Curriculum
Introduction
One of the primary functions of colleges and universities is to educate students. By training and educating future leaders, scholars, workers, and professionals; higher education institutions are uniquely positioned to understand and address sustainability challenges. Institutions that offer courses covering sustainability issues help equip their students to lead society to a sustainable future.
Featured Resources
New Resources
The Sulitest Certificate: a new global standard for assessing sustainability knowledge
- AASHE (PA)
- Sulitest
The Sulitest was the first tangible implementation of the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative at the United Nations’ Rio+20 event in 2012 to allow educational institutions and their students to ...
- Posted June 1, 2023
- Videos & Webinars
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Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program
- Concordia University (QC)
We are proud to offer the Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program as a pathway for eligible First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples who don’t meet Concordia’s ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Sustainability into Action: Undergraduate Certificate Catalyzes Sustainability Progress
- University of Saskatchewan (SK)
A generation of students faced with a sustainability crisis have the appetite to learn how to "do sustainability" and put their learning into action. We developed an innovative interdisciplinary program ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Duke University Climate Commitment
- Duke University (NC)
As Duke University enters its second century, President Vincent Price has directed the University to marshal its collective resources and capabilities to address the climate crisis. Stemming from President Price ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Brandeis University’s Year of Climate Action
- Brandeis University (MA)
In 2019, a task force set out to write a new climate action plan for the university. Among its recommendations was to dedicate an entire year to catalyzing and deepening ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Addressing Climate Anxiety through Resilience and Community Building
- Portland Community College (OR)
Sustainability and climate work require resilience to fend off burnout and avoidance. While our college does good work promoting sustainability through our Climate Action Plan and curricular and co-curricular environmental ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Addressing the Social Pillar of Sustainability by Enhancing Racial Equity of Minorities in STEM Higher Education through the CREaTE Pathway
- El Paso Community College (TX)
- University of Texas at El Paso (TX)
The Center for Research in Engineering and Technology Education (CREaTE) is a national center for research in engineering, science, and technology education at The University of Texas at El Paso ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Unanue Scholars Program: Improving College Access for Local Latina Students
- Catawba College (NC)
The Unanue Scholars Program serves junior Latina students from public high schools in Rowan County, North Carolina. Recipients of the scholarship are provided with a cost-free course at Catawba College ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Case Studies
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Advancing Sustainability Education through a Cross-Disciplinary Online Course: Sustainability and Human Rights in the Business World
- Florida State University (FL)
Abstract: The increasing threats of climate change, resource depletion, and human rights crises have led us to realize the impendent need for advancing sustainable development education and to reevaluate the ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Publications
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Sustainable New Product Development for Ten Thousand Villages, a Fair-Trade Social Enterprise: Empowering Women and Economic Development through Problem-Based Service Learning
- Florida State University (FL)
Abstract: Universities have an important role in advancing sustainable development by educating future professionals. As an effective approach to scaling sustainability education, the author implemented a problem-based service-learning (PBSL) project ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Publications
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US Society for Ecological Economics
- United States Society for Ecological Economics (PA)
The United States Society for Ecological Economics (USSEE) provides a venue for intellectual exchange and collaboration on issues related to the theory, policy, and implementation of sustainability. The society consists ...
- Posted May 31, 2023
- Research Centers & Institutes
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UBC’s Sustainability Open Data: Research, Learning and Operations
- University of British Columbia (BC)
- AASHE (PA)
The Sustainability Hub – a central unit at UBC focused on collaboration – have created a new open data platform to share sustainability performance metrics, increase transparency, support teaching, learning, operations on ...
