Sustainability

It’s a label applied to a course. Some examples of attributes are the graduate attribute, the foreign language attribute, or the physical sciences attribute. These help students search the catalog to find courses that fit requirements or match their interests.

The sustainability attribute will identify courses with sustainability-focused content. That could be a focus on sustainable development, challenges of sustainability, and/or working toward social, economic, and/or environmental goals in order to sustain our world.

Students will be able to search for courses with the sustainability attribute using the Course Search and Enroll app. Campus will also use the attribute for reporting to external organizations like STARS, a national group that tracks sustainability efforts.

The window for requesting the provisional attribute has closed. You can still use the Course Learning Outcomes Initiative process or a course proposal to add the attribute permanently.

There are two ways to make the attribute permanent in the College of Engineering. You can complete a full course proposal by May 2023. Or you can use the CLO Initiative process (recommended). Both will require that you add 2 learning outcomes to your course, choosing from the options given.

Choose 2 of these 6:

1. Explain the social, economic, and/or environmental dimensions of the sustainability challenge(s) of …. *
   * Examples: “extinction of species and biodiversity,” “global health issues in developing countries,” “business organizations,” or “providing electricity”.
2. Apply sustainability principles and/or frameworks to addressing the challenge of …. **
   ** Examples: “ending poverty,” “clean water and sanitation,” “climate change,” “sustainable cities and communities,” “affordable and clean energy” or “quality education.”
3. Analyze the causes of and solutions for the sustainability challenge of …. ***
   *** Examples: “ending poverty,” “clean water and sanitation,” “climate change,” “sustainable cities and communities,” “affordable and clean energy” or “quality education.”
4. Analyze sustainability issues and/or practices using a systems-based approach.
5. Describe the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of **** and identify potential tradeoffs and interrelationships among these dimensions at a level appropriate to the course. **** Examples: “crop planting,” “climate change,” “ending poverty,” “affordable and clean energy.”
6. Use sustainability principles for developing personal goals and professional values.