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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Education for Health & Sustainability
- Deakin University
In 2008 in response to growing concerns about global environment degradation a team from the School of Health & Social Development at Deakin University undertook a scoping study with the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Integrating sustainability into the curriculum: A report on ongoing initiatives
- Delta College (MI)
To address growing national concerns about sustainability, many institutions of higher education are establishing programs which focus on sustainability and related issues. At Delta College, we have undertaken an integrated …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Pedagogy of Place: Sustainability and Sense of Place in Higher Education
- Earlham College (IN)
This paper reports on the findings of a grant project funded by the Great Lakes College Association that employed experiential learning methodology in an environmental philosophy class entitled "Pedagogies of …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Making the Geoscience Curriculum More Sustainable
- Eastern Connecticut State University (CT)
Sustainability is an increasingly important theme in geoscience education and our department is helping to modify the traditional geoscience curriculum so that it more fully addresses sustainability issues. At Eastern …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching and Learning about Sustainability in Jamaica
- Eastern Connecticut State University (CT)
Eastern Connecticut State University has been offering a degree-completion program for Jamaican teachers for several years. Recently, we have begun to explore using our connections with these Jamaican teachers to …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Ecotech Institute: Training Tomorrow's Green Collar Workers Today
- Education Corporation of America (AL)
Ecotech Institute is the first and only college entirely focused on preparing students for careers in renewable energy and sustainable design—solar power, wind turbine technology, sustainable interior design, environmental paralegal—the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Is this Interdisciplinary Education?
- Emily Carr University of Art & Design (BC)
Following the 2009 essay that Janet Moore and I wrote for the Vancouver Sun, this paper proposes a teaching/learning model and rationale for universities to address their role in weak …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainable Collaborations: A Model for Interdisciplinary Team-Teaching of Sustainability Curriculum
- Florida State University (FL)
This qualitative study examines the experiences of higher education faculty participating in an interdisciplinary team-taught sustainability curriculum program. Warren Wilson College, a small, private, liberal arts college was awarded a …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Experiential Learning and Sustainability Education: Lessons Learned
- International Sustainable Development Studies Institute (Chiang Mai)
Universities and colleges have the potential to address sustainability and social justice in unique and powerful ways. However, effective teaching about sustainability and the links between culture (how we live) …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability in the Core Curriculum
- Kent State University (OH)
Architecture education today is driven by sustainable methods and ideology. And yet, there is a disconnection between sustainable theory and real-life practice for most architecture students. In design projects, sustainable …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Standards for International Education
- Living Routes, Inc. (MA)
International Education exposes students to the world. It also exposes the world to the environmental, economic, and social impacts of travel and program activities. With over a quarter-million U.S. students …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Curriculum in Action: Integrating Sustainability throughout the College Experience
- Loyola University Chicago (IL)
Colleges and universities across the country wrestle with the issues of "Greening" their campuses, making social statements about sustainability, and informing their students about the fundamental scientific, social and economic …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Bringing "Sustainability Across the Curriculum" Home: Integrating SoTL with Sustainability
- Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (AB)
Participating in AASHE's "Sustainability Across the Curriculum" workshop is exhilarating - returning to our respective educational institutions and putting knowledge into action - a challenge. How do we find our …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Getting Your Head into a Beehive
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
"Getting Your Head into a Beehive: Stories About Teaching Sustainable Beekeeping at Northern Arizona University"
In this report from the field, I'll describe the challenges involved in teaching three-day summer …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Innovations in environmental curriculum: from environmental problems to sustainable solutions
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
Traditional environmental sciences curricula have focused on the application of established disciplinary expertise to air, water, soil, and political environmental problems. Commonly the focus had been on the identification, and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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"Doing Science" as Service Learning
- Oklahoma City University (OK)
How can a science department in a college or university actually "do science" and be of service to the community; how can scientists-in-training perform testing and experiments in the field …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Environmental Sciences and Sustainability: Creating Successful Cross-Campus Collaborations
- Oregon Institute of Technology (OR)
Environmental sciences are intimately linked to sustainability efforts. In fact, environmental scientists document the planetary changes to biodiversity, water, soils, human health, and the atmosphere caused by human activity. Five …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Supporting University Sustainability through Student Fellowships
- Pacific Lutheran University (WA)
Pacific Lutheran University supports student sustainability fellowships to promote not only specialized education, but cross campus collaboration. Student Sustainability Fellowships are intended to provide opportunities for students of any discipline …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Incorporating a permaculture curriculum into an academic environment
- Pacific University (OR)
Permaculture is a design system that integrates the principles of ecology to focus on developing sustainable human settlements by mimicking natural systems. Permaculture is all-encompassing and focuses on all human …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Transformative Learning for Sustainability
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
The journey toward a sustainable world is a tremendous technical and political challenge, but it is also a challenge of values. Sustainability implies a fundamental transformation of values at both …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How to Sell a Sustainability Major: Career Targeting and Reverse-Engineering
- Philadelphia University (PA)
In 2008, Philadelphia University became one of the first universities in the nation to offer an undergraduate degree program in Environmental Sustainability. Thanks to our diverse mix of professionally-oriented majors, …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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"What the H*ll is Sustainability?" Introducing Sustainability to Students.