- Posted May 25, 2023
- Videos & Webinars
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Students Taking on Oil & Petrochemicals Fellowship
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
PLAN’s Students Taking on Oil and Petrochemicals (STOP) Fellowship supports students that attend universities in Appalachia, a region threatened by an impending petrochemical buildout. This year-long fellowship provides students ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Co-Learning Partnerships & Carbon Management in Denmark & Canada
- University of Northern British Columbia (BC)
- Aarhus University
Businesses are increasingly interested in carbon management as a climate change mitigation tool. They want to respond to climate policy targets aimed at keeping global warming within a two-degree centigrade ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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From the Amazon to Florida: Climate Change Education at Miami Dade College
- Miami Dade College (FL)
This educational session will showcase how the high-impact teaching approaches used in Miami Dade College’s Global Sustainability and Earth Literacy Studies (GSELS) learning network are also efficacious climate change ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Environmental Justice & Nature Immersion: A Collaborative Partnership
- North Hennepin Community College (MN)
- YMCA of the North (MN)
GCST 1970 is a nature-based, credit-bearing program for North Hennepin Community College and high school students from Brooklyn Park, MN, in partnership with the YMCA and Three Rivers Park District ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Engaging Students and Curricula to Create a More Sustainable and Equitable University Food System
- Naropa University (CO)
Join us for a step-by-step explanation of a curriculum-based, community development approach to creating a more sovereign, secure and sustainable food system at Naropa University. Discover how staff and faculty ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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The UBC Climate Studies and Action Certificate as a Response to the Climate Emergency Declaration
- University of British Columbia (BC)
This certificate is a response to the climate emergency 1. Creating justice centered, action oriented, accessible, interdisciplinary and hopeful climate education opportunities was one of six strategic priorities in the ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Innovative Approaches and New Networks Around Sense of Place and Connection to Nature
- Wellesley College (MA)
Undergraduate education often separates “place” from pedagogy. Incorporating place into pedagogical approaches through landscape “living laboratory” frameworks can provide benefits that include improving well-being, increasing “pro-environmental” behavior, and fostering a ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Supporting Roles for STARS: Regional Campus Libraries in Sustainability Initiatives
- Indiana University South Bend (IN)
- Indiana University Southeast (IN)
- EcoChallenge.org (OR)
Academic libraries are rich storehouses of expertise and initiatives that directly contribute to sustainability initiatives impacting both your campus and local service communities. These initiatives also contribute to ongoing reporting ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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The KCKCC Library Sustainability Research Guide: Resources, Literacy, & Engagement
- Kansas City Kansas Community College (KS)
This session will provide an overview of the Sustainability Research Guide created for the Kansas City Kansas Community College library. This guide has been crafted over several years and is ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Social & Financial Sustainability: What Is Its Role in the Sustainability Dialogue?
- Sonoma State University (CA)
Sustainability denotes many things to many of us. But to the majority in education space, if you have offered a sustainability course it means you have done something related it ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Education as Sustainability: Courageous Conversations in a Changing World
- Nipissing University (ON)
For the past ten years, we have been offering a PhD in Educational Sustainability. We recognize that “education for sustainability means educating for the emergence of a different, possible world ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Innovative Approaches to Teaching Sustainability
- Stanford University (CA)
This session presents learnings from the design and teaching “Leading Change for Sustainability,” a Stanford University course that is part of the Sustainability Science and Practice Master’s Program. It ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Bringing a Travel Experience Into the Classroom
- University of Arkansas at Little Rock (AR)
How material obtained from a university funded research project on sustainability focused on water conservation in Israel is used to create a learning module will be presented. The presenter created ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Submitting to “Case Studies in the Environment”: A Workshop for Authors
- University of Southern California (CA)
“Case Studies in the Environment” (CSE) is a peer-reviewed journal published by the University of California Press. The online journal publishes case studies, which provide nuance to environmental problem solving ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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The LEED Curriculum: A New Standard for Sustainability Education
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (WI)
This session provides a comprehensive overview of The LEED Curriculum for college CTE and university undergraduate programs. Using the globally recognized LEED rating system as a framework, facilitator Heather McCombs ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Just Sustainable Leadership: Integrating Stakeholders
- Arizona State University (AZ)
Wicked environmental dilemmas (e.g. climate change) are difficult to explain, plainly define, have no one solution, and are often the result of other indefinable problems that require integrative collaborative ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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The Future of Work and Implications for Sustainability in TVET
- Colleges and Institutes Canada (ON)
According to many reports on sustainability, ambitious net-zero goals will require millions of workers to learn new job skills over the next decade. The world’s transportation, energy, and manufacturing ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Lightning Talks: Teaching & Learning (Group 2)
- Simon Fraser University (BC)
- EcoChallenge.org (OR)
This session consists of 3 15-minute Lightning Talk sessions related to campus academics and operations. The Lightning Talks are: Behavior Change for Campus & Courses: Driving Engagement & Impact - This ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Using Self-Assessment to Extend Sustainability Competency Development
- MacEwan University (AB)
One of the key benefits of developing sustainability competencies is that they enable students to pursue future work and study opportunities within sustainability despite diverse fields and challenges. However, if ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Tools to Fill the Education Gap for Agenda 2030
- United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (NY)
This discussion will cover the tools needed to fill the gap in higher education systems for Agenda 2030. The mission of the SDG Academy is to create and curate the ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Reimagining Field-Based Sustainability Learning: A Journey to Active Hope
- Dalhousie University (NS)
