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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Student Engagement in EcoDistrict Development (SEED): cultivating sustainable development through education and engagement
- Portland State University (OR)
Too often, as our communities work to identify and meet ambitious sustainability goals, opportunities for community-based inquiry and scholarship are overlooked or the potential for collaboration and community engagement goes …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching to transform: Proven and practical ways to design sustainability courses that inspire
- Portland State University (OR)
This workshop will lead faculty and other sustainability educators through the practical steps of using the Burns Model of Sustainability Pedagogy (Burns, 2009; Burns, 2010) to design or re-design courses …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Pathways to Wholeness: The Regenerative Capacity of the Planet and Resiliency of the Human Spirit
- Prescott College (AZ)
This paper explores environmental literacy, defined in this paper as the relationship that human beings have to their surroundings. It examines questions about how one perceives his, or her, relationship …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Get the Word Out: Writing the New Language of Sustainability
- Presidio Graduate School (CA)
The landscape of communication has changed: we live in information brevity, in the trenches of social media and alternative communications, where less is more. Now is the time to harness …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Introduction to Sustainability Studies: Design and Implementation of a Multidisciplinary Course
- Rider University (NJ)
Like many schools, our institution is actively engaged in integrating sustainability across the curriculum. However, because we have also instituted a minor in sustainability studies, we have developed and are …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Sustainability Studies Minor at Roger Williams University
- Roger Williams University (RI)
Since the Fall of 2010, Roger Williams University in Bristol RI, has offered a Sustainability Studies Minor. The minor consists of three required newly-created classes for the minor and three …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Working toward Sustainability: A capstone course about environmental citizenship and effective communication
- Roger Williams University (RI)
Increasing individuals' awareness and knowledge about sustainability are essential to forming more sustainable societies. However, they are not sufficient. In addition, individuals must take action for progress to be made. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Applying Interdisciplinarity and Visual Communication Design to a Vision of Urban Sustainability
- San Francisco State University (CA)
"Interdisciplinarity is not the calm of an easy security; it begins effectively when the solidarity of the old disciplines breaks down-perhaps even violently, via the jolts of fashion-in the interests …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Green Wave: Engaging Students and Benefitting the Community through an Energy Audit Training Course
- San Jose State University (CA)
This session focus on a pilot energy efficiency audit training program, the Green Wave, launched in 2011 by San Jose State University and two partner organizations, the City of San …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Examining the 'Mental Models' of Business Undergraduates on Sustainability Issues
- Slippery Rock University (PA)
In his now classic book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge describes the attributes of learning organizations and the role of dynamism and change in individual, and corresponding organizational, 'mental models.' …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Honey Bees: Pollinators as a Case Study in Sustainability-An Undergraduate Course
- Southern Connecticut State University (CT)
Over 70% of the worlds flowering plants require a living organism for pollination. Many of these plants include the fruits, vegetables and grains humans consume, as well as feed for …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing a Framework for Sustainability Literacy Assessments in Higher Education
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale (IL)
Higher educational institutions continue to expand the scope at which sustainability is addressed within the campus community. Interdisciplinary programs developed within academic institutions to address complex systematic socio-ecological problems have …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus Ecology and The Nature of College
- St. Olaf College (MN)
To prepare for the ecological revolution of the 21st century, American college students need to know more than the traditional disciplines can teach them. They need to understand the moral …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Demographics and Outcomes of the Interdisciplinary Foundations of Sustainability Minor at the University of Arkansas
- University of Arkansas (AR)
In March 2011, the University of Arkansas implemented an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor in 'Foundations of Sustainability' administered under the Provost's office. The minor requires 18 hours coursework: 2 gateway courses, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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UCLA Action Research Teams: Model for Collaborative Campus Sustainability Research
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
The UCLA Action Research Team (ART) program is part of the student-led Education for Sustainable Living Program, run on several UC campuses across California under the umbrella group the California …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Curriculum Design: Balancing Academic Rigor with Successful Student Project Implementation
- University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)
Educational initiatives in sustainability often promote student activism through service-learning projects or internships. The educational merit of practical opportunities for students to apply their academic learning to contemporary challenges concerning …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Envisioning a Sustainable Future for the Cincinnati Museum Center and its District
