The Role and Mission

The division offers a four-year major in either Communication Arts or English, an interdisciplinary major in either Communication-Business or English-Business, and a general studies major.  In Communication Arts there are three options for specialization:  Communication, Theatre, and Communication-Secondary Education.  In English there are four options for specialization:  English, English-Creative Writing, English-Secondary Education, and English-Publishing Arts.  The division offers or collaborates in ten minors (art, communication, creative writing, English, music, Native American studies, Nez Perce, publishing arts, Spanish and theatre) and a certificate in video production.  It offers courses in developmental reading and writing, and teaching methods.  In addition, the faculty provides support curricula for other general education and occupational programs of the college, especially for certification of teachers at the secondary level.  Further, the faculty accomplishes the aims of the division by pursuing research directly relevant to improving instruction, developing curricula and maintaining currency in their professional fields.  Many students majoring or minoring in disciplines of the division complete a service component, an internship, or an evaluated work experience as they study.

Students majoring in Communication Arts are expected to gain and demonstrate abilities to:

Conduct research with originality and creativity.
Orally present an argument logically, succinctly, and clearly.
Prepare well-documented reports.
Write with grammatical correctness and verbal conciseness.
Form aesthetic / critical judgments of oral discourse.
Communicate effectively with other people.
Adapt to cultural diversity.
Analyze and solve complex problems.
Continue learning and training.

Students majoring in English are expected to gain and demonstrate the abilities to:

Analyze and interpret texts.
Write effectively.
Speak effectively.
Practice both imaginative and intellectual modes of
    understanding.
Be conversant with major literary texts and movements.
Conduct specialized research in literature, writing, language,
    or cultural studies.
Think critically about individual and collective systems of
    value and belief.
Communicate in a foreign language.
Apply knowledge of literature, research, and writing to other
    disciplines.