| Overall Rating | Bronze |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 33.30 |
| Liaison | Bo Solomon |
| Submission Date | March 31, 2021 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Drexel University
AC-1: Academic Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.25 / 14.00 |
Korin
Tangtrakul Sustainability Manager Sustainable Water Resources Engineering Lab |
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 | 5,309 | 5,382 |
| Number of sustainability courses offered | 55 | 38 |
| Number of courses offered that include sustainability | 193 | 86 |
Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):
Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer at least one sustainability course and/or course that includes sustainability (at any level):
Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
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?:
A brief description of the methodology used to determine the total number of courses offered and to identify sustainability course offerings, including the definitions used and the process for reviewing and/or validating the course inventory :
A list of all courses offered in the past three academic years was obtained by the Registrars office. English language center (English-language learning), recitation, career management center, and courses related to teams practice (e.g. soccer, crew, concert band, etc) were excluded from the total count of courses.
Department chairs and program managers were asked to mark which courses in their departments were sustainability-focused or sustainability-inclusive, given the criteria provided in the STARS technical manual.
For departments that did not give a response, sustainability courses were designated based on the following criteria: Courses with sustainability or climate change in the title were considered sustainability-focused. Courses with sustainability-adjacent key words (energy, environment, resilience) in the title were assessed on a case by case basis depending on the course description.
For example: Renewable Energy Systems was designated as a sustainability-focused course based on the following course description: This course provides an introduction to energy systems and renewable energy resources, with a scientific examination of the energy field and an emphasis on alternate energy sources and their technology and applications. The class explores society's present needs and future energy demands, examines conventional energy sources and systems, including fossil fuels and then focuses on alternate, renewable energy sources such as solar, wind power, geothermal and fuel cells.
Solar Energy Fundamentals was considered a sustainability-inclusive course based on the following course description: This course focuses on basic theories of solar radiation, solar thermal energy, and photovoltaics. Students will learn basic radiation heat transfer, solar radiation, solar thermal collection and storage, passive and active solar heating/cooling, physics of photovoltaic cells, and characteristics and types of solar cells.
Not all courses have course descriptions. Some courses are special topics courses which do not include a course description in the catalog, and some courses were taught in previous years and the course description is not in the course catalog. When course descriptions are not available, guesses were made based on the course title.
How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:
A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted (if different from the options outlined above):
Courses with lab and lecture sections were counted as individual courses, so there may be double counting in both the total number of courses and sustainability courses.
Are the following course types included in the inventory? :
| Yes (included) or No (not included) | |
| Internships | No |
| Practicums | Yes |
| Independent study | Yes |
| Special topics | Yes |
| Thesis / dissertation | Yes |
| Clinical | Yes |
| Physical education | No |
| Performance arts | Yes |
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:
Course descriptions can be found through the Drexel Course Catalog:
http://catalog.drexel.edu/
Course descriptions can be found through the Drexel Course Catalog:
http://catalog.drexel.edu/
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.