Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.46
Liaison Laura Bain
Submission Date Jan. 31, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.0

Furman University
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution developed a definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:
Yes

A copy of the institution's definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:

Sustainability explores the dynamic relationships among social, economic, and environmental systems so as to enhance the long-term quality of life.
Sustainability-related courses address the relationship between at least two of these systems as a significant component of the course.
Sustainability-focused courses make the relationships between these systems the focus of the course, or use sustainability as a guiding framework for the entire course.


Has the institution identified its sustainability-focused and sustainability-related course offerings?:
Yes

A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the inventory:

Courses were identified by their catalog descriptions to be sustainability-related or sustainability-focused. The reliance on catalog descriptions necessitates an undercounting of the total classes which are sustainability-related or sustainability-focused; there are likely a number of courses which include a focus on sustainability in practice, though this may not be clear from the official catalog description (these generally range from one to four sentences). Additionally, some courses which are taught by multiple faculty members may include a focus on sustainability when taught by one faculty member, but not when taught by another faculty member.

The list of sustainability-related and focused courses was then used to determine the number of such courses offered in the 2009-2010 academic year. Each course offered was counted only once, regardless of the number of sections offered. The inventory includes for-credit courses offered in the fall, spring, summer, and May Experience terms.

Note: the list of courses posted on the website below lists all courses offered by the university that are sustainability-related or focused; the list is not restricted to those courses offered last year (which were the only courses counted in the inventory numbers provided above).


Does the institution make its sustainability course inventory publicly available online?:
Yes

The website URL where the sustainability course inventory is posted:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.