Dive Brief:

• The University of California-Los Angeles’ College of Letters and Science will require undergraduates to take a diversity course starting next year.
• The college’s faculty voted by a narrow margin to require incoming freshmen and transfer students to take a course on ethnic, cultural, religious, or gender diversity.
• Three previous attempts to pass the vote for the college, which has about 85% of the undergraduate students enrolled at UCLA.

Dive Insight:

The opposition to the measure was based on the cost to the university of providing extra classes, adding an extra requirement to students’ burden, questions over whether the classes will have a liberal bias politically, and doubts about whether they are effective, the Los Angeles Times reported. Supporters say the classes will expose students to different beliefs and backgrounds, as well as international issues, preparing them for working in a multicultural society. The courses will be offered through several academic departments.