Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.73
Liaison Lindsey Lyons
Submission Date June 13, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.0

Dickinson College
ER-9: Sustainability Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.12 / 10.00 Neil Leary
Director
Center for Sustainability Education
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

The number of graduates covered by the sustainability learning outcomes:
65

Total number of graduates :
579

A list of degree programs that have sustainability learning outcomes:

Three majors have sustainability learning outcomes: environmental sciences, environmental studies and economics.


The website URL where the publicly available sustainability course inventory that includes a list of degree programs that have specified sustainability learning outcomes is available:
A copy of the sustainability course inventory :
A list or sample of the sustainability learning outcomes associated with the degree programs:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The number of students expected to graduate in May 2011 with these majors, or who graduated with these majors in August 2010 or February 2011, are 6 in environmental sciences, 12 in environmental studies and 47 in economics. The total number of graduates is 579.

These figures understate the number of students who master sustainability learning outcomes. Our primary emphasis in sustainability education is to infuse sustainability broadly across the curriculum and in co-curricular programs while challenging and motivating students to choose to attain sustainability learning outcomes. We are taking this approach because all Dickinson College graduates, whatever their chosen field of study, will confront problems in their future careers, civic commitments and personal lives that challenge sustainable uses of the natural world. It is not sufficient to offer majors and certificates for focused study of sustainability by students who choose these specialized programs. Our intention is to go beyond specialized programs and make sustainability a part of the education of all our students.

Some schools have decided to pursue this goal by making sustainability a general education requirement. Dickinson considered this option but decided that it would be more in keeping with the culture of our institution, and hence more effective, to motivate our students to choose to incorporate sustainability into their education and provide them the means to do so in ways that are integral to their chosen fields of study. We have a ways to go to make good on this aspiration, but we are making good progress by offering sustainability focused and related courses in 24 of 41 academic departments.

Consequently, most students who major in some of our largest majors, including biology, international business and management, and international studies take sustainability courses and master sustainability learning outcomes. They are not required to do so, but they choose to.


The number of students expected to graduate in May 2011 with these majors, or who graduated with these majors in August 2010 or February 2011, are 6 in environmental sciences, 12 in environmental studies and 47 in economics. The total number of graduates is 579.

These figures understate the number of students who master sustainability learning outcomes. Our primary emphasis in sustainability education is to infuse sustainability broadly across the curriculum and in co-curricular programs while challenging and motivating students to choose to attain sustainability learning outcomes. We are taking this approach because all Dickinson College graduates, whatever their chosen field of study, will confront problems in their future careers, civic commitments and personal lives that challenge sustainable uses of the natural world. It is not sufficient to offer majors and certificates for focused study of sustainability by students who choose these specialized programs. Our intention is to go beyond specialized programs and make sustainability a part of the education of all our students.

Some schools have decided to pursue this goal by making sustainability a general education requirement. Dickinson considered this option but decided that it would be more in keeping with the culture of our institution, and hence more effective, to motivate our students to choose to incorporate sustainability into their education and provide them the means to do so in ways that are integral to their chosen fields of study. We have a ways to go to make good on this aspiration, but we are making good progress by offering sustainability focused and related courses in 24 of 41 academic departments.

Consequently, most students who major in some of our largest majors, including biology, international business and management, and international studies take sustainability courses and master sustainability learning outcomes. They are not required to do so, but they choose to.

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.