Flag Guidelines

Courses of three or more credit hours that meet the following criteria will be flagged. Flagged courses need not be devoted entirely to the respective skills and experiences. Some courses will receive more than one flag. All appropriate courses should be flagged, including those restricted to majors and those following prerequisites that are also flagged.

One- and two-credit hour courses may be flagged when a higher percentage of the course grade is related to the flag criteria. More information.

Writing
Quantitative Reasoning
Global Cultures
Cultural Diversity in the United States
Ethics & Leadership
Independent Inquiry

Writing

Courses that carry the writing flag must:

• require students to write regularly—several times during the semester—and to complete substantial writing projects. It is only through the practice of writing that students learn to improve their writing.
• be structured around the principle that good writing requires rewriting. Students must receive meaningful feedback from the instructor (or teaching assistant) so they can improve successive drafts.
• include writing assignments that constitute at least one-third of the final grade in the course. These assignments must be graded on writing quality as well as content.
• provide an opportunity for students to read each other’s work in order to offer constructive criticism. Careful reading and analysis of others’ writing is a valuable part of the learning process.

For the full amended motion to change the degree requirements for all undergraduates at UT Austin, please see the faculty council webpage.

For a more detailed interpretation by the Faculty Writing Committee, please see the interpretations of these writing flag criteria.

Quantitative Reasoning

To satisfy the quantitative reasoning flag, at least half of the course grade must be based on the use of quantitative skills (e.g., data analysis and modeling, simulation, statistics, probability, and quantitative decision analysis) to analyze real-world problems.

Much of our current understanding of the world involves arguments with a quantitative component. The Quantitative Reasoning flag reflects the perspective that an educated person of the 21st century should be able to construct and critically evaluate a quantitative argument or model. The Quantitative Reasoning flag challenges the UT community to help our students include quantitative reasoning as part of how they understand the world with nuance and precision. The goal is for students to learn how to use logical, numerical, and statistical arguments and models and to understand the reasoning behind them. We should aim high and require more than a superficial application of statistical equations or mathematical relationships, striving to have our students understand their underlying reasoning.

Global Cultures

To satisfy the Global Cultures flag, at least one-third of the course grade must be based on content dealing with the cultures and perspectives of a non-U.S. community, country, or coherent regional grouping of countries, past or present.

Courses carrying this flag should go beyond art appreciation, the mechanics of a language, history, politics, economics, or international relations to reach an understanding of a culture. Proposals to flag courses focusing on a single author or artist should explain how the course will lead students to an understanding of the broader cultural context of the works studied.

The objective of this flag is to give students the opportunity to participate in an in-depth examination of the cultures and perspectives of a non-U.S. community. As such, sustained focus on a particular community, country, or coherent grouping of countries is required. Courses covering broad topics such as “globalization,” “world philosophy,” and “U.S. foreign relations” are not generally acceptable.

“Non-U.S. communities” include those of Western Europe. When the subject matter of the course involves predominately U.S. cultural groups, the flag proposal should explicitly describe the connection with non-U.S. cultural groups and certify that one-third of the grade will be based on content appropriate to this flag.

A single course may not carry both the Cultural Diversity in the United States and Global Cultures flags simultaneously.

Cultural Diversity in the United States

To satisfy the Cultural Diversity in the United States flag, at least one-third of the course grade must be based on content dealing with the culture, perspectives, and history of one or more underrepresented cultural groups in the United States.

“Cultural groups” may be delimited in terms of shared practices and beliefs and include groups such as women in the United States, certain immigrant communities, and the American Deaf Community. A cultural group will be considered “underrepresented” for this purpose if the experience of its members in the United States has been or continues to be one of persistent marginalization. Differences in the social and political power of a cultural group are relevant to this determination, but small numbers alone are not sufficient to show that a cultural group is underrepresented.

Courses carrying this flag should go beyond art appreciation or the mechanics of a language to reach an understanding of a culture. When the subject matter of the course involves predominately non-U.S. cultural groups, the flag proposal should explicitly describe the connection with U.S. cultural groups and certify that one-third of the grade will be based on content appropriate to this flag.

A single course may not carry both the Cultural Diversity in the United States and Global Cultures flags simultaneously.

Ethics & Leadership

To satisfy the Ethics and Leadership flag, at least one-third of the course grade must be based on work in practical ethics, i.e., the study of what is involved in making real-life ethical choices.

Courses in professionalism may be counted. The flag proposal form in every case must show specifically how the content of the course deals with real-life ethical choices. Courses in ethical theory or intellectual history are not generally acceptable unless the nexus to real-life choices is made explicit.

Independent Inquiry

To satisfy the Independent Inquiry flag, at least one-third of the course grade must be based on students’ independent investigation and presentation of their own work. Presentation of their work can take place in many venues including presentations in a capstone course, a performance, independent research, or a thesis.

Most studio, thesis, and independent study courses may be counted, but generally not those at an introductory level. When possible, the course should serve as a capstone or fall near to the capstone level in a major so that students have the opportunity to demonstrate mastery and integration of concepts important to their majors through independent work.