General Education Requirements for Course Development

Page Contents

Course Approval Forms
GE Requirements Table

New General Education Requirements Effective Fall 2010

The General Education Requirements are meant to accomplish several goals:

Provide students with a base knowledge and skills that future learning can build on.
Expose students to a broad range of disciplines and methodologies, to better prepare them for a world of complex problems and rapid changes.
Enhance the abilities of students to apporach problems in appropriately analytical ways.
Prepare students to function as responsible and informed participants in civic life, considering pressing societal issues (such as the environmeent, the economy) productively and from a variety of perspectives.
Please use the GE Requirements Table to learn about educational objectives. Requests and changes are managed through the course approval process in the CAT system.

December 1: Deadline for course and major sponsoring units to submit their Disciplinary Communication and General Education proposals to their dean’s office

December 8: Deadline for deans to forward proposals to CEP

Course Approval Forms

GE Requirements Table

To Learn More About Each Requirement, Click on it.

One 5-credit course from each of these categories:	Code
Cross- Cultural Analysis	CC
Ethnicity & Race	ER
Interpreting Arts & Media	IM
Mathematical & Formal Reasoning	MF
Scientific Inquiry	SI
Statistical Reasoning	SR
Textual Analysis & Interpretation	TA
PERSPECTIVES – Choose One 5-credit course from any of these categories:
Perspectives: Environmental Awareness	PE-E
Perspectives: Human Behavior	PE-H
Perspectives: Technology & Society	PE-T
PRACTICE – Choose One Course, 2 credits or higher, from any of these categories:
Practice: Collaborative Endeavor	PR-E
Practice: Creative Process	PR-C
Practice: Service Learning	PR-S
WRITING
Composition – One 5-credit course	C
Disciplinary Communication – 5 credits across 1-3 courses, as approved by CEP and a student’s major	DC

Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC)

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

GE Description

Courses that carry the CC GE designation aim to prepare students for a globalizing world, with increased interaction and integration among peoples, economies, and governments. These courses aim to encourage a broader and deeper understanding of cultures and societies outside the United States. Such courses might provide an in-depth examination of one culture, or one aspect of such culture (for example, art, music, history, language). Alternatively, these courses might aim to help students develop skills of cross-cultural comparison and analysis. A third option is courses that explore topics that are inherently cross-cultural such as international relations or the processes of economic globalization.

Whatever the approach, these courses all aim to help students develop the openness and critical perspective necessary for cross-cultural understanding. Although themes of privilege and oppression are centrally relevant to the history and current experience of many cultures, such themes are not required to be addressed in cross-cultural awareness courses.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Gain a working familiarity with one or more peoples of the world, leading to a deeper understanding of cultures and societies outside the United States.
Develop and demonstrate analytic skills as well as specific cultural knowledge by undertaking at least one of the following:
- An in-depth examination of one culture, including how past or present local conditions and resources inspire distinctive cultural responses; or a survey and analysis of selected cultural expressions (such as art, music, history, and/or language) of one or more world cultures.
- A comparative study of two or more diverse cultures;
- An exploration of an inherently cross-cultural topic, such as international relations or the processes of globalization so long as the majority the class’s attention is given to this topic as it exists outside of the United States.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Which of the above approaches to addressing the CC GE does this course offer?
Please identfy the assignments that will allow you to assess these analytic skills and specific cultural knowledge. If it is not readily apprarent how these assignments will allow you to assess students’ abilities, please provide a brief explanation. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the student’s satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Ethnicity and Race (ER) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the ER GE designation prepare students for a state and a world which are increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-racial. Beyond familiarizing students with the culture and/or history of one or more ethnic or racial groups, these courses also aim to develop theoretical and practical understanding of questions such as (but not limited to):

