Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 70.62
Liaison Darcy Coughlan
Submission Date Dec. 22, 2022

STARS v2.2

Coastal Carolina University
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 13.29 / 14.00 Darcy Coughlan
Associate Director
Sustain Coastal
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Sustainability course offerings

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 1,459 261
Number of sustainability-focused courses offered 33 18
Number of sustainability-inclusive courses offered 217 91

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
20.87

Part 2. Sustainability course offerings by department

Total number of academic departments that offer courses:
34

Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
27

Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
79.41

Documentation

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 complete the course inventory :
To determine the number of faculty teaching sustainability-focused and -inclusive courses, an all-faculty survey was sent out in Sept. 2021. For each sustainability-focused course, faculty were asked to provide the title, number, and description. For each sustainability-inclusive course, faculty were asked to provide the course title, number, and a brief (1-2 sentence) explanation of how sustainability is integrated into each course.

The courses that were identified by faculty as sustainability-focused or -inclusive are indicated in the attached course inventory spreadsheet as "Focus (Fac.)" or "Incl (Fac. )." When a justification was provided, that information was also included in the course inventory.

Because only 22% of the faculty responded to the survey, Sustain Coastal staff used the 2015 course inventory* submission as a starting point to work from. The Associate Director made updates to the course inventory based on feedback from the faculty survey; program & course descriptions in the 2021 undergraduate and graduate catalog; and input from other faculty members in the President's Council on Sustainability & Coastal Resilience. The Associate Director of Sustain Coastal was previously the academic advisor for the Sustainability & Coastal Resilience major and also the Certificate in Sustainability courses. She was also on the committee that developed the major, and was already very familiar with the range of sustainability courses on campus.

It's also important to note that Institutional Research confirmed that "Lab" courses are counted as distinct courses.

*The 2015 course inventory was submitted in CCU's previous STARS report. The inventory was initiated by a student as a part of an academic project. She reached out and met with department chairs, college deans, and individual faculty members to put together the inventory. Regular Sustainability Council meetings also review the course inventory for an accurate, up-to-date list.

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:
Courses with multiple sections were unduplicated.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the sustainability course offerings is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
2021-2022 Undergraduate Catalog: https://catalog.coastal.edu/content.php?catoid=20&navoid=701

2021-2022 Graduate Catalog: https://catalog.coastal.edu/content.php?catoid=21&navoid=733

Sustainability and Coastal Resilience, B.A.: Business and Economics Concentration
https://catalog.coastal.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=16&poid=3324&returnto=579

Sustainability and Coastal Resilience, B.A.: Policy and Culture Concentration
https://catalog.coastal.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=16&poid=3324&returnto=579

Sustainability and Coastal Resilience, B.S.: Science and Ecosystems Concentration
https://catalog.coastal.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=16&poid=3324&returnto=579

Part 1. Sustainability course offerings

Total number of undergraduate courses offered by the institution: Institutional Research, Assessment and Analysis (IRAA)
Total number of graduate courses offered by the institution: IRAA

Number of undergraduate courses offered that are sustainability-focused: See description and attached documentation
Number of graduate courses offered that are sustainability-focused: See description and attached documentation
Number of undergraduate courses offered that are sustainability-inclusive: See description and attached documentation
Number of graduate courses offered that are sustainability-inclusive: See description and attached documentation

Total number of academic departments that offer courses: See description and attached documentation
Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings: See description and attached documentation

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.