Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 82.07
Liaison Alex Davis
Submission Date March 1, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Arizona State University
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 9.96 / 14.00 Corey Hawkey
Assistant Director
University Sustainability Practices
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

Figures required to calculate the percentage of courses offered by the institution that are sustainability course offerings:
Undergraduate Graduate
Total number of courses offered by the institution 4,509 2,728
Number of sustainability courses offered 122 111
Number of courses offered that include sustainability 427 246

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
12.52

Part 2 

Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):
74

None
Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer at least one sustainability course and/or course that includes sustainability (at any level):
55

Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
74.32

Course Inventory

A copy of the institution’s inventory of its sustainability course offerings and descriptions:
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
One

A brief description of the methodology used to determine the total number of courses offered and to identify sustainability course offerings, including the definitions used and the process for reviewing and/or validating the course inventory :
Arizona State University courses over the past fall 2015, spring 2016, and summer 2016 semesters were carefully reviewed to determine which were sustainability courses versus courses that included sustainability. Courses offered through the university or in close collaboration with the School of Sustainability Courses were automatically designated as sustainability. Additionally, courses that had sustainability (and various forms of the word) in the title were carefully reviewed.  Guidance from the AASHE Stars Technical Manual was used to identify sustainability courses and courses that include sustainability.  Sustainability Scientists and Scholars across ASU were also surveyed in order to identify courses.  Other keyword searches were also used to identify courses that were either focused on sustainability or included sustainability (e.g., ecology, social equity, human impacts, energy, environment, etc.).  When it was unclear whether a course should be included in the count, additional information was sought from the instructor and/or the syllabus.  Courses were only counted once.  Courses that were cross-listed as undergraduate/graduate courses were only counted as a graduate course (but are marked as “both” in the Excel spreadsheet).  This year, staff spent a lot more time “cleaning up” the data which explains the drop in total courses taught by the university from last entry to this entry. 

How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:
Each course was counted as a single course regardless of the number of offerings or sections

A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted (if different from the options outlined above):
Each course was counted as a single course regardless of the number of offerings or sections. For example, if a course had multiple sections that were offered over different campuses (including online) or over different semesters, the course was only counted once.

Are the following course types included in the inventory? :
Yes (included) or No (not included)
Internships No
Practicums Yes
Independent study No
Special topics Yes
Thesis / dissertation No
Clinical Yes
Physical education Yes
Performance arts Yes

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Note regarding discrepancy in # of departments: This credit includes only academic departments that teach courses (vs. all academic departments: 92). More: https://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/degrees/undergraduate-courses https://schoolofsustainability.asu.edu/degrees/graduate-courses -- Abigail Graves Lisa Murphy

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.