Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.74
Liaison Jennifer Lamy
Submission Date March 30, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Emerson College
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 6.78 / 8.00 Matt Fabian
Registrar
Registrar
"---" 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):
720

Number of students that graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
610

Percentage of students who graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
84.72

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)?:
No

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:

The School of Liberal Arts specifies to expose "students to disciplines across the social sciences, languages and literature, natural sciences and math, and the arts."
Whether for the successful professional or involved citizen, our world is changing so rapidly that it is imperative for a person to be equipped for understanding the major themes and forces shaping our futures. And in the world of the 21st century, in which professionals may change careers more often than their parents changed jobs, narrowly conceived recipes for career training will not work. What is needed instead is an adaptable quality of mind born of broad exposure to the liberal arts, grounded in communication skills, and tempered by an orientation toward application of knowledge in the real world.
Students are ensured adequate variety in course offerings so that they may uniquely tailor a program of study to their own interests as well as prepare to pursue educational or career opportunities other than their chosen major after graduation.
While each major program at Emerson engages the liberal art in a manner appropriate to its discipline(s), there is also a distinct Liberal Arts curriculum—Foundations, Perspectives, and Minors—in which all students engage and which accounts for more than a third of their overall educational experience.

The structure of the Perspectives Curriculum guarantees that students will discover a variety of liberal arts disciplines beyond their major. Through exposure to the major liberal arts traditions, they emerge with an understanding of the different kinds of questions and methods that each of these knowledge communities engages as well as tools to develop critically informed perspectives that are appreciative of diversity and conducive to becoming ethical, informed, and active participants in society.

Students are required to complete the specified number of credits for each of these Perspectives that relate to sustainability:

Ethics and Values (4 credits): Courses in this perspective challenge students to articulate the foundations of their beliefs and judgments, and those of others, by subjecting these value commitments to critical analysis. Critical analysis affords the possibility of making more mature and informed judgments. Examples include Contemporary Ethics, Environmental Ethics, and Religions Around the Globe.

Scientific (4 credits): In this perspective, students explore existing knowledge in particular natural or physical domains, experience science as an approach to acquiring more reliable knowledge of the natural world, and identify how science pertains to their own lives. Examples include Energy and the Environment, Evolution and Human Nature, Personal Genetics and Identity, and Earth Science: Natural Disasters.

https://www.emerson.edu/liberal-arts-interdisciplinary-studies/liberal-arts-curriculum/perspectives


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):

The interdisciplinary Environmental Studies minor within the School of Liberal Arts examines environmental processes, challenges, and solutions from a variety of perspectives, including science, policy, economics, history, ethics, media, literature, and the arts. Students will explore the relationships between people and the environment, focusing in particular on the sustainable use of natural resources and the causes, consequences, and communication of the complex environmental problems faced by human societies, including air and water pollution, habitat loss and restoration, and climate change.


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)?:
Yes

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

The interdisciplinary Environmental Studies minor within the School of Liberal Arts examines environmental processes, challenges, and solutions from a variety of perspectives, including science, policy, economics, history, ethics, media, literature, and the arts. Students will explore the relationships between people and the environment, focusing in particular on the sustainable use of natural resources and the causes, consequences, and communication of the complex environmental problems faced by human societies, including air and water pollution, habitat loss and restoration, and climate change.


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:
---

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.