I. Regulations
Davis Division Regulation 522 sets forth the Baccalaureate Degree Requirement in General Education. Quantitative Literacy, a component of Core Literacies (522.C), requires 3 units of coursework (522.C.3).
Regulation 523 sets forth the Criteria for General Education Certification of courses, stating: “A course in Quantitative Literacy develops a student’s ability to reason quantitatively and to evaluate quantitative arguments encountered in everyday life.” (523.C.7)
II. Interpretation
The objective of Quantitative Literacy is to educate students to develop quantitative reasoning as a “habit of mind” which includes competency and comfort in working with numerical data as well as the ability to interpret arguments involving numerical data. Courses that meet the quantitative literacy must teach students to engage in mathematical or statistical reasoning about numerical data. They must also either:
- Teach students to generate arguments about numerical data collected to study events occurring in nature or in human social and political systems
-OR- - Teach students to interpret mathematical or statistical arguments made by others about numerical data collected to study events occurring in nature or in human social and political systems
Minimum Elements Checklist
Courses in the Quantitative Literacy must:
ME1) Require students to develop skills in quantitative methods or quantitative reasoning:
- Examples of quantitative methods include – descriptive statistics, inferential statistics, surveys, interviews, probability, field and observational methods.
- Examples of quantitative reasoning include – formal logic, Boolean logic, symbolic logic, algorithm, symbolic and computer languages
In justifying ME1, list the quantitative methods and/or quantitative reasoning techniques that students employ in this course.
ME2) Require that students apply quantitative methods and/or quantitative reasoning in everyday life.
In justifying ME2, provide specific examples of topics or arguments to which students apply quantitative methods and/or quantitative reasoning in everyday life.
ME3) Assess students for competency in Quantitative literacy.
In justifying ME3, describe how course assignments allow students to demonstrate competency in Quantitative literacy. Provide specific examples of how student competency in Quantitative literacy is assessed.
ME4) Ensure that developing the ability to reason quantitatively and evaluate quantitative arguments encountered in everyday life are learning objectives throughout the course.
In justifying ME4, describe how students develop Quantitative Literacy throughout the course and how Quantitative Literacy is addressed across student learning objectives of the course.
III. ICMS Submission Requirements
The Committee on Courses of Instruction (COCI) evaluates whether the course proposal satisfies the minimum elements checklist above. COCI uses the information provided in the answers to the General Education literacy justification questions and the Expanded Course Description. Departments requesting that a course be approved for this GE literacy must answer the literacy questions in the Integrated Curriculum Management System (ICMS). Where applicable, the italicized notes below the Minimum Elements above may help guide course proposers in drafting responses in ICMS.
Last revised and approved by Undergraduate Council
June 5, 2026