- University of Cincinnati (OH)
During the Fall Quarter of 2010 fifty-five students of architecture, planning, and engineering participated in an effort led by the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) to address sustainability issues within the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Roche Health Center: The Role of Partnerships in Humanitarian Design Projects
- University of Cincinnati (OH)
Since 2004, our local non-profit has had a mission to unite communities to promote Life, Health and Education. Most of the organization's work focuses on three remote and impoverished villages …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Crafting a 4-legged Stool: The Role of Adaptive Learning in Sustainability Programs
- University of Florida (FL)
Most programs of sustainability education ground themselves upon the well-known three-legged stool, focusing on the interrelated issues of environment health, economic welfare, and social equity. We argue that this structure …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Evaluating the Role of a Baccalaureate Degree in Sustainability and the Built Environment
- University of Florida (FL)
Our institution has created a new degree program entitled the Bachelor of Science in Sustainability and the Built Environment (BSSBE) first offered to students in Fall 2008. The degree was …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing a Sustainability Literacy Assessment: Strategy and Methodology
- University of Florida (FL)
This session will discuss the University of Florida's progress towards a comprehensive student sustainability literacy assessment including attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge. Basic research methods, general topic selection, and question testing …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Path to Energy Independence: Green Workforce Development on the Most Remote Islands in the World
- University of Hawaii Maui College (HI)
The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) calls for 70% energy independence in the State of Hawaii by 2030. A recent Hawaii Green Workforce Development Report claimed that the future is …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Let's Get Serious about Integrating Sustainability into General Education: Strategies for Staff and Faculty
- University of Maryland, College Park (MD)
This session addresses the need to integrate sustainability into the compulsory curriculum of colleges and universities. Speakers - including sustainability officers and professors - will present proven strategies for changing …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Exploring the Living Classroom to Deepen Campus and Community Sustainability Stewardship
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (MA)
When it comes to teaching sustainability, the world is a "Living Classroom." Natural and manmade features readily inspire and challenge us to investigate the lessons they embody for environmental protection, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Education: The Importance of Spirituality and Values
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
The ongoing global ecological crisis is truly a spiritual crisis, a crisis of our morality and ethics. Due to the anthropocentric perspective that has long been prevalent in human societies, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability as a Pedagogical Project
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
Sustainability is a large and complex concept that integrates multiple domains of knowledge across a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. (Kelly, 2009) Its focus lies at the intersection …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Challenges when NOT Preaching to the Choir: Gaps in Faculty Salience towards Environmental Sustainability.
- University of Southern Indiana (IN)
The foundation of catalyzing an awareness of environmental issues can be established in understanding the currently held beliefs and behaviors toward environmental sustainability within the campus population. Many university wide …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Communicating and Collaborating: The Sustainability Directory
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
As envisioned by The University of Texas at Austin's Campus Sustainability Policy, the university endeavors to further link together and leverage its sustainability efforts for greater success and innovation. However, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Integrating Food System Expertise into the Nutrition Professional's Curriculum
- University of Vermont (VT)
The global volatility of food supply and prices; risky dependence on large scale monoculture of staple grains; inequitable food distribution and access with related social justice issues; and difficulty tracing …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Investing in a Sustainable Future
- University of Virginia (VA)
This presentation illustrates one approach to teaching sustainability in business schools by describing the rationale and structure used to develop and deliver our course, "Investing in a Sustainable Future," a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating and Implementing an Interdisciplinary Global Sustainability Minor at the University of Virginia
- University of Virginia (VA)
Together, a professor and student from a large public research university will discuss their successful efforts to establish an interdisciplinary Global Sustainability Minor. Participating undergraduate students from all majors learn …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Grappling with the Fallacy of Sustainability Education
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Sustainability education is rapidly becoming mainstream in higher education, yet this "success" is undercut by a fallacy -- that sustainability is a normal challenge that can be addressed using familiar …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Buildings and Values: Sustainable Design for Teaching Tools: tales from Educators and their Architect
- William McDonough + Partners (VA)
A trio of people will bring a unique perspective on design and sustainability for higher education, and how the higher education context is the ideal one within which to understand …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching campus sustainability after sustainability has lost its buzz