A. how categories of ethnicity and race are constructed

B. the role they can play in identity formation

C. how ethnicity and race have historically been used to justify forms of enforced inequality

D. contributions of people of various ethnicities to society and to political change.

Whatever the approach, these courses are particularly concerned with how ethnicity and race may intersect with other categories, such as gender, class, or sexual orientation, to shape self-understanding and patterns of human interaction. While such courses may often adopt an historical perspective on the issues they consider, they will provide a critical perspective on race/ethnicity relevant to the present.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Develop an understanding and appreciation of the culture(s) of one or more ethnically or racially defined groups, and their contributions to United States, regional, or global society.
Learn how the categories of ethnicity and race have been socially constructed across time and space, the roles they have often played in identity formation, and how they have been deployed to justify forms of enforced inequality.
Learn to appreciate how ethnicity and race may intersect complexly with other categories such as gender, class, or sexual orientation, to shape self-understanding and patterns of human interaction.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Which of the above approaches ro addressing the ER GE does this course offer?
Please identify the assignments that will offer students the opportunity to meet the educational goal/outcomes of the ER GE. Then, explain how these assignments will use a critical perspective to develop in students an understanding of the ways in which ethnicity and race may intersect with other categories such as gender, class, or sexual orientation to shape self-understanding and patterns of human interaction. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objectives for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Interpreting Arts and Media (IM) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the IM GE designation explore the complex ways in which information of all kinds is represented by visual, auditory, or kinesthetic means, or through performance.

Contemporary life bombards us with visual and auditory media, often in the form of advertising or advocacy. These courses build in-depth understanding of one or more forms of artistic media: that is, media in which non-textual materials play primary roles. They offer skills in the practice, analysis, interpretation and/or history of one or more of these media, as well as the ability to analyze the means by which these media encode and convey information.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Learn to recognize and describe examples of selected artistic media.
Learn how specific artistic media characteristically encode and convey information, and develop a familiarity with one or more symbolization systems adequate for basic analysis of the media.
Learn about the role and impact of artistic or mass media in selected historical and/or contemporary cultures, including the function of culturally valued forms of media at a particular time and place, and how media contribute to the formation of individual and group identity.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Which form(s) of artistic media (that is, media in which non-textual materials play primary roles) are addressed in this course?
Please identify the assignments that will offer students the opportunity to meet the educational goal/outcomes of the IM GE. Then, explian how these assignments will build in-depth understanding of one or more forms of artistic media and offer skills in the practice, analysis, interpretation, and /or history of one or more of these media, as well as the ability to analyze the means by which they encode and convey information. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Mathematics and Formal Reasoning (MF) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the MF GE designation emphasize university-level mathematics, computer programming, formal logic, or other material that stresses formal reasoning, formal model building, or the application of formal systems.

These courses generally focus on one of the following:

A: mathematical reasoning and proof (at least pre-calculus or equivalent)

B. formal logic

C. computer programming

D. other formal systems (e.g., generative grammars, economic models, formal music theory)

Whichever particular approach is used, these classes aim to teach students to think with rigor and precision, using formal or mathematical models to teach the value of logical reasoning and dispassionate analysis.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will

Develop an ability to reason clearly within a formal system. This ability may be developed through coureses that develop the ability to manipulate and reason about symbolic information, rules of inference, validity, and so on.
Courses may also consider the ways in which our prior emotions and beliefs tend to distort or bias reasoning.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

1. Which of the above approaches to addressing the MF GE does this course offer?

2. Please identify the assignments that will develop in students an ability to reason in formal systems. Then explain how these assignments are designed to develop this formal reasoning ability in students. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.

3. Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Scientific Inquiry (SI) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the SI GE designation teach students about the essential role of observation, hypothesis, experimentation and measurement in the physical, social, life, or technological sciences. Students should acquire key concepts, facts, and theories relevant to the scientific method. By the end of the course they should be able to articulate an understanding of the value of scientific thinking in relation to issues of societal importance.