- Portland State University (OR)
This paper discusses findings from five years of teaching an introductory class on Sustainability as a Freshman Interest Seminar. Consistently 95% of students enrolled in this class report that they …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Educating for Sustainability? Investigating Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs in Canada.
- Simon Fraser University (BC)
Educating for Sustainability? Investigating Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Programs in Canada.
This research investigates interdisciplinary undergraduate university programs in Canada that aim to integrate the concept of sustainability into the curriculum in …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Economics, Business and the Environment: Team-Teaching Sustainable Enterprise
- St. John's University, New York (NY)
Business may be the fastest way to transform society towards sustainability so teaching about the process to business and economics students is vital as we try to head off catastrophic …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability and the Moral Ecology of College Culture
- 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, even in interdisciplinary formats. They need …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Green Building Management Degree Program at SCCC: Lessons Learned
- Sullivan County Community College (NY)
Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) is a small community college in the Catskill Mountain region of NY, located less than two hours from NYC.
SCCC is committed to educating the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Wear the Sun! Sixteen Texas State University Students Change Campus
- Texas State University, San Marcos (TX)
"Wear the Sun!" Yes, wear the sun. Reduce the amount of your use of electricity, hence coal. Save the fibers in your clothes by choosing to line dry your wet …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Teaching and Learning at the University of British Columbia
- University of British Columbia (BC)
The University of British Columbia recently established the UBC Sustainability Initiative (USI), an innovative strategic management group that unites and promotes sustainability efforts across UBC's Vancouver campus. The USI is …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Vernadsky's biosphere and noosphere: A ready-to-use conceptual framework for teaching sustainability
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
Although the world recognized the importance of education for a sustainable future and we now live through the sixth year of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Making SENS at the University of Saskatchewan: Innovation, Collaboration, and Transformation
- University of Saskatchewan (SK)
The School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS) at the University of Saskatchewan emerged in 2007-2008 from the university integrated planning process, which considered the coordination of academic priorities with financial …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Studies: an Entrepreneurial Approach
- University of Vermont (VT)
With budgets tight and competition stiff for new initiatives, it is challenging to move Sustainability Studies forward as a curriculum option. At University of Vermont, we are working on several …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Educating Agents of Change: A Campus-wide Course on Global Sustainability
- University of Virginia (VA)
Professors often collaborate with colleagues across disciplines to create innovative sustainable practices, institutions, and technologies for a resource-constrained world. Yet how can one educate undergraduate students to become future agents …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability in Australia's Higher Education Curriculum
- Western Sydney University (NSW)
An increasing number of Australian tertiary education institutions, including VET Colleges and Universities are introducing new courses on sustainability and adjusting existing ones. The Australian Government has set Sustainability Skills …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Core Competencies in Learning for Sustainability
- Western Michigan University (MI)
Successful implementation of sustainability declarations and commitments such as the ACUPCC (particularly 1.c.iii: "Actions to make climate neutrality and sustainability a part of the curriculum and other educational experience for …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Doing Makes All the Difference
- Wright State University (OH)
This field report presents information relating to an interdisciplinary service-learning course, Environmental and Social Sustainability in Appalachia, offered through the University Honors Program during Winter Quarter and Spring Break, 2010. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Anticipatory Competence as a Key Competence in Sustainability Education
- Arizona State University (AZ)
With the continued development of sustainability science as an academic endeavor, witnessed in both the establishment of new programs and the maturing of established programs, comes increasing pressure to define …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Mind the Gap: Campus Sustainability at Home and Abroad
