Oral Communication Competency

1. Delivery original oral messages for a specific purpose, occasion, and type of audience.
2. Make effective use of both verbal and non-verbal delivery in presentations.

Courses approved to fulfill the Oral Communication Competency requirement must be one of two types (seen below). If the courses will be a set of two companion courses, please note this information in the course proposal.

1. A 0- (or more) credit hour course in which the oral communication component is a significant portion of the course work and final grade. The course should include: 1) instruction in the theory and practice of oral communication, 2) guided speaking practice throughout the term, and 3) instructor critique and feedback on speaking performance.
2. A set of two companion courses:

1. • a prerequisite course of 0- (or more) credit hours that provides students with instruction in the theory and practice of oral communication, and
   • a subsequent course of 0- (or more) credit hours in which students apply learned principles of oral communication through guided speaking practice. Students’ performance is then evaluated and critiqued by the instructor to determine whether they have met the oral communication learning objectives.

Note: Oral communication courses in languages other than English can be approved for the OCC designation.

CoreFSU Oral Communication Competency courses help students become flexible and proficient oral communicators for professional purposes. The course objectives, course materials, activities, and grading criteria should reflect how students will achieve this outcome.

When preparing the course proposal in Coursedog, note that:

• The proposal must contain a sample reading list with an accompanying description of how the readings include explicit instruction in the theory and practice of oral communication.
• The topical outline/week-by-week schedule must include lectures with explicit instruction in the theory and practice of oral communication.
• The proposal must contain a full description of the activities or assignments which require students to demonstrate achievement of the Oral Communication Competency learning objectives, as well as a grading rubric or criteria for the assessments.
  • The objective-assessment table field in Coursedog should illustrate how students will be assessed on their achievement of the Oral Communication Competency (and other requested or approved CoreFSU area) student learning objectives.
• The proposal must indicate how students will be provided criteria for evaluating their feedback (including instructor and/or teaching assistant response), and opportunities for revision on the Oral Communication Competency assignment(s).
  • Students must receive multiple opportunities for guided speaking practice throughout the term.
  • Students should receive instructor critique and feedback on these assignments so that they learn to create oral messages as a process, including guided practice, critique, and revision.
  • While instructor feedback is required, peer feedback is also welcome.

Credit hours:

• Graduation Requirement courses can be less than 3 credit hours if desired.
  • Exceptions:
    • State-Mandated Writing courses cannot be less than 3 credit hours.
    • If the course also carries a General Education designation, these courses should not be less than 3 credit hours. (This does not include 1-credit labs.)
• Variable credit hour courses should have a clear justification (ex: internship, seminar with rotating topics).

Note: Only college-level courses (1000 or higher) are approved for the CoreFSU curriculum.

There are two components of required syllabus language:

1. Statements approved by the Faculty Senate, and
2. Statements for each CoreFSU designation the course is certified for

Faculty Senate required syllabus language:

All syllabi are required to include the syllabus language statements approved by the FSU Faculty Senate, available at https://facsenate.fsu.edu/Curriculum-Resources/syllabus-language.

CoreFSU required syllabus language:

The following statement can either be 1) adapted specifically to the course content, or 2) pasted verbatim into the syllabus. In either case, the meaning of the language should be clearly communicated to students.

This course has been approved as meeting the requirements for Oral Communication Competency and will help you become a flexible and proficient oral communicator for professional purposes.

By the end of this course, you will demonstrate the ability to:

1. Deliver original oral messages for a specific purpose, occasion, and type of audience.
2. Make effective use of both verbal and non-verbal delivery in presentations.

In order to fulfill FSU’s Oral Communication Competency Requirement, you must earn a “C–” or better in the course.

• Oral Communication Competency can be combined with any General Education designation.
• Oral Communication Competency can be combined with any of the University Wide Graduation Requirements.
  • If you choose to add a writing designation to your course proposal, note that a course can only fulfill one type of Writing requirement.
    • A course may be E-Series/State-Mandated Writing “W” or Upper-Division Writing.
  • Note that a course can carry either the Scholarship in Practice (SIP) or Formative Experience designation, but not both.

• Faculty may contact UGS-CoreFSU@fsu.edu with any questions about CoreFSU course design, as well as questions about using Coursedog to submit proposals for CoreFSU approval.
• You may also browse the FAQ for commonly asked questions and answers.