Duties and Responsibilities of sub-committees

The Proficiency Committee coordinates proficiency testing of students in languages not taught at Northwestern and works closely with the staff of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities to decide on students' petitions for accommodation in or substitution for the foreign language proficiency requirement due to a disability affecting foreign language acquisition.  Members of the committee serve as Language Petition Advisers to guide students in WCAS, and the Schools of Communication, Music, and Journalism through the petition process.

The Language Brochure Committee produces the brochure “Everything You Need To Know About Learning Languages at Northwestern”. It contains information about policies, placement, study abroad, course descriptions, contact numbers, and email addresses for all of the languages offered at NU. The brochure is distributed to advisers, instructors, and deans. It has been published annually for the past 3 years in print and is also available online at: http://www.cli.northwestern.edu/language-study/index.html.

The Funds Request Committee oversees the distribution of funds from the CLI Professional Development, Curriculum Enhancement and Matching Funds. These funds are resources provided through the CLI by WCAS to enhance the professional development and facilitate the mission of language teachers. This committee is chaired by one of the CLI Co-chairs, and meets quarterly to decide upon funding requests from faculty members in any of the language teaching units. Details of the funding request process can be found at: http://www.cli.northwestern.edu/, under ‘resources’.

The Lecturer Faculty Committee examines professional-related issues that affect lecturer faculty in languages. This committee's goals include clarifying the pathway to promotion for language faculty, as well as addressing equity in compensation and courseload.

The Language Symposium Committee organizes the Language Symposium, a two-day conference held every April, which sheds light on a specific area of language teaching and learning. Although the Language Symposium began in 2000 as part of the CLI efforts to help our lecturers stay current with the most recent research and practice in the field of language pedagogy, it has grown significantly to draw presenters and participants nationwide. The Symposium is now co-hosted by Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois-Chicago. The past symposium programs are available online at: http://www.cli.northwestern.edu/activities/symposia/index.html.

The Orientation and Meetings Committee reserves rooms and provides the refreshments for all CLI business meetings, Fall Orientation, and pedagogy workshops. It is responsible for organizing the pedagogy workshops, proposing topics, and finding speakers.

The Study Abroad Committee is separate from—but collaborates with—the University Study Abroad Committee (USAC); this recently-formed CLI committee aims to provide a constructive forum for language teaching faculty with especially strong interests in Study Abroad to network around general and specific issues related to it, and also to engage with and provide the Study Abroad Office and USAC input on Study Abroad issues specifically related to language acquisition issues.