Course Attributes

Attributes are short acronyms embedded into course titles that identify specific elements of content and/or pedagogy within a course. Content refers to a focus on agreed-upon outcomes. Pedagogy refers to a focus on use of specific types of instructional approaches or strategies.

The purpose of the attributes is to support the organizational mission by increasing:

Advising transparency for students
- Identify required course work such as General Education or Diversity courses.
- Identify specific content and pedagogy that may inform appropriate course selection.
Institutional identification by making visible engagement in specific learning outcomes and high impact practices, particularly for underrepresented students.
Facilitation of interdisciplinary study and University curriculum initiatives.
Third-party recognition of University accomplishments, such as Carnegie Foundation recognition of the Center for Community Engaged Learning (CEL) attribute.
Leverage for graduates in applying to graduate school or for employment, by defining attributes on the back of transcripts and/or offering certificates or recognitions for completing a given number of courses. The scope of an attribute may be limited to courses within a specific department or college, or inclusive of courses across the University. A single course may not hold more than three attributes.

High Impact Educational Experiences

High Impact Educational Experiences promote student learning through curricular and co-curricular activities that are intentionally designed to foster active and integrative student engagement by utilizing multiple impact strategies.

Attribute	Abbreviation	Description
Community Engaged Learning	CEL	Students will engage in meaningful community engagement that is connected to their specific course’s academic objectives. CEL Website
Course Based Research	CRE	Students will engage in a significant research, scholarly, or creative works experience as a major component of this course. CRE Website
Internship	INT	Students will spend the bulk of their time engaging with industry professionals in experiential learning. INT Website
Sustainability	SUS	Students will concentrate on sustainability, including its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, or examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens. SUS Website
Global Learning	GLB	Students will develop global knowledge, global skills or global attitude as one of the learning outcomes/goals of the course. GLB Website
Career Development	CDEV	Students will learn and apply career development principles and prepare for next-step success in all career industries.

General Education

The purpose of the Weber State University General Education program is to provide students with foundational knowledge and intellectual tools that enhance and transcend their academic program of study. The big questions posed by General Education courses address significant issues about the world. General Education courses help students apply their learning and develop personal and social responsibility, which is demonstrated through signature assignments. More information is available in the Catalog’s General Education Requirements and the General Education website.

Attribute	Abbreviation	Description
Composition	EN1	Students will develop practices of successful academic writing that will serve as a foundation for continued writing experiences across the curriculum. Students will focus on the writing process, writing for specific audiences, collaboration with peers, and on the interrelationship between reading and writing.
Composition	EN2	Students will focus on writing arguments, conducting library research, and documenting sources, practices which serve as a foundation for continued writing experiences across the curriculum. Students will further develop practices of successful academic writing introduced in EN1 courses, including the writing process, writing for specific audiences, and collaboration with peers.
American Institutions	AI	Students will demonstrate reasonable understanding of the history, principles, form of government, and economic system of the United States. Students will use primary documents, engage in a diversity of viewpoints, as well as interpret, communicate and integrate information about historical, political, and economic systems.
Quantitative Literacy	QL	Students will demonstrate quantitative reasoning skills beyond those found within required high school Mathematics courses and at an appropriate introductory university level. Students will focus on interpretation, representation, calculation, application/analysis, assumption, communication, and creation of quantitative evidence.
Information Literacy	IL	Students will learn the Library and Web research skills needed for success in college and for lifelong learning.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion	EDI	Students will engage with human diversity/multiculturalism that is directly relevant to present-day society in a course that is comparative in nature (multi-cultural or cross-population), treats multiple aspects of diversity and/or culture (such as race, gender, age, class, etc.) in a single area of study, or is specific to a particular group of people or culture that is not present or is under-represented in the general social-economic-political framework of the United States.
Humanities	HU	Students will derive evidence from primary sources regarding the complexities and changes in human experience through analytical reading and critical thought; describe how human experience is shaped by social, cultural, linguistic, and/or historical circumstances; demonstrate attentiveness to linguistic, visual, and/or audio texts when communicating meaning/ or use appropriate verbal, perceptual, or imaginative skills when organizing meanings, developing a sense of self, and balancing potentially disparate values.
Creative Arts	CA	Students will discuss the scope and variety of the fine arts; recognize the aesthetic standards used in making critical judgments in various artistic fields; analyze and articulate understanding of a range of artistic processes; participate in an introductory performance, production or design experience in the arts; or demonstrate how the creative process is informed and limited by social and historical contexts.
Social Sciences	SS	Students will demonstrate understanding of social and behavioral science methods, concepts, and theories; formulate basic questions about social behavior and phenomena through interpretive and systematic analyses; develop empirically-derived and theoretically-informed explanations of human behavior in both its individual and collective dimensions; or demonstrate a critically-reasoned understanding of social patterns and individual variation congruent with and divergent from those patterns.
Physical Sciences	PS	Students will demonstrate understanding of science as a way of knowing about the physical world, demonstrate understanding of forces in the physical world, discuss the flow of matter and energy through systems; develop evidence-based arguments regarding the effect of human activity on the Earth; or describe how the Physical Sciences have shaped and been shaped by historical, ethical, and social contexts.
Life Sciences	LS	Students will demonstrate understanding of science as a way of knowing about the natural world; demonstrate basic understanding of how organisms live, grow, respond to their environment, and reproduce; discuss the organization and flow of matter and energy through biological systems; explain from evidence patterns of inheritance, structural unity, adaptation, and diversity of life on Earth; or describe how the Life Sciences have shaped and been shaped by historical, ethical, and social contexts.