writing....Musically
by Sarah Guhl '06

D. HF. WI. FR. To the average person, this jumble of letters may seem like the contents of a bowl of alphabet soup. To Wartburg students and professors, the designations have meaning, especially during the frenzy of class registration. Students and professors usually know that D stands for Diversity, HF stands for Humanities and Fine Arts, and FR stands for Faith and Reflection. Among these codes, the one that Marjorie O'Konski, lecturer in music therapy, is most concerned with is WI: writing intensive.

Over the last year, her first at Wartburg, some of her time has been devoted toward a first in the music therapy department: making music classes writing intensive. The music therapy department offers only five classes. As of the 2003-2004 school year, none are writing intensive. O'Konski wanted to change this and started the application process earlier this school year.

But why? It's just music, right? There's no need to write papers.

O'Konski doesn't think so.

"Music therapists need to be able to communicate well both in oral and written forms," she said. "They may have to communicate with a hospital board or a school district."

She also feels that the ability to communicate is important to music therapists because of the need to prove themselves in the professional world.

"They need to be able to articulate their ideas," she added. "Because music therapy is such a new field, we need to present ourselves professionally. That includes good grammar and syntax."

Writing will play a significant role in the careers of music therapists. O'Konski points out that some of the tasks music therapists will perform include writing summary reports and progress reports on hospital patients.

The classes that she applied to have made writing intensive are both third-level classes for juniors and seniors. One is MU 312, the Psychology of Music. The other is MU 313, the Influences of Music on Behavior. As of Feb. 3, according to the tentative course schedule, both had been tagged writing intensive. Both classes are scheduled to be offered Winter Term 2005.

In order to change the classes' status, O'Konski had to submit a written application to the Registrar's office. The application included a signature page, existing and changed information about the course, rationale for the change, resource implications such as staff and materials, and a survey including the requirements that the professor would apply in the class. O'Konski said she attended an orientation meeting for new teachers and one of the professors discussed the topic, which helped get her involved in that particular process.

A writing intensive class may sound intimidating at first when a student begins to plan his or her schedule in the spring. In reality, the requirements for a writing intensive class simply dictate that students write 20 pages or 5000 words and at least 40 percent of the course grade comes from written elements.

In order for the change to be approved, professors must submit applications by November. According to Registrar Sheree Covert, the next step is for the change to be approved by committees.
"The writing intensive committee meets to review all of the requirements," she said. "Then it goes to the educational policies committee. They do review those carefully."

When students begin the task of registering for classes, they must consider the classes that they need for majors, general education requirements, minors, and electives. They will have to weigh their choices carefully, relying heavily on those little symbols that professors and staff work so hard to set in place. For aspiring music therapists, the alphabet soup might be a bit tastier with the addition of WI in 2004-05.

Sarah Guhl '06 is a communication arts major at Wartburg College.