U.S. Diversity/International Requirement Guidelines

U.S. Diversity/International Perspectives Guidelines and Procedures

(Approved by the FSCC 10/2/96; revised 5/2/97, 11/25/97, 4/28/98, 3/30/00)

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The following information appears in the 2007-2009 catalog, Undergraduate Courses and Programs.

One of Iowa State University’s goals is to prepare its students to meet the challenges of responsible citizenship and effective professional roles in a culturally diverse global community. To help achieve this goal, all undergraduate students must fulfill graduation requirements in two areas: U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives. The specific standards used to certify students’ fulfillment of these requirements vary from major to major, but all require three credits of course work (or the equivalent in some alternative academic experience) for each of the requirements. In most cases, courses used to meet the U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives requirements can also be used to fulfill general education requirements of the student’s college or requirements of the student’s major. Students should consult with advisers for details of the requirements in particular majors.

The focus of the U.S. Diversity requirement is the multicultural society of the United States. Courses or alternative academic work used to meet the requirement address significant manifestations of human diversity and provide students with insights that enhance their understanding of diversity among people in the U.S.

Through completion of the U.S. Diversity requirement, students will achieve at least two learning outcomes such as those listed below.

Students will be able to:

• articulate how their personal life experiences and choices fit within the context of the larger mosaic of U.S. society, indicating how they have confronted and critically analyzed their perceptions and assumptions about diversity-related issues.
• analyze and evaluate the contributions of various underrepresented social groups in shaping the history and culture of the U.S.
• analyze individual and institutional forms of discrimination based on factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, class, etc.
• analyze the perspectives of groups and individuals affected by discrimination
• analyze how cultural diversity and cooperation among social groups affect U.S. society.

The focus of the International Perspectives requirement is the global community. Its objective is to promote students’ understanding of cultural diversity and interdependence on a global scale. A period of immersion in a foreign culture is often a particularly effective way of meeting these objectives, so Iowa State University encourages the use of study-abroad experiences as a means of fulfilling the International Perspectives requirement. International students, because they are “studying abroad” from their home country’s perspective, are normally deemed to have met the International Perspectives requirement.

Through completion of the International Perspectives requirement, students will achieve at least two learning outcomes such as those listed below.

Students will be able to:

• analyze the accuracy and relevancy of their own worldviews and anticipate how people from other nations may perceive that worldview.
• describe and analyze how cultures and societies around the world are formed, are sustained, and evolve.
• analyze and evaluate the influence of global issues in their own lives.
• describe the values and perspectives of cultures other than their own and discuss how they influence individuals’ perceptions of global issues and/or events.
• communicate competently in a second language.

Implementation Policies

1. Use of transfer and testout credit in meeting the requirements.

For courses that transfer in as specific ISU courses, the transfer credit will fulfill the requirement if the counterpart ISU course fulfills the requirement. (Whether it does will, of course, depend on the student's current major.) Likewise, testout credit in a course that meets the requirement will also suffice. For courses that carry transfer credit but do not have a specific ISU equivalent, two parties will have to agree to the use of the credit in fulfilling the requirement: the department or program responsible for the student's major and the department or program responsible for the designator under which the course appears on the ISU record. (For example, if a course in a foreign language not offered at ISU transfers as FLANG 100, Foreign Languages and Literatures will have to approve the use of the course in meeting the International Perspectives requirement.) The agreements of the two parties must be documented in the student's record in the Graduation Office. (Revised by FSCC 12/4/00)

2. Requests for substitutions and waivers

Substitution. Requests to consider the requirement to have been met other than by taking a.) a course on the approved list or, b.) a course as defined by item #3 of these implementation policies, should be referred to the dean of the student's college. This includes substituting a nonapproved course, a segment of a nonapproved course, or an appropriate noncredit experience. If the request involves the substitution of an Iowa State course not on the approved list, the request shall then be forwarded to the provost with a recommendation from the dean. In all other instances involving substitutions, including the application of transfer credits, (subject to the requirements in section 1 above) the dean's decision is final. (Revised by the FSCC 10/27/03)

Waiver. Requests for waivers of the U.S. diversity or international perspectives requirement should be referred to the vice provost for undergraduate programs for a decision, accompanied by a recommendation from the dean of the student's college. Such requests will ordinarily be based on aspects of the student's personal experience that the student believes have enabled him or her to meet the intent of the requirement.

In the case of the U.S. diversity requirement, membership in a minority group will not, in itself, serve as sufficient grounds for a waiver. International students - defined as those students whose citizenship status is coded N (for nonimmigrant) or R (for refugee or asylee) on their official university record - are exempted from the international perspectives requirement because these students, by living and studying in a country other than their home country for an extended period, are meeting the objectives of that requirement in what is perhaps the ideal way.

