Northern Alberta Institute of Technology
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

The Bachelor of Technology Capstone team engaged the Deans and Chairs of every school at NAIT for this process. They asked faculty to review all the courses under their perspective areas and to compile courses that have sustainability with the following methodology: •The team developed a centralized database which consisted of every course available to the students that was categorized at the School and Program level. •Team interacted with the faculty at their leadership meetings informing them on how to proceed and to use the STARS definitions on Sustainability focused and related courses. Sustainability-focused courses concentrate on the concept of sustainability, including its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, or examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens. Sustainability-related courses incorporate sustainability as a distinct course component or module or concentrate on a single sustainability principle or issue. •In addition, three more helpful resources were added in order to assist the faculty from any ambiguity when depicting sustainability in a course. By adopting the sustainability definition of NAIT as defined by the Brundtland Report, “meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, the following three statements were added: Sustainability Environmental: the idea those future generations should have the same or greater access to environmental resources as the current generation, while there should also be equal access to environmental resources within the current generation. Sustainability Economic: the idea those future generations should have the same or greater access to economic resources as the current generation, while there should also be equal access to economic resources within the current generation. Sustainability Social: the idea those future generations should have the same or greater access to social resources as the current generation, while there should also be equal access to social resources within the current generation. •Using the resources as stated previously, the faculty accessed and filled the database per course, each having three columns representing the three dimensions of sustainability. They were asked “What percentage of the course has sustainability education based on the three dimensions of: environmental, social and/or economic sustainability?” •The percentage factor was put in place in order for NAIT to mitigate its sustainability content in its courses. Though this is not required by the STARS framework, this will give NAIT the opportunity to develop its course contents more effectively in the future. •Once the database is completed, the courses can be selected Sustainability Focused or Related depending what the minimum percentage level is mitigated to be sustainable.