U. of Washington Approves Long-Sought Rule on Diversity Course

The University of Washington will require undergraduates to complete a three-credit course in some area of diversity before they can graduate, following a handful of failed attempts over the last two decades to institute such a requirement. The new policy won’t add to the number of hours students need to complete to earn a bachelor’s degree, and it will apply to the incoming class in the year that it takes effect, possibly next fall. Many other four-year institutions already have such a diversity requirement in place, and Washington students tried unsuccessfully to institute a similar rule in the 1990s. The university’s Faculty Senate approved the measure in April, and it also earned the support of Michael K. Young, Washington’s president.

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• Source: Seattletimes

Over two years, faculty members in various committees worked with the students to fine-tune the proposal and expand the definition of diversity. The requirement also was changed from five credits to three.

James Gregory, chairman of the Faculty Senate, which must approve all such changes, said “there was a lot of wordsmithing and adjusting the resolution at various stages.”

“There were changes in executive committee, more changes on the floor of the Senate,” said Gregory, a history professor. “A lot of the things that bothered certain faculty members were worked out.”

Read more at: seattletimes.com