Such courses would allow students to acquie key concepts, facts, and theories relevant to the :

physical scientific method
social science aspect
life sciences
technological method

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Learn about the essential role of observation, hypothesis, experimentation and measurement in the sciences.
Acquire key concepts, facts, and theories relevant to physical, social, life, or technological sciences.
Learn to address the relevance of scientific hypotheses or methodology to life outside the classroom setting in relation to issues of societal importance.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Which of the above approaches to addressing the SI GE does this course offer?
Please identify the assignments that will allow students to acquire key concepts, facts, and theories relevant to the specific scientific method. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Statistical Reasoning (SR)

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the SR GE designation focus on developing skills in approaching quantitative data and statistical reasoning. These courses help students interpret quantitative claims and make judgments in situations of statistical uncertainty. Such courses might include topics such as:

ways of presenting and misrepresenting data
statistical inference
experimental design and data analysis

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Learn to use statistics and/or probabilistic re-zoning to make decisions insituations where their knowledge is incomplete or the future unpredictable
Understand statistical claims and forms of evidence, develop their ability to deal with numerical data and assess its reliability
And learn ways in which numerical data may be misunderstood or manipulated to mislead.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Which of the above approaches to addressing the SR GE does this course offer?
Please identify the assignments that will develop skills in probability and statistical reasoning. How will students learn to reason based on quantitative data and evaluate statistical claims and evidence? Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the student’s satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Textual Analysis and Interpretation (TA) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the TA GE designation have as their primary methodology the interpretation or analysis of texts. The aim of these courses is to develop higher-order reading skills and to train students how to read attentively, to think critically and analytically, to produce and evaluate interpretations, to assess evidence, and to deploy it effectively in their own work. These abilities are not only necessary for academic success, but also for full participation in civic life at every level.

Textual Analysis is the examination of how and whether a piece of writing or speaking achieves its aims, whether these are rhetorical and persuasive or aesthetic. Such courses should pay substantial attention not only to what information a poem, political speech, or scientific essay conveys, but to how it goes about doing so (by mobilizing particular metaphors, through plain speaking, via flowery language, by calling on scientific authority, or other mechanism). Please note that close reading leading to summary does not on its own constitute textual analysis.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Develop their high order reading skills, learning to read closely and attentively, to pay attention to detail, and to grasp the larger argument or fuller implications of a text.
Develop their ability to think independently, to understand and analyze the arguments of others, and to argue persuasively themselves.
Learn to assess textual evidence.
Learn to deploy textual evidence.
Develop their critical thinking and interpretive skills, learning to think rigorously and analytically as well as imaginatively and creatively about written texts.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

What methodology or methodologies will be used to train students in textual analysis?
Please identify the assignments that will offer students the opportunity to meet the educational goal/outcomes of the TA GE. Then explain how these assignments will train students to articulate how and whether a piece of writing or speaking achieves its aims, whether there are rhetorical and persuasive or aesthetic. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Perspectives: Environmental Awareness (PE-E) Course Guidelines

Regulation

A 5-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the PE-E GE designation teach students about the complexity of particular ecosystems and/or people’s interactions with nature so that students will better understand the environmental issues and trade-offs that are likely to arise in their lifetimes. The interactions between people and the Earth’s environment are subtle, complex, and influenced by a variety of natural, scientific, economic, cultural, and political factors.

Courses deal with one or more of the following topics:

The study of particular ecosystems or environments
Natural forces, processes, and their effect on ecosystems
Climates, climate models, and climate change
Evolution and adaptation to the environment
Bio-diversity and/or the robustness of nature and its feedback mechanisms
How cultures relate to their natural environments
Human efforts to create, preserve, and modify environments
Management of natural resources (such as fossil fuels, forests, and fisheries)
Issues of sustainability (such as sustainable agriculture or renewable energy)
Pollution and its effect on ecosystems
Ecological impacts of non-native species and other ecological disasters.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Learn about environmental issues and trade-offs that exist or are likely to arise in our lifetimes.
Acquire an understanding of the complexity of particular ecosystems and/or people’s interactions with nature.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Which of the above topics does this course address?
Please identify the assignments that will offer students the opportunity to meet the educational goals/outcomes of the PE-E GE. Then, explain how these assignments will develop in students an understanding of the complexity of particular ecosystems and/or people’s interactions with nature so that students can better understand the environmental issues and trade-offs that are likely to arise in their lifetimes. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Perspectives: Human Behavior (PE-H) Course Guidelines

