Delta College
ER-14: Incentives for Developing Sustainability Courses

The Sustainability Office has been co-led by the Sustainability & Risk Management Coordinator (Facilities Management) and an Academic Sustainability Officer (faculty). The faculty member, with release time equivalent to half of the standard teaching load, is responsible for integrating sustainability throughout the curriculum. The release time allowed for the development of the Academic Sustainability Team (AST)with faculty representataion from all college divsions. The AST built a process were the faculty can document their classes as sustainability-related. A multitude of tasks had to be completed in order for this process to become a reality and would not have been possible with out this finacial support. The college named sustainability in academics as one of the colleges major initiatives placing sustainability into the quality improvement plan and strategic planning. The program includes multiple sustainability sessions through our Center for Organizational Success, a faculty and staff resource center. One such session "Teaching Sustainability", focused on helping new faculty build a sustianability-related course.

The current incentive is aimed at the Academic Sustainability Officer who was given release time for past three years equivalent to half the standard teaching load. The faculty member works closely with the AST providing support and recourses to its members and any faculty member interested in documenting a sustainability related section. Faculty are also granted professional development funding and may choose to attend campus-sponsored or other training venues in sustainability. The campus Center for Organizational Success, a faculty and staff resource center, provides access to a number of sustainability topics.