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
Latest News from AASHE Bulletin
New Resources
Public-Public Partnerships for a New Paradigm in the Civic Role of the University
- California State University, Chico (CA)
Recognizing the need to proactively prepare engaged citizens for the dynamic socioeconomic and environmental conditions of the 21st century, the Institute for Sustainable Development at California State University (CSU), Chico, …
- Posted Oct. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Concordia Sustainability Action Fund and the Faculty of Arts & Science Sustainable Curriculum Project
- Concordia University (QC)
Sustainability Curriculum Co-Creation Teaching & Learning Festival
- Posted Oct. 14, 2017
- Photographs
- View more
The Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program at Fleming College, Lindsay, Ontario
- Fleming College (ON)
The Fleming College Salmonid Hatchery aims to ensure the future sustainability of Atlantic salmon in Lake Ontario by maximizing genetic diversity in stocked fish. The Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program has …
- Posted Oct. 14, 2017
- Photographs
- View more
Sustainability in the Curriculum at Humboldt State University
- Cal Poly Humboldt (CA)
Humboldt State University is among the first institutions to be recognized in STARS for sustainability course designation in standard course catalogs or listings. A committee of faculty and staff first …
- Posted Oct. 12, 2017
- Photographs
- View more
Leadership in Environmental Stewardship E-badge at Central Community College, NE
- Central Community College (NE)
Speech faculty Brent Adrian showing students the campus bee hives.
- Posted Oct. 11, 2017
- Photographs
- View more
Leadership in Environmental Stewardship E-badge at Central Community College, NE
- Central Community College (NE)
Leadership in Environmental Stewardship E-badge at Central Community College on campus Central Community College in Grand Island, NE
- Posted Oct. 11, 2017
- Photographs
- View more
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): The turn away from ‘environment’ in environmental education?
- Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
This article explores the implications of the shift of environmental education (EE) towards education for sustainable development (ESD) in the context of environmental ethics. While plural perspectives on ESD are …
- Posted Oct. 9, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Core Concepts for Teaching Sustainability: Using “Tips” to Deepen Learning across the Disciplines, Grade Levels and Cultures
- Colorado State University (CO)
- AASHE (MA)
Sustainability is one of those big, complex concepts that defy easy definition or simple responses yet demand attention to our collective well-being. Some Native Americans would judge the worth of …
- Posted Sept. 28, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
Global Citizenship Education: Preparing learners for the challenges of the 21st century
- UNESCO
This publication explores the concept of Global Citizenship Education (GCE), which it argues has a critical role to play in equipping learners with competencies to deal with the dynamic and …
- Posted Sept. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Educating For Sustainability: Developing Critical Skills
- Massey University
- University of Waikato
This article explores the contribution a pedagogical approach based in critical theory can make to education for sustainability in business schools. In addition to the regular business and environmental management …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2017
- Publications
- View more
The Relationship Between Academic Major and Environmentalism Among College Students: Is it Mediated by the Effects of Gender, Political Ideology and Financial Security?
- Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Several studies have found a relationship between college students’ academic majors and their environmental attitudes and behaviors. Results from this study of incoming first-year students at a medium-sized public university …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Careers in Sustainability: Current Job Trends and Future Growth
This report, based on interviews with 658 Canadian organizations, provides insight on key sustainability employment trends in Canada. It finds that over 50,000 professionals spend 50% or more of their …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Careers in organic food production
This article describes the workers who are involved in producing organic food, certifying it, and bringing it to consumers. Although the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not collect …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2017
- Publications
- View more
2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report
- United States Department of Energy (DC)
The 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER) finds that the Traditional Energy and Energy Efficiency sectors today employ approximately 6.4 million Americans. These sectors increased in 2016 by just …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Now Hiring: The Growth of America’s Clean Energy & Sustainability Jobs
- Environmental Defense Fund (DC)
This report examines the growth of sustainability jobs in the United States. Key findings include:
- Sustainability jobs represent a large and growing portion of the U.S. workforce across multiple sectors. …
- Posted Sept. 21, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Integrating Sustainability Into Management Education: A Dean's Perspective
- Michigan Technological University (MI)
The integration of sustainability and environmental ethics into management education has improved in the past decade. This is partly a response to external pressure, as societal concerns about sustainability grow …
- Posted Sept. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Environmental education for the masses: lessons from a large, general enrollment environmental studies course
- University of Florida (FL)
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
One critical tool for creating an environmentally literate citizenry is to reach students other than those in environmental-related majors in the form of the university-level large introductory environmental studies course. …
- Posted Sept. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Writing to learn ecology: a study of three populations of college students
- Colorado State University (CO)
- Minnesota State University Moorhead (MN)
- White Earth Tribal and Community College (MN)
Being an ecologically literate citizen involves making decisions that are based on ecological knowledge and accepting responsibility for personal actions. Using writing-to-learn activities in college science courses, we asked students …
- Posted Sept. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Environmental literacy, ecological literacy, ecoliteracy: What do we mean and how did we get here?
