College of Lake County
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Identifying Sustainability Courses at College of Lake County: Developed by: Curriculum Subcommittee of the Environmental Action Committee Sustainability: Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs - Brundtland Commission Report, United Nations, 1987 Once a course has been identified as one that includes sustainability within the curriculum, a distinction is made between sustainability-focused courses, and sustainability-related courses. Sustainability-focused courses: Concentrate on the concept of sustainability, including its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, or examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens. Sustainability-related courses: Incorporate sustainability as a distinct course component or module, or concentrate on a single sustainability principle or issue. In order to distinguish which category a course belongs to, a list of learning objectives has been compiled below. If a course meets at least one of these goals it can be identified as a sustainability-related course. If five or more of the learning objectives are accomplished in a course, it can be identified as a sustainability-focused course. Student Learning Objectives in Sustainability: - Develop technical skills that are necessary to pursue a career in a sustainability - Build an understanding and be able to effectively impart concepts of sustainability - Become aware and understand the impact of environment issues today that are the result of mismanaged practices in the past; reinforcing the importance of sustainable techniques - Evolve and implement an ethical perspective of an interconnected world in which we each are embedded - Be able to identify where their chosen field of study and sustainability are, or can become, connected - Construct an understanding of how decision-making encompassing sustainability creates solutions for current and emerging social-environmental issues - Become able to analyze real-world challenges to environmental systems from a holistic perspective and formulate practical sustainable solutions A list of sustainability-focused courses and sustainability-related courses offered at College of Lake County, identified by faculty using the above guidelines can be found on the Sustainability Center website (www.clcillinois.edu/gogreen/)

The Curriculum Subcommittee of the Environmental Action Committee developed an institutional definition of sustainability based on concurrent learning outcomes. The Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Planning, and Research then performed a search through the college course catalog of all courses that may cover sustainability-related topics, and confirmed this list with each academic department dean. Committee members then categorized sustainability courses found using the criteria established in the definition.