Regulation

A 5-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the PE-H GE designation help students to prepare for a world in which many of the most pressing challenges (such as genocide, environmental degradation, poverty) are impacted by human thoughts, decisions, or practices. As well, they provide a kind of “owner’s manual” for students to assist them in understanding themselves, their roles (for example, parent, partner, leader), and their social groups (family, workplace, neighborhood, nation).

These courses impart specific knowledge about some aspect of individual human behavior or the operation of human groups. As well, they are likely to provide an introduction to one or more specific methodologies, such as ethnography, longitudinal analysis, or experimentation. A central aim, however, is to help students appreciate that better solutions to problems (whether global or personal) can often be found by incorporating information about how humans think, feel, and act.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Learn about theories and phenomena relevant to one or more aspects of individual or group-based human behavior
Gain a working knowledge of one or more methodologies used to generate new knowledge about human behavior
Learn to apply knowledge about human behavior to the solution of personal or societal problems.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Please identify the theories and phenomena related to human behavior covered in the course, as well as the methodologies used to study human behavior that are employed.
Please identify the assignments that will develop in students an understanding of the PE-H GE. Then, explain how these assignments are designed to develop this understanding of human behavior. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Perspectives: Technology and Society (PE-T) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One 5-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the PE-T GE designation focus on understanding technological advances, how they are developed, and their impacts on society.

Imparting a basic understanding of the dynamic technological society in which we live is an essential goal of academic institutions. The study of technology helps satisfy the need of society for knowledgeable people able to understand, participate, and guide the rapid technological advances that play such a vital role in our world.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Develop and demonstrate an appreciation of how advancing technology induces environmental, economic, and cultural changes.
Gain an appreciation for the skills needed to effectively participate in and advance the technological world.
In typical PE-T courses, students will gain and demonstrate an understanding of one or more technological systems together with an appreciation of the necessary scientific and engineering advances that enabled the system’s design, development, and production.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Please identify how the assignments and activities allow students to develop their understanding of technological advances and impact of technology. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Practice: Collaborative Endeavor (PR-E) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One 2-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the PR-E GE designation teach students strategies and techniques for working effectively in pairs or larger groups to produce a finished product. For example, students might learn specialized practical information such as how to use change-management software to monitor and manage changes initiated by multiple group members. Alternatively, they might learn basic information about leadership, teamwork, and group functioning, which they can incorporate into their own group process.

What is common to all courses is that some instruction regarding the process of collaboration is provided, in addition to instruction specific to the academic discipline and the products being produced. In other words, assigning group work is not sufficient; explicit instruction in techniques of collaboration is required.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Learn techniques for effective group work. These techniques typically include:
- partitioning responsibility
- merging individual efforts
- achieving consensus on approaches and sub-goals
- recording and distributing decisions
Learn about teamwork, leadership, and proactive job reach (going the extra mile).
Practice these techniques by working in groups to produce a finished product.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Provide a complete list of the reading assignments or other sources of information through which explicit instruction in techniques for effective collaboration – as defined by the totality of the educational goals/outcomes – will occur. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please identify the assignments that will offer students the opportunity to meet the educational outcomes of the PR-E GE. Then, explain how these assignments offer students the opportunity to apply the techniques for teamwork, leadership, and proactive job reach discussed in the course.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Practice: Creative Process (PR-C) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One 2-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the PR-C GE designation teach creative process and techniques in a context of individual or collaborative participation in the arts, including creative writing. For creative writing, students will publish an informal group collection or individual dossier of their successful writings.

