The members of the faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, are holding a vote later this month on whether every undergraduate student should be required to complete a course that is focused on diversity. The proposal calls for each undergraduate to complete a course that substantially addresses racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic, sexual orientation, religious, or other types of diversity. Students would be required to pass the course with a grade of C or better in order to fulfill the requirement.
M. Belinda Tucker, vice provost for the Institute of American Culture and co-chair of the College Diversity Initiative Committee at UCLA, stated that “for students to function and thrive in today’s global society, these skills must be considered a core competency. There’s overwhelming evidence that taking at least one course focusing on diversity issues contributes positively to the individual development of students and campus climate.”
If approved the requirement would be in place for entering first-year students in the fall of 2015. The proposal has already received the unanimous support of the faculty executive committee and the Undergraduate Council.
Update: The faculty narrowly approved the establishment of a diversity course requirement. The vote was 332-303.
