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.
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Plenary: Organizational Leadership for Sustainability Education
- Unity Environmental University (ME)
As president of Unity College, Dr. Stephen Mulkey is a champion of sustainability science, which he sees as the defining framework for academic programming at Unity College. In just under …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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UC Berkeley's Building Sustainability at Cal Class: The Integration of Social Justice Into Sustainability Education
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
The Building Sustainability at Cal (BS@C) class is a unique course on the campus of UC Berkeley—gathering students from diverse disciplines to learn about and form the future of sustainability. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Pushing The Boundaries Of Student Sustainability Competitions With The Kukui Cup
- University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
In order to meet the sustainability challenges we face in higher education and the world, we need to understand the impact of our behavior, and what we can do to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Island Food Security through a Campus Community Garden
- University of Hawaii Maui College (HI)
The Sustainable Living Institute of Maui (SLIM) at UH Maui College began an endeavor to build a campus community garden in 2010. Almost three years later, and after many obstacles …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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“You Can’t Measure That!” Measuring Affective Learning Outcomes in an Undergraduate Urban Sustainability Course
- University of Louisville (KY)
Traditional classroom assessments are unable to measure students’ development of the affective competencies and behavioral dispositions implicit in education for sustainability. This original research addresses the question of how to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How can we know that our educational efforts are working?
- University of Otago (Otago)
Some higher education institutions aspire to transform students into global citizens, able and willing to address the sustainability needs of the planet. Yet these institutions have limited capacity to evaluate …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Sustainability as a Contested Concept: Reflections from the Cascadia Sustainability Field School
- University of Victoria (BC)
Skepticism with respect to the self-evidence of truth claims in the ever-present context of power relations is central to critical scholarship. Concepts can and are used not as innocent representations …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Beyond Sustainability: Resilience Thinking in Sustainability Education
- Warren Wilson College (NC)
Sustainability can be thought of as the ability of human communities to persist over the long term through equitable sharing of natural, economic and cultural resources within and across generations. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Monasteries :"What Campus Sustainability Programs Can Learn From Their Antecedents"
- Western Illinois University (IL)
This presentation reports on historical influences of rural monasticism and culture on current sustainability practices in higher education. Although not conceived or defined as sustainability, western European monasteries functioned to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Philosophy, Poetry, Sustainability: It’s all about Inspiring Deep Thinking
- Wright State University (OH)
The last few years have brought our mid-size primarily commuter school face to face with the image that we project and what we see reflected in the mirror. In the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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An Historian's Critique of the Sustainability Triangle
- Xavier University (OH)
This paper examines the traditional sustainability triangle—economy, environment and society—from an historical perspective. I argue that the sustainability triangle and its attendant well-used concept of sustainable development arose during the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Sustainability 101: How Do We Structure An Introductory Course?
- George Washington University (DC)
- Michigan State University (MI)
- Philadelphia University (PA)
- Roosevelt University (IL)
This panel discussion brings together 5 university instructors who have been teaching some version of "Intro to Sustainability" for at least several years. The panelists will share and compare their …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Collaborative Approach to Understanding Faculty Research and Course Offerings
- Appalachian State University (NC)
As part of Appalachian State University's commitment to sustainability, a faculty inventory was conducted to determine the nature and extent of research, scholarly activity, and creative production that are associated …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Experiential Learning in 'Sustainable Global Stewardship': A Costa Rican Case-Study
- Cal Poly Humboldt (CA)
This session will provide an overview of a sample interdisciplinary experiential study abroad program in 'Sustainable Global Stewardship' in Costa Rica. This will include a summary of program design through …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Designing Introductory Courses in Sustainability for Undergraduate Learners
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Skagit Valley College (WA)
- University of Washington, Bothell (WA)
Sustainability programs have proliferated in colleges and universities recently, including lower division courses designed to introduce students to the issues of sustainability. But as a field of study, sustainability is …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Getting to the Point: Teaching STEM Content Through Societal Challenges
- Oakland Community College (MI)
- Association of American Colleges and Universities (DC)
