All courses carrying the skills and experience flags should include a statement in the syllabus to alert students to these important parts of the course. We suggest the following, but please feel free to modify the language. As you prepare your syllabus, you may also wish to review the flag criteria, which can be found under flag criteria and interpretations.
Cultural Diversity in the United States
This course carries the flag for Cultural Diversity in the United States. Cultural Diversity courses focus on the cultural experiences, perspectives, and/or practices of marginalized groups in the United States, as well as how culture works within a social and political context. You will think critically about at least three of the following: gender identity/expression, race, ethnicity, indigeneity, disability, sexuality, religion, nationality, language, and/or class. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from the study of and reflection on these contextualized cultural experiences.
Ethics
This course carries the Ethics flag. Ethics courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for making ethical decisions in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments involving ethical issues and the process of applying ethical reasoning to real-life situations.
Global Cultures
This course carries the Global Cultures flag. Global Cultures courses are designed to increase your familiarity with cultural groups outside the United States. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from assignments covering the practices, beliefs, and histories of at least one non-U.S. cultural group, past or present.
Quantitative Reasoning
This course carries the Quantitative Reasoning flag. Quantitative Reasoning courses are designed to equip you with skills that are necessary for understanding the types of quantitative arguments you will regularly encounter in your adult and professional life. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your use of quantitative skills to analyze real-world problems.
Independent Inquiry
This course carries the Independent Inquiry flag. Independent Inquiry courses are designed to engage you in the process of inquiry over the course of a semester, providing you with the opportunity for independent investigation of a question, problem, or project related to your major. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from the independent investigation and presentation of your own work.
Writing
This course carries the Writing flag. Writing flag courses are designed to give students experience with writing in an academic discipline. In this class, you can expect to write regularly during the semester, complete substantial writing projects, and receive feedback from your instructor to help you improve your writing. You will also have the opportunity to revise one or more assignments, and you may be asked to read and discuss your peers’ work. You should therefore expect a substantial portion of your grade to come from your written work. Writing Flag classes meet the Core Communications objectives of Critical Thinking, Communication, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility, established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
The Writing Flag faculty committee also provides statements on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Detection Software:
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity
Using someone else’s work in your own writing without giving proper credit is considered plagiarism, a serious form of academic dishonesty that can result in severe penalties. Copying someone else’s work, buying a paper and submitting it as your own, copying and pasting text (even with changes), or borrowing images from an online source, are some examples of plagiarism. Even if you plagiarize accidentally, you can be held responsible and penalized.
Learning to cite sources appropriately is an important part of becoming a professional. When you are unsure about citation, you are encouraged to ask your instructor (who is already an expert in the discipline) what is appropriate in the context of your assignment. Consultants at The University Writing Center can also help you determine whether you are citing sources correctly—and they have helpful guides online for using direct quotations and paraphrasing. Reviewing those skills will help you feel confident that you are handling sources professionally in your writing.
You can read the University’s definition of plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty in Sec. 11–401 of the Student Conduct Code. For more information, visit the Dean of Students’ site.
Plagiarism Detection Software
If plagiarism detection software such as TurnItIn will be used in a class, please include a statement such as the following in your syllabus:
All assignments in this course may be processed by TurnItIn, a tool that compares submitted material to an archived database of published work to check for potential plagiarism. Other methods may also be used to determine if a paper is the student’s original work. Regardless of the results of any TurnItIn submission, the faculty member will make the final determination as to whether or not a paper has been plagiarized.