Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.26
Liaison Jillian Leach
Submission Date Nov. 19, 2013
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

California State University, Chico
ER-9: Sustainability Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 10.00 / 10.00 James Pushnik
Director and Rawlins Professor of Environmental Literacy
Institute for Sustainable Development
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

The number of graduates covered by the sustainability learning outcomes:
2,278

Total number of graduates :
2,278

A list of degree programs that have sustainability learning outcomes:

Rolled out in Fall 2012, CSU, Chico has established a new General Education Pathway Program that has 10 defined Pathways, including a Sustainability option. The Pathway Program is both 'vertically and horizontally integrated' - meaning that any student in any of the ten Pathways will take at least one sustainability-focused course at some point in their General Education. After one year the Sustainability Pathway option is the second-most popular of the ten options. Students who complete the GE Pathway in Sustainability are eligible to receive a Minor in Sustainability.

Besides the GE Sustainability Pathway and Minor CSU, Chico has a number of programs and options related to sustainability. These include the Minor in Environmental Studies; the Minor in Managing for Sustainability; the BA/BS degrees listed under ER-10 and the MA/MS degrees listed under ER-11.


The website URL where the publicly available sustainability course inventory that includes a list of degree programs that have specified sustainability learning outcomes is available:
A copy of the sustainability course inventory :
A list or sample of the sustainability learning outcomes associated with the degree programs:

1. Explore what sustainability is and can be in social and economic systems.

2. Explain how sustainability relates to their own lives, and how their individual actions have an impact on all dimensions, locally, regionally, and globally.

3. Recognize the physical and biological attributes, basic functioning, and limits of planetary ecosystems.

4. Understand the dynamics between environmental, economic, and social systems and debate the basic principles of environmental ethics

5. Appreciate that sustainable economic and social systems are dependent on ecosystem goods and services.

6. Realize that humans are integral parts of the natural world and are not separate from it.

7. Examine how a vital society can maintain healthy ecosystems and create strong and just economic systems.

8. Investigate how our relationship to the natural world has been shaped historically, politically, culturally and economically.

9. Comprehend and examine the controversies surrounding questions of values and ethics as they relate to creating a sustainable future.

10. To understand the role of technology in moving towards a sustainable future.

11. Understand how religious, philosophical, literary, and cultural traditions and texts could affect our perception of sustainability, and vice-versa.

12. Practice a variety of forms of communication in order to understand its role in shaping beliefs and actions on sustainability issues.


Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

# Graduates Spring 2013


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.