Crowell School of Business Writing Competency Requirement

This applies to students on the 2018 catalog or later.

What is the WCR?

Before graduation from Biola, a student must pass the Writing Competency Requirement. This requirement will not be given separately from the standard curriculum. Instead, each department has designed its requirement to suit the particular demands of its major. WCR measures a student’s ability to write clear and correct English prose; it also tests whether a student can write according to the conventions of his or her field of study.

What are my options for passing the WCR?

As part of any undergraduate business degree, students are required to take the course ENGL 313 Writing for the Disciplines during their junior year. Specifically, students should take the discipline-specific version of this course designed for business, entitled “Writing for Business.” Students taking and passing this course with a C+ or better will meet the Writing Competency Requirement for the Crowell School of Business. This course is cross-listed with BUSN 301: Business Writing.

For students who have received credit for this course based on previous coursework, an alternative to the WCR is needed. These students may choose to go ahead and take ENGL 313/BUSN 301 as an elective OR may enroll in a not-for-credit alternative course and do the WCR as an outside assignment. In this course, students will complete a research paper that meets the requirements of the WCR, and also provide additional examples of their writing from previous courses. This alternative course runs once a semester as needed. Students failing this alternative method may retake it one time. If a student fails via this alternative method twice, they will be directed to take ENGL 313 – students may enroll in the next available alternative course by completing the form below. The last day to add the alternative WCR course is two weeks after the start of the semester.

Which one should I do?

We encourage students to enroll in the ENGL 313/BUSN 301 course as their best option for completing the WCR. By doing the WCR as part of a course, students will have access to a writing instructor and be able to work through defined steps as part of the WCR process. We only recommend the alternative course for students who cannot take the ENGL 313/BUSN 301.

It is very possible to fail the WCR. Almost every student who takes the ENGL 313/BUSN 301 course passes. Taking it outside of this course increases your risk of failing it. If you do not pass the WCR, you will not be allowed to graduate.

If you do choose to take the WCR as an external assignment, please complete this form.