Conventional field courses are often focused on experiencing the outside world through the lenses of the natural sciences, where students learn and practice methods to measure and compare various biological ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Impactful Sustainability Curriculum: Supporting Faculty Implementation of High Impact Teaching
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
- University of Oregon (OR)
Integrating Service-Learning/Community Engagement (SLCE) into Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) can enhance student learning outcomes and competencies, across all disciplines. SLCE in higher education has been shown to enhance ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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The 2041 Project: Imagining a Positive Climate Future
- State University of New York at Oneonta (NY)
One of the essential tasks in responding to the ongoing climate crisis is imagining alternatives to current circumstances that could lead to possible, plausible, and positive futures. Simply absorbing data ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Lightning Talks: Teaching & Learning (Group 1)
- Lipscomb University (TN)
- Thompson Rivers University (BC)
- University of Liverpool
This session consists of 3 15-minute Lightning Talk sessions related to teaching and learning. The Lightning Talks are: Turning Out Graduates Who Can Promote Sustainability Within Organisations - This session covers ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Impactful Education for Sustainability Through Research and a Community of Practice
- University of Tasmania
For humanity to persist, we need populations with sustainability knowledge and practices. Higher education has the potential to contribute but there are many barriers preventing higher education actors from reaching ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Innovation in Sustainability Degree Programs
- Saybrook University (CA)
- Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ)
- International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) (OR)
Three ISSP Education Partners will lead a discussion on innovation within sustainability degree programs to meet industry needs and accelerate students within the profession. Topics will include integrating systems thinking ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Teaching Behavior Change Principles for Sustainability Careers
- Center for Behavior and Climate (FL)
- Behavior Development Solutions (FL)
As sustainability professionals, we know that to address climate change in the short timeframe we have left requires nothing more than transformational systems change. Sustainability programs have an urgent role ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Teaching Key Competencies in Sustainability Education
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
- University of Dayton (OH)
- University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
- Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (MD)
The Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (SCC) and the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) have launched a new series of materials for faculty teaching sustainability topics. The ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Integrating Climate Justice and Climate Change Into Curricula Through Community-Based Learning
- Portland Community College (OR)
Portland Community College’s 2021 Climate Action Plan: Resiliency, Equity and Education for a Just Transition calls for the college to support and encourage students to engage with sustainability and ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Achieving Deep Sustainability Through Hands-on Learning
- University of British Columbia (BC)
- University of the Fraser Valley (BC)
- Okanagan College (BC)
Achieving sustainability competencies often involves multiple skill sets, from abstract reasoning to applied and experiential learning. How exactly can sustainability competencies be demonstrated? How can these competencies be transferred to ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Building Decarbonization Education for the Next Generation
- Howard University (DC)
- Stanford University (CA)
In order to prepare the next generation of building professionals, engineering education must adapt. The Stanford Building Decarbonization Learning Accelerator (BDLA) provides free teaching resources to professors so they can ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Interdisciplinary Learning Community: Sustainability and Agriculture
- County College of Morris (NJ)
An interdisciplinary approach to environmental topics, such as climate change and sustainability, helps to bridge the gap between identifying an environmental concern and implementing a societal resolution. This presentation aims ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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High Impact Practices at Bridgewater State University’s Permaculture Garden and Local Farms
- Bridgewater State University (MA)
In this presentation, faculty from the Bridgewater State University Sustainability Program share their experiences of using the permaculture garden as a tool for their teaching, research, and scholarship. The goal ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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A Review of an Online International Sustainability Collaboration
- The College of Saint Scholastica (MN)
In spring of 2021, nine Chemistry and Sustainability at The College of St. Scholastica entered into an innovative active learning collaboration with five English-major Russian students at Petrozavodsk State University ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Advancing the SDGs through Education Abroad
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
- The Forum on Education Abroad (RI)
It may seem that institutional goals for education abroad are at odds with institutional goals for sustainability. But what if your study abroad programming could actually advance one or more ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Making Study Away Programs More Climate Conscious
- Williams College (MA)
The presentation will illustrate opportunities and challenges in measuring and reducing the carbon footprint of study away programs using data from Williams College. A growing number of students opt to ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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University Power Grid Resilience Teaches Steps to Carbon Neutrality
- Chatham University (PA)
- Green Business Certification Inc (DC)
Chatham’s Eden Hall Campus is designed to be a living lab for sustainability and resiliency where students can drive progress while developing their skills. Advancing progress towards carbon neutrality ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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Developing Sustainability Skills in Future Language Teachers
- Universidad de Colima
As teachers, we address the sustainability crisis from the field of education and we dedicate ourselves to develop sustainability skills among teachers in training who will be key players in ...
- Posted May 17, 2023
- Conference Presentations
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community. Additional content and advanced benchmarking tools will be added to this tab over time.
Programs and Initiatives
The following links connect to specific Content Displays on the STARS website (AASHE membership and log-in required).
- Sustainability course inventories
- Sustainability literacy assessments
- Sustainability-focused immersive educational study programs
- Programs that offer incentives for faculty to develop sustainability courses
Scores
The following link connects to the Score Display on the STARS website (AASHE membership and log-in required).