- Augsburg University (MN)
Undergraduate students are participating in experiences abroad in ever-increasing numbers (more than 250,000 in 2007-08). Simultaneously, there has been tremendous growth in the campus sustainability movement nationwide. These two concepts …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Leveraging Sustainability to Bridge the High School-to-College Curriculum Divide
- Bay Area Clean Energy Careers (BayCEC) (CA)
Bringing sustainability into the curriculum is one of most timely challenges facing today's faculty and instructors. While some schools and campuses are designing new courses to address sustainable concepts and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability courses for students with busy schedules: "The Environment Today"
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
Carnegie Mellon University has instituted environmental education across its curriculum over the past five years. The latest course addition, "The Environment Today," was spearheaded by student organizations at Carnegie Mellon. …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Sustainability Programs and Administration, From Workforce Development to Degrees
- Central Carolina Community College (NC)
Our institution began developing sustainable education programs over twelve years ago as a response to local farmers' request to train farmers in organic and sustainable agriculture practices. From those first …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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North American Sustainability Issues: Educating Students through Exchanges and Research
- Daemen University (NY)
The Consortium for North American Sustainability (CNAS), a partnership among six institutions from the US, Canada and Mexico, aims to provide students with a deep understanding of how local and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Geospatial sustainability: what is geospatial about sustainability, and what does it mean to students' learning of sustainability?
- DePaul University (IL)
In this presentation I will promote the concept of geospatial sustainability with respect to sustainability curriculum. Geospatial sustainability highlights the geographic nature of sustainability with the help of digital and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Climate Change Across the Disciplines
- Dickinson College (PA)
Global climate change has far reaching implications for the environment, social justice, and economic wellbeing, now and in the future. Effective teaching that enables students to think critically about climate …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Food Systems Carbon Footprint Analyzed by Students and University Stakeholders
- Elon University (NC)
The University's Sustainability Master Plan has targeted carbon neutrality across the institution by 2037. To help meet this goal, students in the Environmental Studies Senior capstone course worked with the …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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GIS and Sustainability: Project based Introductory GIS Course Curriculum
- Furman University (SC)
An introductory level GIS course was modified to incorporate a sustainability focused term project. Students in the class learn the basics of GIS through lectures, intense classroom discussions, and structured …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Linking Geology and Sustainability in Iceland
- Furman University (SC)
Iceland provides an interesting case for the benefits of study abroad despite the carbon costs. First, geologically, Iceland is uniquely located on the mid-Atlantic ridge plate boundary, is geologically diverse …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Research and Teaching Opportunities With an On-Campus Ecological Wastewater Treatment System
- Furman University (SC)
Advanced wetland treatment systems combine the energy efficiency of natural ecological processes with the small footprint and stringent effluent standards of conventional wastewater treatment systems and provide multiple teaching and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How much have students learned?: Outcomes Assessments for Sustainability Education
- Green Mountain College (VT)
With the increasing attention on sustainability curricula, more emphasis should be placed on the assessment of what students actually learn from such curricula. AASHE's STARS has helped to focus campuses …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Idea and Practice of Sustainability: A First-Year Student Experience
- Hartwick College (NY)
Sustainability provides an interdisciplinary framework for studying the most compelling struggles of our time. In academia, sustainability offers structured and spontaneous opportunities for the curriculum to infiltrate campus operations and …
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sand, Clay, and Straw: Green Housing by Students for Students
- Hartwick College (NY)
Hartwick College, a small liberal arts institution, has shown leadership in engaging students in the design and construction of natural buildings for student residences. Ten years ago, students in a …
- 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.