- U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development
Our planet and its inhabitants are under unprecedented stress. More than ever before, we need people - citizens, scientists, engineers, and teachers - who not only understand the scientific and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability: Perspectives of Students as Stakeholders in the Curriculum
- University of Hawaii Kapiolani Community College (HI)
Using a single case study approach, this doctoral dissertation explores sustainability curricula in a community college setting. Forty students were interviewed using a focus group methodology to discern group norms …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessing Sustainability Learning Outcomes at Two Community Colleges
- Delta College (MI)
Assessing sustainability and general education outcomes is a tough nut to crack. Follow two community college academic professionals along their journey to discover an efficient and effective assessment tool. Both …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Curriculum Convocation
- Middlebury College (VT)
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
- AASHE (MA)
- EcoChallenge.org (OR)
What will 21st century colleges and universities look like when sustainability is the curriculum? When students leave institutions of higher learning with the knowledge, skills and dispositions to meet challenges …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Pedagogy of Sustainability: Applying Transformative Learning Theory
- EcoChallenge.org (OR)
Most faculty members are not taught to be teachers. While much of sustainability education research focuses on appropriate teaching methods, faculty looking to integrate sustainability into their classrooms tend to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student Led Weatherizations at Harvard: Delivering Exponential Impact from Small Energy Retrofits
- Harvard University (MA)
Finding a way to give a broad number of students hands on experience in facility operations while making a significant impact on energy consumption is a complex process. After four …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Honing Student Involvement: Structuring Programs for Success
- Johns Hopkins University (MD)
- University of Florida (FL)
Could your student programs or internships be refined to maximize effectiveness and impact? University of Florida staff will present an overview of student programs with innovative incentive structures and systems …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Helping Others Understand Sustainability: Tools for Curriculum Development and Instructional Design
- Manhattanville College (NY)
- Webster University (MO)
All too often, efforts to advocate for the integration of sustainability into curriculum development and instructional design in higher education are thwarted by general confusion about just what sustainability is. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Nurturing Sustainability Leaders: Pedagogical Practices and Guiding Stories
- Portland State University (OR)
The Leadership for Sustainability Education (LSE) graduate program at Portland State University focuses on preparing sustainability leaders by developing: 1) a reflective understanding of self 2) an understanding the world …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating a Learning Environment With Storm Water Management
- Delta College (MI)
Utilizing the physical campus environment can create an engaging experience for teaching and learning and can serve as an invitation for community partnership and participation. With Federal government placing more …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fostering University-Wide Sustainable Behaviors Through Service Learning: A Classroom Transition From Theory To Real World Application.
- Utah State University (UT)
This presentation will introduce 1) a redesigned Sustainable Living mixed undergraduate/graduate service learning course offered at a major Land-Grant university, 2) key service learning strategies that have and have not …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Georgia Tech's Innovative Landscape Master Plan...Is A Living Learning Laboratory
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
While most universities have a Campus Master Plan, very few have a Landscape Master Plan. Fewer have a Cistern Master Plan. Learn how to think beyond a traditional Campus Master …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Investigating Sustainability-Focused Courses and their Impact on Student Learning
- H&A Columbus-UBC
With the growing need for sustainability education, universities are looked upon for leadership to provide and integrate sustainability teaching and learning opportunities. The University of British Columbia's (UBC) vision document, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Preparing Tomorrow's Leaders with Improved Climate Literacy through AMS Climate Studies
- American Meteorological Society (DC)
It is of utmost importance that tomorrow's leaders are climate literate. That responsibility falls on institutions training today's students. But many colleges and universities still do not offer a basic …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Education and Student Learning at the University of British Columbia
- H&A Columbus-UBC
Sustainability and student learning are key commitments of the University of British Columbia's (UBC) Place and Promise plan, with UBC's Sustainability Academic Strategy expressing the goal that every student at …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus as a Training Ground for Careers in Sustainability
- Duke University (NC)
- North Carolina State University (NC)
- Wake Forest University (NC)
In keeping with the theme of the conference, representatives from three universities (two private research universities and one land grant university) will present practiced and proven models for training students …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Transformation, sustainability and HE. What's really going on?
