Calvin University
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

While explicit sustainability learning outcomes are not currently assessed, all graduates of Calvin College must meet the Core Requirement related to Stewardship (sec. 5.9) -- which is used nearly synonymously with sustainability, as demonstrated in the following excerpt from the description of the Core Curriculum.

From "An Engagement with God’s World: the Core Curriculum of Calvin College:"
(found online here: https://www.calvin.edu/admin/provost/documents/core-curriculum.pdf)

5.9 Stewardship
The world and all it contains has been entrusted by God to the care of the human race. We are to cultivate it, tend to it, learn from it, delight in it, develop its manifold potentials, and manage it in ways that benefit the entire human community and other living members of the bio-sphere. We are not to waste it, spoil it, or use it up for ourselves at the expense of others. Yet there are many forces in our culture that would prompt us to squander the time, talent, and resources that God has graciously placed at our disposal. We often treat our natural environment as if it were infinitely resilient; we sometimes spend our days as if we had all the time in the world; we discard our things as if there will always be more; we expend our energy on frivolous activities as if there will always be time for the important things later; we let our talents lie fallow as if
there will always be someone else to take up the slack. The community at Calvin College should strive to set a good example in the wise management of time, talent, energy, and resources. Students at Calvin should become aware of the irreplaceable value of the gifts God has given them and the responsibilities attached to those gifts, and thus come to see themselves as stewards, not mere users, of the creation. Where appropriate, issues of stewardship should be addressed in our classrooms; where possible, students should be invited to participate in activities on and off campus that manifest care for God’s creation--mending what is broken, cleaning what is soiled, nurturing the frail, conserving the scarce, saving the valuable.

The Calvin Core curriculum virtue of "Stewardship" is nearly identical to the use of the term sustainability. It is a learning outcome for all Calvin Students. A proposal to assess sustainability outcomes in in progress is in development.

Programs with explicit sustainability SLOs:

1. Environmental Science Major/Minor
The environmental science major program of concentration is intended for students who plan to pursue a career requiring scientific training in environmental problems and their solutions. The major will prepare you for jobs in a variety of fields and for further study in graduate programs such as ecology, environmental science, or natural resource management. This major requires successful completion of BIO 160 which includes a learning outcome related to Environmental Stewardship.(see below)
(https://calvin.edu/academics/departments-programs/geo/academics/environmental-science-major-geology-emphasis)

2. Environmental Studies Major/Minor.
Learn about the impact humans have on the environment and how you can contribute to the global effort to restore and preserve our planet. This major requires successful completion of BIO 160 which includes a learning outcome related to Environmental Stewardship.(see below)
(https://calvin.edu/academics/departments-programs/geo/academics/environmental-studies-minor)

3. Biology Major/Minor.
This major requires successful completion of BIO 160 which includes a learning outcome related to Environmental Stewardship.(see below)

4. Geography Major/Minor.
This major requires the successful complete of Geography 200 which includes a learning outcome related to human and natural systems dynamics. (see below)

5. Program for Sustainability Engineering (available starting AY 2016-17)
The Program for Sustainability Engineering (PSE) educates students and the community to understand and demonstrate commitments to sustainable approaches to addressing important problems of our contemporary world. The PSE oversees the sustainability designation to the Bachelors of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree.

The PSE provides funding for “sustainability challenges” and “analysis of sustainability engineering systems” courses within the engineering department, funding for the “economics of energy and sustainability” course in the economics department, and student/faculty research.

In addition, the PSE maintains and advances sustainability-related teaching and research infrastructure, provides community outreach on sustainability-related topics, and serves as an institutional home for other sustainability-related activities within the engineering department. Students are encouraged to participate with the PSE as interns, researchers, and student club members.(https://calvin.edu/academics/departments-programs/engineering/academics/program-for-sustainability/)

The Program for Sustainable Engineering proposal is attached. This was submitted and approved by faculty senate. The proposal contains the full set of Student Learning Outcomes, their descriptions, and rich detail about the program.

BIO 160 "Ecological and Evolutionary Systems: SLO: Students will use systems thinking to understand ecosystem dynamics. Students will be able to critically examine Christian perspectives on the interrelationship between human and nature.

GEOG 200 "People, Place, and Community" SLO: Students will be understand the interactions between culture and nature, Students will assess risk related to cultural and natural landscapes.

The Calvin Core curriculum virtue of "Stewardship" is nearly identical to the use of the term sustainability. It is a learning outcome for all Calvin Students, developing explicit assessment of college-wide sustainability learning outcomes are in progress.