U.S. Multicultural Overlay Assessment

Definition

U.S. Multicultural Overlay (3 credit hours)

One course meeting ALL of the following criteria:

  1. Contains a preponderance of their content on race and/or ethnicities that are perceived as non-white.
  2. Promotes awareness of the structural nature of inequities in relation to race and ethnicity in contemporary U.S. culture.
  3. Incorporates readings and academic research on historically marginalized communities and structural inequities in the U.S. These readings will include writings and/or research by people from these communities and backgrounds. Discipline-specific exceptions will be considered with input from faculty in the discipline.
  4. Assesses student understanding of structural inequities in the U.S through reflective analyses incorporating written, statistical and/or oral methods.

Assessment Criteria

In addition to submitting a sample syllabus, US Multicultural Overlay Committee requires departments to answer the following questions to aid the committee in their evaluation of courses for inclusion as a US Multicultural Overlay :   

Criteria

Because the substantive requirements of the courses must focus on the dynamics of race and ethnic relations through the lens of structural inequities, the courses that fulfill the 3-credit US Multicultural Overlay undergraduate requirement MUST devote at least half of the content to issues that impact race and ethnicity, It is a non-required possibility that the content may intersect with analyses of gender, sexual orientation, language, culture, religion, mental and physical ability, age, socio-economic status, citizenship status, immigration status and/or other marginalized groups.

Approved courses will address all four (4) key learning outcomes for half or more of the course content in a one semester class of at least three credits:

Please indicate Yes or No. If YES indicate how the course satisfies the learning outcomes (e.g., specific examples in syllabus; additional comments).

Learning outcomes

  1. Courses that fulfill the overlay requirement will have a preponderance of their content focus on race and/or ethnicities that are perceived to be non-white.
  2. Courses that fulfill the overlay requirement will promote awareness of the structural nature of inequities in relation to race and ethnicity within contemporary United States culture.
  3. Courses that fulfill the overlay requirement will incorporate readings and academic research on historically marginalized communities and structural inequities within the United States. These readings will include writings and/or research by people from these communities and backgrounds. Discipline-specific exceptions will be considered with input from faculty in the discipline.
  4. Courses that fulfill the overlay requirement will assess student understanding of structural inequities within the United States through reflective analyses incorporating written, statistical, and/or oral methods.