Courses may combine theory and experiment in the creation of a new artwork, or new interpretation(s) of an existing artwork. Creative Process courses include studies in individual or group creativity or improvisation, and/or ensemble rehearsal and performance.

Students who elect to satisfy this requirement will take at least two credits of individual or group creative work; however, the requirement may be satisfied within courses of greater than two credits. Where appropriate, sponsoring units may require a sequence of two or three 2-credit courses with the PR-C designation assigned to the final quarter. For sequences culminating in a semi-professional public performance, an audition at which students demonstrate aptitude and a foundation of skills will be required .

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Acquire specific techniques and skills to perform and/or create one or more genres of art, including (but not limited to) one or more of the following: music, dance, theater, visual arts, film, digital media, and creative writing.
Develop alternate ways of learning – a foundation of visual, kinesthetic and/or auditory responses, and a context of relevant theory and interpretation – and through their participation in the creative process, acquire the ability to use faculty and/or peer mentoring and reaction to improve their creative work.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Please describe the final project; for the performing arts, visual arts, film, and digital media, courses will culminate in a final consisting of an open showing that demonstrates the individual or group has acquired basic technical fluency in one or more of the arts. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Practice: Service Learning (PR-S) Course Guidelines

Regulation

One 2-credit course or equivalent.

Description

Courses that carry the PR-S GE designation provide supervised learning experiences where students reflect on, communicate, and integrate principles and theories from the classroom in real-world settings. Service learning provides students with an opportunity to integrate their academic coursework with community involvement. Students gain valuable practical skills while giving back to the community.

Educational goals/outcomes

Students will:

Have the opportunity to apply knowledge from their academic coursework to problems and challenges in their student-learning placement.
Engage in tasks that benefit their service-learning organization or the clients that it serves.
Be encouraged to use the experiences and insights gained from their service-learning placement to develop questions for academic study.

Student’s Response GE Questions for Substitution of GE Requirements

*(after you respond obtain instructor confirmation supporting your answers)

Please identify the assignments and activities that provide students with an opportunity to apply their course work in a community setting to the benefit of the student and the host community. Please do not refer reviewers to the syllabus.
Please describe how the students’ satisfaction of the educational objective for the GE requirement will be assessed.

Composition (C)

Regulation

One five-credit course or equivalent is required. The courses must be taken in series: ELWR – C – DC

Description

The general education writing requirements at UC Santa Cruz consist of the Entry-Level Writing Requirement (ELWR) and Composition (C) Requirement. Successful completion of ELWR (Writing 1) is a prerequisite for students’ enrollment in the C course (Writing 2). Students must successfully complete Writing 2 before the seventh quarter of enrollment.

Educational Outcomes

Compose in more than one genre by responding to rhetorical situations and genre conventions according to readers’ expectations and writers’ purposes.
Ask questions and be guided by a strategic exploration of those questions in order to generate research topics and sustain meaningful inquiry.
Locate relevant source material, evaluate its credibility, and cite it appropriately.
Analyze and synthesize ideas in source material to produce projects that interpret and evaluate their own ideas and assumptions, as well as those of other writers.
Apply strategies when composing, revising, or evaluating their own work that enable them to follow conventions of professional English, such as arrangement, language use, mechanics, or documentation style.
Reflect critically on how to apply their processes for writing and analysis to writing projects in other contexts, within and outside the university.

Disciplinary Communication (DC)

Guidelines for Disciplinary Communication Courses

Background

All students should learn to communicate effectively, and in a manner appropriate to their chosen fields of study. The ability to write well is the central and necessary outcome of such learning. However, depending on the discipline, other forms of communication may be deemed important enough to teach and require. These might include, for example, the ability to speak effectively, to debate, or to create and deliver poster presentations. Even in the case of writing, norms of style, organization, data presentation, etc., vary widely from discipline to discipline. The goal of the Disciplinary Communication (DC) requirement is to ensure that students acquire the skills in writing and other forms of communication deemed appropriate by the faculty overseeing their majors.