- University of Wyoming (WY)
We began teaching Campus Sustainability at the University of Wyoming in 2005 when the campus sustainability movement was taking off. Students were highly motivated about sustainability and the class and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Graduates Achieving Global Learning Outcomes Through Innovative Curricular Design
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
- Haley & Aldrich, Inc. (MA)
In spite of challenges that many are facing with integrating sustainability into curricula, Northern Arizona University (NAU) has tackled this on an even larger scale by purposefully infusing environmental sustainability, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Framing Career Technical Programs within Social Frameworks
- Portland Community College (OR)
It is not enough to teach students how to be sustainable; we must also embed the questions and answers as to why it matters into our curriculum and institutional practices. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Education for Sustainability, Not Less Unsustainability: WCU's EFS Certificate Programs
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
This paper/presentation is for those who are drawn to the work of education for sustainability (EFS), yet who suspect that tinkering with or even overhauling what happens in formal education …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Students and Faculty Lead Local Green Building Projects: A Sustainable Model
- Colorado State University (CO)
An interdisciplinary university institute focused on sustainable design and development brings together students and faculty to perform green building research and LEED project coordination for campus building projects and many …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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High-Impact Experiential Approach to Sustainability in Northeastern University's Curriculum
- Northeastern University (MA)
The NU Core, Northeastern's first institution-wide general education program, includes requirements for substantial out-of-classroom experience and for integration of that experience with the in-class curriculum. Inherent in the NU Core …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sharing a Passion and Connecting Students to Sustainability Experiences
- Saint Louis University (MO)
The Department of Nutrition and Dietetics exemplifies what it takes to launch a sustainability program by tapping into a passion. Its undergraduate dietetics program was added to the existing dietetic …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Advancing Collaboration and Student Engagement in the Sustainability Curriculum
- University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)
This paper is based on the premise that integrating sustainability issues into educational curricula is best achieved through activities that encourage students to take an active role in addressing real …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability in Civil and Environmental Engineering Courses at CU-Boulder
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
Recent modifications have been made to two first-year courses for civil (CivE) and environmental (EnvE) engineering majors and the senior capstone design course in EnvE. A pre-survey was used to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Impact of Educational Context on Teaching Sustainable Design and Construction
- Colorado State University (CO)
Teaching sustainability is critical to the education of Construction Management (CM) students and professionals. The authors have participated in and taught classes focused on the integration of sustainable principles and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The impact of "No Impact Week" in ENVS 101
- Denison University (OH)
The syllabus for ENVS 101 (People and the Environment) at Denison University typically involves the examination of issues like climate change, food security, impacts of agriculture, water quality and scarcity, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Bombing Detroit: Activist Architecture as a Pedagogical Model
- Lawrence Technological University (MI)
Are traditional models of architectural practice still viable in cities mired in physical, psychological, and economic crisis? Are Universities initiating programs that educate students in a manner that allows them …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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National Council for Science & the Environment (NCSE): Building Community, Creating Solutions
- Global Council Science and the Environment (DC)
NCSE has many programs and offers high-quality resources for those working to advance sustainability at colleges and universities:
• NCSE provides more than 150 University Affiliates with resources to strengthen …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Assessment of Education for Sustainable Development in Costa Rican Universities
- University of Phoenix (AZ)
The purpose of this two-part study is to examine relationships between knowledge of and attitudes towards sustainability in the apparel and textile (AT) industry and students' apparel purchasing behaviors.
In …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability and informal learning in a UK university
- University of Plymouth (Devon)
This paper reports on research undertaken in the UK to identify the ways and extent to which aspects of the university campus impact on students' understanding of sustainability through informal …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The End of Oil: A Model Course for Sustainability Education
- Prescott College (AZ)
Because energy is central to all socio-ecological systems, a course on energy can easily become a course on everything. Therein lies both the promise and the challenge of a course …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Global Greening: Study Abroad and Sustainability at New York University
- New York University (NY)
New York University has established its academic and cultural identity around the "global network university" model. With twelve different study abroad sites and the highest number of students studying abroad …
- 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.