Nova Scotia Community College
EN-8: Staff Professional Development

1. Education for Sustainability (EFS) is a blended on-line and 3-day residency course examining sustainability through the lens of higher education. It is a multi-disciplinary, introspective and progressive process of portfolio learning that steers the learner through various levels of awareness on three levels: inward, outward and global while addressing both personal and professional impacts and contributions. EFS is an elective credit course in NSCC's Community College Education Diploma Program (CCEDP); a diploma required by all faculty and professional support employees of the College during the probationary period. Offered annually, all employee groups are eligible to enroll. Organizational Learning covers all costs excluding travel. The course grew from an EFS 3-day workshop to a CCEDP self-directed credit, into an elective credit course. The employees who have attended have come from various disciplines and employee groups: managers, faculty, professional support, operational support and support staff; trades, administration, science, business, technology, social sciences, health, etc. Each year of the course is documented on private class wikis which houses the recorded comments, group-work, reflections and observations from the class. The course outline and all video-related materials are stored online on prezi for 24/7 access. The course is facilitated in-house enhanced by guest-speakers, nature-based learning, peer teaching and team projects. Six months after the course, learners are contacted by the facilitators to discuss how they have applied or are applying their learning. In the past few years, faculty and staff have made significant changes to their courses, programs and lifestyles after completing the course. • Prezi: https://prezi.com/5v3hfg09lg7x/education-for-sustainability-course-nscc/ • Facilitators: Bobbi Dunham and Don Jardine 2. Facilities and Information Technology (FIT) annual conference for operational support employees offers a 'sustainability track' which includes workshops, nature-based activities and guest speakers.