- University of Montana (MT)
Numerous scholars have argued that the terms environmental literacy, ecological literacy, and ecoliteracy have been used in so many different ways and/or are so all-encompassing that they have very little …
- Posted Sept. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Teaching with principles: Toward more effective pedagogy in ecology
- Colorado State University (CO)
- Hampshire College (MA)
Ecology is a complex and dynamic field and, as communicators of our discipline, faculty should be able to define a set of core principles that underpin and create ecological pattern …
- Posted Sept. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
The role of field exercises in ecological learning and values education: action research on the use of campus wetlands
Providing undergraduate biology students with ecological knowledge and environmental awareness is critical for developing professionalism in sustainable development. In addition to the cognitive and psychomotor development, outdoor ecological exercises combining …
- Posted Sept. 20, 2017
- Publications
- View more
University Reputations and the Public: A Roadmap for Higher Education Leaders
Edelman, a public relations firm, surveyed academics and the general public to understand how the U.S. public evaluates the reputations of higher education institutions, and how these reputational drivers vary …
- Posted Sept. 18, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Developing strategies and leaders to succeed in a new era of sustainability: Findings and insights from the United Nations Global Compact‐Accenture CEO Study
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify leading CEOs’ views on sustainability and how they believe it is impacting the business environment, with a particular focus on …
- Posted Sept. 18, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Getting Started with the SDGs in Universities: A guide for universities, higher education institutions, and the academic sector
The guide from the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Australia/Pacific aims to accelerate action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights the role universities specifically in Australia, New Zealand and …
- Posted Sept. 18, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Higher Education Paving the Way to Sustainable Development: A Global Perspective
The International Association of Universities (IAU), a membership organization, which brings together about 650 higher education institutions and organizations from some 130 countries, launched its first Global Survey on the …
- Posted Sept. 18, 2017
- Publications
- View more
AASHE Award Winner Webinar – Generating and Maintaining Hope and Agency through Sustainability Education
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
- AASHE (MA)
Indigenous educator Gregory Cajete articulates the motivations and questions that drive the presenter’s research. For Cajete, effective education entails ‘finding heart,’ an active process within and beyond the person evident …
- Posted Sept. 14, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
Solar Training and Hiring Insights 2017
This report aims to increase understanding of U.S. solar training, hiring practices, and market trends to help the industry make better, more informed decisions. It aggregates and analyzes data from …
- Posted Sept. 11, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Resilience of Social-Ecological Systems and Communities: A Mindfulness-Based Pedagogy
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
- AASHE (MA)
Human and non-human communities have varying capacities to respond to disturbance while maintaining the same basic functions. That is the main argument behind resilience theory and practice, which seek to …
- Posted Sept. 11, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
Identifying the role of conservation biology for solving the environmental crisis
Humans are altering their living environment to an extent that could cause environmental collapse. Promoting change into environmental sustainability is therefore urgent. Despite a rapid expansion in conservation biology, appreciation …
- Posted Sept. 5, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Fostering Sustainability in Higher Education: A Mixed-Methods Study of Transformative Leadership and Change Strategies
- Antioch University, Seattle (WA)
As evidence of the earth's limited capacity to sustain human life mounts, institutions of higher education are being looked to for leadership in the effort to educate students about environmental …
- Posted Sept. 5, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Embedding sustainability in higher education through interaction with lecturers: Case studies from three European technical universities
- Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya
- Technische Universiteit Delft
- Chalmers University of Technology
In this paper, three universities compare their work on the integration of sustainable development into their educational programmes. The purpose is to show examples of how this can be done …
- Posted Sept. 5, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Evaluating education for sustainable development (ESD): using Ecocentric and Anthropocentric Attitudes toward the Sustainable Development (EAATSD) scale
- The Hague University of Applied Science
With the emergence of education for sustainable development (ESD), robust literature on ethics and ESD has emerged; however, ecocentric perspective developed within environmental ethics is marginalized in current ESDebate. The …
- Posted Sept. 5, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Education for Sustainable Development: An Empirical Study of the Tensions and Challenges Faced by Geography Student Teachers
- University of Oxford
This is a qualitative study of the challenges identified by geography student teachers in their learning to teach about education for sustainable development in English secondary schools. The student teachers …
- Posted Aug. 31, 2017
- Publications
- View more
A review of transdisciplinary research in sustainability science
- Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Achieving the goal of sustainability requires understanding and management of unprecedented and interconnected challenges. A transdisciplinary approach is a key component of sustainability science. However, there are considerable barriers to …
- Posted Aug. 31, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Walking the Eco-Talk Movement: Higher Education Institutions as Sustainability Incubators
- Edgewood College (WI)
Management scholars can have a major impact on advancing environmental sustainability by focusing on their own home institutions. A “four-type” sustainability action model is presented to foster thinking about how …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Globalization and environmental education: looking beyond sustainable development
This study contends that environmental education is being significantly altered by globalizing forces, witnessing the effort to convert environmental education into education for sustainable development. This internationally propagated conversion can …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Fear Appeals and College Students’ Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Toward Global Warming
