| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.51 |
| Liaison | Jennifer Lamy |
| Submission Date | July 14, 2022 |
Emerson College
AC-2: Learning Outcomes
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.09 / 8.00 |
Matt
Fabian Registrar Registrar |
Has the institution adopted one or more sustainability learning outcomes that apply to the entire student body or, at minimum, to the institution's predominant student body?:
Which of the following best describes the sustainability learning outcomes?:
A list of the institution level sustainability learning outcomes:
Every undergraduate student at Emerson College is required to complete a course in each of 10 Perspectives, several of which include foundational knowledge in sustainability. Therefore, all undergraduate students (995 graduated in 2020-2021) are required to take a sustainability-focused course.
More about the liberal arts curriculum:
The School of Liberal Arts aims 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 also relate to sustainability:
Diversity (8 Credits): Courses in this perspective emphasize multicultural understanding, global perspectives, and the values of social justice and responsibility as crucial preparation for life and work in the contemporary world.
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
Total number of graduates from degree programs:
Number of graduates from degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
A brief description of how the figure above was determined:
Inventory attached
Each undergraduate major, undergraduate minor, and graduate degree program was assessed for the inclusion of a sustainability-focused learning outcome and/or a required course focused on sustainability with an explicit focus on the interdependence of ecological systems and social/economic systems.
The number of 2022 graduates from each of those degrees was summed in the inventory. All information on learning outcomes and required courses for each program is publicly available on Emerson's website.
Only the Environmental Studies minor met the ecological sustainability definition required. 16 students completed the minor in 2022.
A list of degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
Communication Disorders (BS)
Communication Studies (BS)
Film Art (Global BFA)
Health and Social Change (BA)
Journalism (BS)
Media Arts Production (BA/BFA)
Media Psychology (BS)
Media Studies (BA)
Political Communication (BS)
Media Design (MA)
African American & Africana Studies
Digital Media & Culture
Environmental Studies
Global & Post-Colonial Studies
Health and Society
Hearing and Deafness
History
Latin American & Latinx Studies
Literature
Nonprofit Communication
Peace and Social Justice
Philosophy
Political Science
Public Diplomacy
Religion
Sociology and Anthropology
Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies
Documentation supporting the figure reported above (upload):
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Percentage of students who graduate from programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
Website URL where information about the sustainability learning outcomes 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.