Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.48
Liaison Heather Albert-Knopp
Submission Date March 30, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

College of the Atlantic
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 8.00 / 8.00 Heather Albert-Knopp
Dean of Admission
Office of Admission
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of graduates from degree programs (i.e. majors, minors, concentrations, certificates, and other academic designations):
86

Number of students that graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
86

Percentage of students who graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
100

Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
One

Does the institution specify sustainability learning outcomes at the institution level (e.g. covering all students)?:
Yes

Does the institution specify sustainability learning outcomes at the division level (e.g. covering particular schools or colleges within the institution)?:
Yes

A list or brief description of the institution level or division level sustainability learning outcomes:

College of the Atlantic has only one academic program: all undergraduate students earn a B.A. in human ecology, and all Masters students earn the M.Phil in human ecology. We have one singular major, human ecology, and the learning outcomes for this major apply to all students at the institution. Human ecology, in our statement of learning objectives, is referred to as "a probing and determined search for the roots of contemporary social, cultural, political, and environmental issues."

The faculty have collectively adopted a set of institution-wide learning outcomes for our sole degree program including: (1) Creativity, (2) Critical Thinking, (3) Community Engagement, (4) Communication, (5) Integrative Thinking, (6) Interdisciplinarity.

All students are required to write a capstone, integrative essay known as the Human Ecology Essay (HEE) during their senior year at COA. The HEE is a work of exposition, argumentation, extended description or narration in which the student explores her or his perspective on human ecology. The Human Ecology Essay must be clear, concise, and coherent. Faculty expect that all students who graduate from COA are able to write compellingly about human ecology and its relation to environmental, social, and economic issues.


Does the institution specify sustainability learning outcomes at the program level (i.e. majors, minors, concentrations, degrees, diplomas, certificates, and other academic designations)?:
Yes

A list or brief description of the program level sustainability learning outcomes (or a list of sustainability-focused programs):

Our educational studies program has adopted a learning outcomes standard focused on human ecology and sustainability. This standard is above and beyond the standards required by the State of Maine Department of Education. This standard reads:

"The teacher applies an understanding of interconnection, interdependence, and interaction between and among mind and body, self and other, human and environment, school and community, personal experience, school subjects, and academic disciplines, and theory and practice. She brings heart and mind to learning and teaching—by living in the questions, increasing student tolerance of uncertainty, and modeling playful, open, creative, responsible, and compassionate humanity."


Do course level sustainability learning outcomes contribute to the figure reported above (i.e. in the absence of program, division, or institution level learning outcomes)?:
No

A list or brief description of the course level sustainability learning outcomes and the programs for which the courses are required:
---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Graduation numbers are from July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017.

COA has one undergraduate academic program; all undergraduates receive a BA in Human Ecology. Learning outcomes for the human ecology degree apply to the whole institution, as this is our sole major, though each student does design his or her own course of study in keeping with the learning outcomes and degree requirements.

COA's grants Maine Initial Teaching Certification for Elementary Education (grades K–8) or Secondary Education (grades 7–12) in Life Science, Social Studies, or English Language Arts. Student receiving certification receive a BA in Human Ecology, like all other COA graduates.


Graduation numbers are from July 1, 2016-June 30, 2017.

COA has one undergraduate academic program; all undergraduates receive a BA in Human Ecology. Learning outcomes for the human ecology degree apply to the whole institution, as this is our sole major, though each student does design his or her own course of study in keeping with the learning outcomes and degree requirements.

COA's grants Maine Initial Teaching Certification for Elementary Education (grades K–8) or Secondary Education (grades 7–12) in Life Science, Social Studies, or English Language Arts. Student receiving certification receive a BA in Human Ecology, like all other COA graduates.

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.