This study used Witte's extended parallel process model to examine the relationships between the use of fear appeals and college students’ attitudes and behavioral intentions toward global warming. A pretest-posttest …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Sustainability and Higher Education: From arborescent to rhizomatic thinking
- Stellenbosch University (Western Cape)
Currently, global society is delicately poised on a civilisational threshold similar to that of the feudal era. This is a time when outmoded institutions, values, and systems of thought and …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
From Talloires to Turin: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Declarations for Sustainability in Higher Education
Declarations for sustainability in higher education are often seen as a set of guiding principles that aid institutions of higher learning to incorporate the concept of sustainability into their various …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Comparing different measures of affective attributes relating to sustainability
- University of Otago (Otago)
- Otago Polytechnic (Otago)
A survey was developed to benchmark the affective sustainability characteristics of an incoming cohort of students in a Polytechnic in New Zealand, with the intention to monitor changes in these …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Processes, strategies and practices for turning the University of Crete into a sustainable university
In this paper, we look at the University of Crete experience to integrate the concept of sustainable development across all its operations. Through a review of current sustainability practices of …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
The Students’ Survey of Education for Sustainable Development Competencies: A Comparison Among Faculties
- Universita degli Studi di Padova
The paper reports research employing a quantitative approach to investigating the competences of university students about educating for sustainable development (ESD). Participants were 467 bachelor students of the following five …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Assessing sustainability in higher education curricula: A critical reflection on validity issues
While curricular assessments can give insight as to the extent sustainability is integrated into higher education study programs, issues remain regarding how assessments are conducted. Previous research has identified and …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Greening Technical and Vocational Education and Training: A practical guide for institutions
- UNESCO
This Guide is designed to help leaders and practitioners of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in improving their understanding and implementation of education for sustainable development (ESD) using …
- Posted Aug. 28, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Opportunity and Obligation: A Role for Outdoor Educators in the Sustainability Revolution
A primary educational challenge of the 21st century is to inspire students to become socially and ecologically conscientious citizens who are empowered, responsible members of the larger world. Outdoor educators …
- Posted Aug. 18, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Sustainability, Green IT and Education Strategies in the Twenty-first Century
- Curtin University
This work presents and discusses the latest approaches and strategies for implementing Sustainability and Green IT into higher education and business environments. Following the global financial crisis in 2007/2008, businesses …
- Posted Aug. 17, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Sustainability at Work: Finding Purpose and Profit in Your Career
- AASHE (MA)
- Engineers for a Sustainable World (CO)
This webinar provides career guidance for pursuing sustainability in every imaginable career. Using the SURF Framework that the presenter developed, and professional narratives from various sectors (agriculture, health, science & …
- Posted Aug. 17, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
Sustainability Practice and Education on University Campuses and Beyond
- University of Toledo (OH)
Campus activities for sustainable development are an effective way of learning and implementing sustainability in surrounding communities and industry. A college campus is an ideal place to practice and test …
- Posted Aug. 14, 2017
- Publications
- View more
Greening the Heart of Postsecondary Education
- Royal Roads University (BC)
- AASHE (MA)
What does “greening the heart of education” look like at the postsecondary level? What are the big questions we must pose — and answer — if colleges and universities are …
- Posted Aug. 3, 2017
- Videos & Webinars
- View more
Sustainable Business Courseware
- Point B (WA)
AASHE has partnered with Sustainable Business Consulting to provide plug-and-play online sustainable business courseware to help members accelerate the integration of sustainability into their curriculum. The content is consistent with …
- Posted Aug. 2, 2017
- Course Materials
- View more
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.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
AC 1: Academic Courses
- Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings
- Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings
- Inventory of sustainability course offerings (upload)
- Website URL - Sustainability course offerings
AC 2: Learning Outcomes
- Description of institution level sustainability learning outcomes
- List of degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability
- Percentage of students who graduate from programs that require an understanding of sustainability
- Website URL - Sustainability learning outcomes
AC 3: Undergraduate Program
- First sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program
- Second sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program
- Third sustainability-focused undergraduate degree program
- First sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration
- Second sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration
- Third sustainability-focused undergraduate minor or concentration
AC 4: Graduate Program
- First sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program
- Second sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program
- Third sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program
- First sustainability-focused graduate-level minor or concentration
- Second sustainability-focused graduate-level minor or concentration
- Third sustainability-focused graduate-level minor or concentration
AC 5: Immersive Experience
- Description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s)
- Second sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program
- Third sustainability-focused graduate-level degree program
AC 6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
- Copy of the sustainability literacy assessment (upload)
- Copy of the sustainability literacy assessment (description)
- Website URL - Assessment of sustainability literacy
AC 7: Incentives for Developing Courses
- Description of the course development incentives
- Website URL - Incentives for developing sustainability courses
AC 8: Campus as a Living Laboratory
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.