The DC courses must be taken at UCSC per Santa Cruz Regulation SCR 10.2.2.2

The DC requirement is both a general education (GE) requirement and a major requirement. All students must satisfy the DC requirement by passing a set of 1-3 upper-division courses, totaling a minimum of 5 credits. Because it is a GE requirement, it is subject to both Senate Regulation on GE and policy on GE overseen by the Committee on Educational Policy. However, according to Regulation, students must satisfy the DC requirement by means of courses in, or closely related to, their major field. Therefore, departments must play a central role in determining the content and form of the course(s) that satisfy the DC requirement for their majors. Though this fact does not require that units mount or sponsor courses for their own majors, we expect that this will be the most common means by which DC courses are provided. In the ideal case, DC courses will simply be normal courses satisfying the major because they impart substantive major content, but with added components that fulfill the DC requirement.

DC courses must be upper-division courses that list the satisfaction of the Entry-Level Writing and Composition (ELWR and C) requirements as prerequisites. They may be special sections of large lecture courses which place emphasis on the instruction and evaluation of writing and other disciplinary communication skills. They may be lab courses. Since disciplinary communication skills are most meaningfully learned in the context of real disciplinary subject matter, DC courses should ideally be substantive courses in the discipline.

As noted above, a central component of DC courses must involve writing. The essential characteristic of this writing component is the assumption that students will learn how to write through an iterative process of writing and feedback. In order to ensure that practice in writing is adequately concentrated, no more than three courses can be used together to satisfy the DC requirement. In their DC course(s), students must write a minimum of 25 pages (6000 words) total (subject to the qualifications noted further below). This can be in the form of one large paper or several smaller papers, but no (complete) paper should be under two pages. The formal writing requirement may be reduced to 18 pages if students receive instruction in alternative forms of disciplinary communication approved by CEP. The 25-page minimum can include drafts if the instructor judges a new draft to differ substantially from the previous one.

Department-specific considerations

Departments can propose that DC requirements for a major be satisfied by means of one 5-credit course or by 2-3 courses (totaling at least 5 credits).

The guidelines given above leave a great deal of room for departments to determine the content and form of courses satisfying the DC requirement. CEP encourages departments to reflect on questions like the following:

What kind of writing should our majors learn to do? Should it be exclusively academic writing, or should students learn modes of non-academic writing that might be important in their careers, e.g. grant proposal writing, memo writing, etc.?
How can writing assignments be used to teach the content of some of our courses?
Are there other forms of disciplinary communication that our majors should learn? Public speaking? Poster preparation and presentation? And so on.

In order to encourage inclusion of other forms of disciplinary communication instruction in DC proposals, CEP will allow a reduction to 18 pages of the total writing page count if there is a substantive non-writing communication component to the proposal.

Requirements

In more detail, a department’s DC curriculum should meet the following criteria:

Reach

DC educational objectives are for all majors. DC courses must therefore be upper-division courses, and every pathway through the major must lead to satisfaction of DC objectives.

Substance

DC objectives must be met over at most three courses, and every paper counting toward DC requirements must be at least two pages long.
Students should write at least 25 pages over the course of the DC curriculum. Drafts count toward this total if the instructor considers rewrites to be substantial. This page minimum can be lowered to 18 if DC objectives include substantial practice and instruction in poster creation, oral presentation, etc.

Cumulativity

Writing assignments should be distributed throughout the term, with papers assigned and returned to students during both halves of the quarter.
Students should have the opportunity to receive criticism of drafts, particularly drafts of longer projects.

Instruction

The curriculum should explicitly address the assumptions and conventions of writing in the major’s discipline, for instance, the use of sources; the analysis of evidence; and the methods of research, argument, and proof.
Responses to papers should not focus on (or be limited to) correction of errors, but should address issues of argumentation, presentation, etc.