Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.10
Liaison Michael Amadori
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.91 / 8.00 Michael Amadori
Sustainability Manager
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the sustainability learning outcomes?:
Sustainability-supportive

A list of the institution level sustainability learning outcomes:

https://www.hws.edu/academics/curr_goals.aspx

Along with our integrated goals of critical thinking and communication, the aspirational goals of the curriculum expose students to modes of critical, analytic, and creative thinking and communications found across fields of study; these goals underscore the imperative of a liberal arts education to provide a breadth of knowledge and the means to express that knowledge effectively.

The ability to reason quantitatively. The ability to reason quantitatively is necessary for using and interpreting quantitative data or mathematical arguments in decision making. Quantitative reasoning fosters numerical literacy, and is best developed by working with numerical evidence to evaluate trends, patterns, and claims or by using mathematical concepts to create or assess complex arguments.

An experiential understanding of scientific inquiry. An experiential understanding of scientific inquiry provides the intellectual foundation for evaluating scientific claims about the natural world. Scientific inquiry involves posing and answering questions by testing hypotheses through observational studies, experimental testing, or modeling. Understanding the processes by which knowledge is gained in the natural sciences is best developed through the direct experience of the investigative inquiry that characterizes scientific practice, grounded in laboratory, field, or classroom experiences.

A critical and experiential understanding of artistic process. A critical and experiential understanding of artistic process emerges from engagements with art that are both expressive and reflective. The understanding of artistic expression may be cultivated through studies that are entirely performance-centered, studio-based, or workshop-based, as well as through studies that integrate performance or creative activity with topics related to the art form.

A critical understanding of social inequalities. A critical understanding of social inequalities will draw on evidence to analyze how wealth, power, and privilege are distributed unequally in human societies based on factors including, though not limited to, gender, race, class, religion, sexuality, age, disability, indigeneity, nationality, ethnicity, or language. This understanding can be fostered by examining the historical background, social conditions, and intersections of different forms of inequality; by acquiring a deeper understanding of the lives of individuals and groups who experience inequality; by scrutinizing ideologies and social constructions for justifying inequality; or by critically assessing past and present collective strategies for reducing social inequality.

A critical understanding of cultural difference. A critical understanding of cultural difference is necessary for thoughtful, cooperative, and productive communication in a global community. Global citizenship requires the ability to understand how and why human thought, expression, and action are constituted by differences of historical background, social context, cultural heritage, and linguistic tradition. This understanding can be cultivated through the critical study of a cultural heritage that is substantively different from one’s own, or through the study of cross-cultural interaction and cultural change.

An intellectual foundation for ethical judgment as a basis for socially responsible action. An intellectual foundation for ethical judgment as a basis for socially responsible action requires the ability to think and argue rigorously about questions of how things should be. This foundation ideally incorporates a historically informed examination of one’s values and an understanding of the role of particular circumstances in the context of ethical judgment and action. These skills can be developed by studying professional ethics, public service, social justice, human rights, environmental responsibility, and other topics that raise questions of how to engage in responsible action.


Total number of graduates from degree programs:
501

Number of graduates from degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
57

A brief description of how the figure above was determined:

Graduation data is for Spring 2019
29 students in Environmental Studies (Major)
26 students in Environmental Studies (Minor)
2 students Sustainable Community Development (Minor) - not counted with the above numbers


A list of degree programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:

Environmental Studies
Sustainable Community Development


Documentation supporting the figure reported above (upload):
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Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
One

Percentage of students who graduate from programs that require an understanding of the concept of sustainability:
11.38

Website URL where information about the sustainability learning outcomes is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.