Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	70.85
Liaison	Laura Young
Submission Date	Feb. 28, 2019
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

Michigan State University
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	9.72 / 14.00	Amy Butler Campus Sustainability Director MSU Sustainability

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

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	2,996	1,976
Number of sustainability courses offered	150	90
Number of courses offered that include sustainability	258	105

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:

12.13

Part 2

Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):

115

None

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:

73.04

Course Inventory

A copy of the institution’s inventory of its sustainability course offerings and descriptions:

AC1_Final Course Inventory and Department List_4qwL5sU.xlsx

Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:

Two

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 :

Courses in sustainability and courses with sustainability elements were identified through searches in the university Registrar Course Descriptions Catalog. In addition, Associate Deans from all 17 colleges were involved in gathering information about courses. Several key Directors of Schools and Department Chairs that have significantly embedded sustainability as part of their curriculum were also interviewed. A complete list of courses for the two academic years was obtained through the Registrars office. Duplicates were removed. This list was then thoroughly examined by sustainability staff. Sustainability courses were identified using the systems recommended in the AASHE STARS technical manual, and therefore courses that included the word ""sustainability"" were chosen, courses that reference the interdependence of ecological and social/economic systems, as well as courses that address major sustainability challenges or wicked problems. The list of search words used for the registrar catalog are listed below: Built environment Climate Community sustainability Ecosystem Environment Sustain Sustainability Sustainable agriculture Sustainable community Search words used selectively: Culture Anthropocene Circular Economy Energy Intercultural Global

How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:

Each course was counted as a single course regardless of the number of offerings or sections

A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted (if different from the options outlined above):

N/A

Are the following course types included in the inventory? :

	Yes (included) or No (not included)
Internships	No
Practicums	Yes
Independent study	No
Special topics	Yes
Thesis / dissertation	No
Clinical	No
Physical education	No
Performance arts	Yes

Optional Fields

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

https://sustainability.msu.edu/

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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