Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.97
Liaison Alex Davis
Submission Date July 29, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.0

Arizona State University
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Betty Lombardo
Manager
University Sustainability Practices
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution developed a definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:
Yes

A copy of the institution's definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:

Sustainability courses introduce students to the concept of sustainability in the context of real-world problems, exploring the interaction of environmental, economic and social systems. In addition, sustainability courses are designed to build and deepen students' understanding of the following key concepts:

a. Systems Dynamics: Human systems and natural systems are linked. Changes in any part of any system has multiple consequences that reach far beyond the initial change.
b. Tradeoffs: Addressing almost all problems related to sustainability involves tradeoffs. There are rarely perfect solutions with no costs, and there are often winners and losers.
c. Cascading Effects and Unintended Consequences: There are cascading effects (positive and negative, intended and unintended) of human policies, decisions, and actions, all of which have implications for sustainability.
d. Scale: Problems of sustainability exist at multiple scales. Solving a problem at a local level is very different than solving a problem across international boundaries.
e. Transdisciplinarity: There is no one "solution" to address sustainability - no one person has the answer. Effective solutions require the collaboration of scientists and social scientists of all disciplines, politicians, entrepreneurs, artists, farmers, and business and community leaders.


Has the institution identified its sustainability-focused and sustainability-related course offerings?:
Yes

A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the inventory:

Arizona State University courses over the past academic year were carefully reviewed to determine which were sustainability-focused versus related. Courses offered through the university or in collaboration with the School of Sustainability were automatically designated as sustainability-focused. There are a number of courses that are offered as electives for students in sustainability undergraduate and graduate programs, which have been selected in curriculum development exercises for their relation to sustainability and were automatically designated as sustainability-related.


Does the institution make its sustainability course inventory publicly available online?:
Yes

The website URL where the sustainability course inventory is posted:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.