American Institutions Course Expectations and Learning Outcomes

  • Please design your course with the course expectations in mind.
  • Include the learning outcomes in the course syllabus and identify the activities and/or assignments that will be used to demonstrate students have met the learning outcomes.

US History Course Expectations

Course approved for USH must include:

  • significant events occurring in the entire area now included in the United States of America during a period of “a minimum time space of approximately 100 years,” including the relationships among regions within that area and with external regions and states;
  • the role of major ethnic and social groups in such events and the contexts in which the events have occurred, with attention to the multiple heritages of US culture, including Native American peoples and cultures;
  • the events presented within a framework which illustrates the continuity of American experience and its derivation from other cultures including consideration of three or more of the following: politics, economics, social movements, and geography; and
  • basic American values and ideals, including freedom; equality of opportunity, equality before the law, equality of moral regard for each other; and social fairness.

 

US History Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing a course designated as fulfilling the American Institutions and Ideals (USH) requirement, students will be able to:

  1. Describe the interaction and evolution of economic, political, social and cultural processes in the development of the United States and basic American values;
  2. evaluate information from a variety of sources and use this information to formulate well- reasoned responses to major ideas, concerns, and debates in the study of US history;
  3. describe the role of major ethnic and social groups in such events and the contexts in which the events have occurred, with attention to the multiple heritages of US culture;

 

  • Please design your course with the course expectations in mind.
  • Include the learning outcomes in the course syllabus and identify the activities and/or assignments that will be used to demonstrate students have met the learning outcomes.

USG and CSLG Course Expectations

Courses approved for the US and CA government requirements must include:

  • the political philosophies of the framers of the Constitution and the nature and operation of United States political institutions and processes under that Constitution as amended and interpreted;
  • basic concepts in political theory such as power and influence; political structure and process; government, its legitimacy and authority; and their application to understanding the US system, particularly the roles of law and the Constitution and the relationship between the two;
  • the rights and obligations of citizens established under the Constitution, in the context of basic American values and ideals, including freedom and self-reliance; equality; social fairness; democracy, including issues of participation and minority rights;
  • the constitution of the State of California within the framework of evolution of Federal-State relations and the nature and processes of State and local government under that Constitution; and
  • contemporary relationships of State and local government, the resolution of conflicts and the establishment of cooperative processes under the constitutions of both the State and Nation, and the political processes involved.

 

USG and CSLG Learning Outcomes

After successfully completing a course designated as fulfilling the US and CA Government requirement, students will be able to:

  1. Describe US and/or California political institutions and practices, including governmental structures, federal and/or state constitutions, and situate them in the cultural, historical and sociopolitical contexts.
  2. evaluate information from a variety of sources and use this information to formulate well- reasoned responses to major issues of governance as they affect the US and/or California;
  3. Describe the contributions of diverse peoples and cultures to our political processes and a constitutional system which protects minority rights;
  4. identify the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, including the importance of participation in the political process, and other ethical issues that arise in relation to US and California political institutions and practices.