- University of Plymouth (Devon)
Education for Sustainability (EfS) is an agenda of growing significance in UK Higher Education (HE) and internationally. To date, the focus in HE has been on content rather than process; …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing an Integrated MBA and MPA Curriculum to Spur Innovative and Collaborative Solutions for Sustainability
- Presidio Graduate School (CA)
Intractable social and environmental problems increasingly call for collaborative solutions across the public and private sectors. Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco has offered a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating a "Living Laboratory" for Transportation Electrification at Portland State University
- Portland State University (OR)
Portland State University is home to the nation's first Electric Avenue, a two-year project to understand and evaluate electric mobility strategies and technology. Located in the heart of the Portland …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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International Sustainability Travel Courses for Working Professional Students
- University of Redlands (CA)
There are a great number of international travel programs for traditional students, but very few for working professionals, and even fewer that focus on the business case for sustainability. This …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Engaging Fellow Students in the Less Glamorous Components of Campus Sustainability Work: University of Michigan Campus Farm Implementation Case Study
- University of Michigan (MI)
When students at the University of Michigan are asked if they would like to help start a campus farm that will grow sustainable food for the University, they oftentimes get …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Living and Learning Communities: Developing Sustainability Leaders Through Residential Programming
- Temple University (PA)
This session will provide a case study of how a university can develop leaders in the campus sustainability movement through an innovative partnership between Residential Life, the Provost and the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Commons Movement: A New Lens for Sustainability Education
- Portland State University (OR)
A growing number of scholars and change agents have embraced a commons framework for raising consciousness and action related to sustainability. The national "On the Commons" movement describes the commons …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Tracking the Campus Carbon Footprint through Student Engagement
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WI)
Since signing the President's Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in 2007, our university's Greenhouse Gas Emission (GGE) inventory reports have been completed by students enrolled in a course now in its third …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessing Sustainability Literacy: An Instrument to Measure Knowledge of Environmental, Economic, and Social Sustainability
- The Ohio State University (OH)
Properly assessing the sustainability literacy of an institution's student body is an important means of understanding the current level of student knowledge, gauging the effectiveness of sustainability focused courses, and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Leadership Programs: An Assessment of Paradigms and Methods
- University of Michigan (MI)
Academic programs purporting to create "sustainability leaders" are emerging at institutions of higher education across the U.S. and world. Designed to capitalize on student interest and professional development needs, these …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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UCLA Action Research Teams: A Model for Collaborative Student-Staff-Faculty Research to Improve Campus Sustainability
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
The UCLA Action Research Team (ART) program is part of the student-led Education for Sustainable Living Program (ESLP) offered for credit through the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Design and Implementation of Outdoor Learning Environments
- Judson University (IL)
Investing in our future, we will teach environmental advocacy through immersion in our campus outdoor learning environments. When present in nature all senses are stimulated, which is the optimum state …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Leonardo da Vinci to Higher Education: Lead us on a Healthy, Just and Sustainable Path Now
- Portland State University (OR)
Humanity is at crossroads without historical precedent. Because of the extraordinary and exponential growth of population and the expansive dynamic of industrial capitalism, humans have become pervasive and dominant forces …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Faculty Colleges to General Education: Sustainability in the Curriculum at UW Oshkosh
- University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (WI)
The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is a comprehensive, master's-level public university that has made great strides in infusing sustainability into the curriculum over the past 5 years. Our campus sustainability …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Connecting Visual Art/Design and Environmental Studies Courses to Develop Integrated Solutions to Sustainability-Focused Campus Projects: A Service-Learning Model
- Maryville College (TN)
As many sustainability-focused campus projects require a strong component of visual 'marketing, propaganda, or promotion' to make them successful, it's critical that students engaged in environmental issues should learn and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Our Campus as a Living Lab Program: Moving towards a Utopian Sustainable Food System
- University of British Columbia (BC)
In this interactive session we will describe how our 11 year old Campus as a Living Lab program has contributed to food system transformation on campus. This community-based action-research project …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing Active and Engaged Student-Citizens Through Residential Learning Communities
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
The goals of our university's strategic plan include preparing students to contribute to the environmental, economic, social, and cultural vitality of our communities and for global citizenship through both curricular …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Breaking into the Sustainability and Higher Education Profession
- Northwestern University (IL)
After speaking with numerous sustainability coordinators and directors, it has become clear that this emerging field brings in creative, hardworking, and versatile professionals from varying backgrounds. This is both exciting …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Educating Sustainability Change Agents By Design
- Dalhousie University (NS)
While a variety of sustainability programs have been launched internationally over the past few years, a collective discussion focused on defining the design-guidelines for sustainability programs has only recently been …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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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.
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.