If a student supports a waiver request with evidence of personal experience or activities with multicultural or international aspects, these experiences or activities must be of an academic nature although not necessarily credit-bearing.

3. Study abroad experiences and the International Perspectives requirement.

An ISU course, including work experiences under the auspices of Iowa State University cooperative education or internships, involving a stay in a foreign country of three weeks or greater duration will meet the International Perspectives requirement regardless of the content of the course. An approved ISU Study Abroad course involving international travel for less than 3 weeks will also meet the International Perspectives requirement regardless of the content of the course if it carries 3 or more academic credits. The procedure for substitution requests, described in item #2 of these implementation policies, is not required in these cases. (Revised by the FSCC 10/27/03.)

4. High School foreign language study and the International Perspectives requirement.

High school foreign language study will not, by itself, fulfill the International Perspectives requirement. A student who has done a significant amount of high school-level foreign language study may, however, fulfill the International Perspectives requirement by earning testout credit in the 102 course in a foreign language (assuming, of course, that foreign language 102 is acceptable in fulfilling the student’s major-specific International Perspectives requirement).

5. Modifying the Faculty Senate Curriculum Committee's lists of Courses Approved for use in Meeting U.S. Diversity Requirements and Courses Approved for use in Meeting International Perspectives Requirement. The approved course lists are found at the following web addresses: U.S. Diversity: http://www.iastate.edu/~registrar/courses/diversity-list.html and International Perspectives: http://www.iastate.edu/~registrar/courses/ip-list.html.

Because the U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives requirements are university level requirements and the lists of approved courses were originally implemented and approved by the FSCC, the ultimate approval of those lists rests also with the FSCC. Changes, deletions, or additions to the lists should originate with the departmental curriculum committees and then be approved by the appropriate college curriculum committee. Courses offered as dual-, co-, or cross-listed courses must be reviewed and approved by all colleges in which these listings occur. (The forms referred to in the following are found on the Registrar's web page.)

Courses in the Bulletin: The submission of requests for existing courses to be added to either list should be submitted on the "Proposal to Add Course to U.S. Diversity and/or International Perspective Requirement(s) List" form to your college curriculum committee, and include the following information and attachments: 1. Rationale why the course should be considered for meeting the requirement, 2. Objectives and outcomes of the course, and 3. A syllabus for the course.

Experimental Courses: The current (11/99 or more recent) Experimental Course Announcement form and a syllabus for the course should be submitted to your college curriculum committee. The college curriculum committee will judge the course for both the experimental offering and for appropriateness for the U.S. Diversity and International Perspective requirements.

FSCC review of U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives Courses: Coursesbeing proposed to meet the diversity and international perspectives requirements will be reviewed and approved by the FSCC after they have been approved by the college curriculum committee. When the courses have been approved by the FSCC, they will be added to the lists and will be announced in the Adviser's Newsletter. The list of approved courses is maintained on the Web by the Registrar.

Because departments and programs will be the ones actually certifying their students' completion of the requirements (included on the degree audit), the lists of courses acceptable in a particular major can simply be updated internally. Those programs that have accepted the lists as the means of fulfilling the requirements will automatically be able to use the new courses for meeting the requirements.

If departments or programs wish to change their means of meeting these requirements, they must submit their proposed changes to their college=s curriculum committee. Final approval must be obtained from the FSCC. Section 5 revised by FSCC on 3/30/00

6. The offering department's role in determining the availability of courses for use in meeting the requirements.

A department offering a course may not discriminate among the students in the course by allowing some to use it in fulfillment of one of the requirements while prohibiting its use by others. For example, the offering department may not designate a course as available for use in meeting one of the requirements for its majors only.

7. Courses appearing on both lists.

A few courses have been included on both the U.S. Diversity list and the International Perspectives list. A student completing such a course could use it in fulfillment of one requirement or the other, but not both.

8. Double-major and double-degree programs.

Students pursuing double major or double degree programs will be required to fulfill the U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives requirements of either one of the majors, but not both..

9. Pass not-pass credits.

Students cannot use pass not-pass credits to meet these requirements. Credits obtained with a P mark cannot be used to meet the U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives requirements.

10. Meeting the requirements.

Once a student has met the U.S. Diversity and/or the International Perspectives requirements of their currently declared major, the requirement is satisfied for their degree requirement. If they subsequently change majors, where the requirements may be different, the requirement has been fulfilled and additional courses in this area are not needed.

11. Use of U.S. Diversity and International Perspectives credit in a minor.

Credit used for these requirements can not be used as part of the 9 credits of a minor which cannot be applied to other requirements. Exceptions to this rule will apply to minors in: African American Studies, American Indian Studies, French, German, International Agriculture, International Studies, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Women’s Studies.