The California State University system approved an amendment to general education requirements Wednesday to include a course to address “ethnic studies and social justice.”
The CSU Board of Trustees voted to change the university’s general education requirements for the first time in 40 years, approving the one-course requirement to start in the 2023-24 school year.
CSU trustees voted to approve an amendment to Title 5 of the CA Code of Regulations that will modify the General Education requirements to include a course on ethnic studies and social justice—the first significant change to these requirements in 40 years. https://t.co/IqDAAcCgrx
— The CSU (@calstate) July 22, 2020
“This action, by the CSU and for the CSU, lifts Ethnic Studies to a place of prominence in our curriculum, connects it with the voices and perspectives of other historically oppressed groups, and advances the field by applying the lens of social justice,” stated CSU Chancellor Timothy White.
According to Campus Reform, the CSU is the largest four-year public university system in the country with approximately 482,000 enrolled students.
“Grounded in the traditional Ethnic Studies discipline, comprising African American, Asian American, Latinx and Native American studies, the requirement can be fulfilled through a broad spectrum of course offerings that address historical, current and emerging ethnic studies and social justice issues,” a press release from California State University said.
The press release continued: “The requirement advances a unique focus on the intersection and comparative student of race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, religion, immigration status, ability and/or age. CSU courses on Africana literature, Native Californian perspectives, police reform, disparities in public health and the economics of racism, to name just a few, would meet the new requirement.”
According to EdSource, in 2018, only 48.5 percent of CSU students graduated in six years and only 25.5 percent graduated in four. At just 9.5 percent, California State University, Los Angeles has the lowest four-year graduation rate among 23 CSU campuses.