Flag Requirements (12 semester hours)

A. Writing Flag - 6 S.H.

The purpose of the Writing Flag requirement is to reinforce the outcomes specified for the basic skills area of writing. These courses are intended to provide contexts, opportunities, and feedback for students writing with discipline-specific texts, tools, and strategies. These courses emphasize writing as essential to academic learning and intellectual development.

B. Oral Flag - 3 S.H.

The purpose of the Oral Communication Flag requirement is to complete the process of providing graduates of Winona State University with the knowledge and experience required to enable them to become highly competent communicators by the time they graduate.

C. Mathematics/Statistics or Critical Analysis Flag - 3 S.H.

The purpose of the Mathematics/Statistics Flag course requirement is to reinforce the outcomes specified for the basic skills area of mathematics/statistics. These courses are intended to provide students with significant practice in applying prerequisite mathematical or statistical knowledge.

The purpose of the Critical Analysis Flag course requirement is to provide an alternative to the M/S Flag requirement for students majoring in fields that do not make significant use of mathematics or statistics. Critical Analysis-flagged courses are intended to provide students with significant practice in rigorous argument comparable to what a student is expected to receive in a Mathematics/Statistics-flagged course.

The following policies concern using University Studies courses to meet graduation requirements:

A. Students may use University Studies courses toward meeting the requirements in any minor requiring the course.

B. Students may use Basic Skills courses to satisfy both University Studies and major requirements.

C. Students may use Arts and Sciences Core courses in University Studies to meet both University Studies and major/option requirements only if they are 'additional requirement' courses. An 'additional requirement' is a University Studies course which is required in the major/option and is outside the major/option department. Additional requirements are noted in the major/option with an asterisk [*]. Grades and credit hours earned in additional requirement courses are not calculated into a student's major GPA.

D. Students may use Unity and Diversity courses to satisfy both University Studies and major requirements.

E. Students may use Flagged courses to satisfy both University Studies and major requirements.

F. Students may use more than one course IN THE SAME DEPARTMENT to meet any one of the component requirements of the University Studies Program. (This is a change from the old General Education program in which students had to use courses from at least two departments to satisfy the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and different cultures requirements.)