Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 57.55
Liaison Michelle Larkins
Submission Date Dec. 20, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Pacific University
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 10.99 / 14.00 Michelle Larkins
Director of the CSS
Center for a Sustainable Society
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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 1,294 813
Number of sustainability courses offered 42 0
Number of courses offered that include sustainability 381 91

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
24.39

Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):
58

Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer at least one sustainability course and/or course that includes sustainability (at any level):
26

Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
44.83

A copy of the institution’s inventory of its sustainability course offerings and descriptions:
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Three

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 :

We have a faculty committee that designates courses that meet our student learning outcomes for sustainability. Courses must prepare students, and assess learning upon the following.

Upon completion of this requirement students will be able to:

evaluate sustainability issues and solutions using an approach that focuses on the intersections between complex human and natural systems.

describe the three aspects of sustainability (environmental, economic and social) and give examples of how at least two of the three are interrelated.

articulate how sustainability relates to their lives as community members, workers and individuals and how their actions impact sustainability.

Data compiled for courses that include an element of sustainability were taken from the active course catalog, supplied by the Academic Registrar. This represents courses that have been taught once in the last three years. In order to be included (381 UG, 91 G) course catalog descriptions had to indicate content that met one lens of sustainability: environmental, social/cultural, or economic.

Classes that "include sustainability" were evaluated by using the course catalog, and stated program outcomes of each major/department that contributed courses to the review. At the UG level, courses were evaluated against our undergraduate core designations, looking for those courses that included civic engagement, international and diverse perspectives, our natural world, or language/culture. Our institutional definition of sustainability is committed to equity and inclusion, and thus courses that focused on this framework were included at the UG and Graduate level-- including our programs that focused on underserved and rural populations, and ELL. At the Graduate level ncluded is differentiation is courses that address intercultural competence, The development of intercultural competence is a key component of Pacific's commitment to cultivate graduates who are motivated and prepared to contribute to the global community. All undergraduate students meet a second language proficiency requirement as well as an “international or diverse perspectives” course requirement toward this goal, and graduate programs similarly integrate intentional programming. To provide direct evidence of students’ achievement in this domain, Pacific is implementing the universal use of a common, nationally-validated AAC&U VALUE assessment rubric for intercultural competence, with a Level 3 proficiency goal representing the second highest threshold for sophistication.


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):
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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

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Data compiled for courses that include an element of sustainability were taken from the active course catalog, supplied by the Academic Registrar. This represents courses that have been taught once in the last three years. In order to be included (381 UG, 91 G) course catalog descriptions had to indicate content that met one lens of sustainability: environmental, social/cultural, or economic.

Classes that "include sustainability" were evaluated by using the course catalog, and stated program outcomes of each major/department that contributed courses to the review. At the UG level, courses were evaluated against our undergraduate core designations, looking for those courses that included civic engagement, international and diverse perspectives, our natural world, or language/culture. Our institutional definition of sustainability is committed to equity and inclusion, and thus courses that focused on this framework were included at the UG and Graduate level-- including our programs that focused on underserved and rural populations, and ELL. Included is differentiation is courses that address intercultural competence, The development of intercultural competence is a key component of Pacific's commitment to cultivate graduates who are motivated and prepared to contribute to the global community. All undergraduate students meet a second language proficiency requirement as well as an “international or diverse perspectives” course requirement toward this goal, and graduate programs similarly integrate intentional programming. To provide direct evidence of students’ achievement in this domain, Pacific is implementing the universal use of a common, nationally-validated AAC&U VALUE assessment rubric for intercultural competence, with a Level 3 proficiency goal representing the second highest threshold for sophistication.


Data compiled for courses that include an element of sustainability were taken from the active course catalog, supplied by the Academic Registrar. This represents courses that have been taught once in the last three years. In order to be included (381 UG, 91 G) course catalog descriptions had to indicate content that met one lens of sustainability: environmental, social/cultural, or economic.

Classes that "include sustainability" were evaluated by using the course catalog, and stated program outcomes of each major/department that contributed courses to the review. At the UG level, courses were evaluated against our undergraduate core designations, looking for those courses that included civic engagement, international and diverse perspectives, our natural world, or language/culture. Our institutional definition of sustainability is committed to equity and inclusion, and thus courses that focused on this framework were included at the UG and Graduate level-- including our programs that focused on underserved and rural populations, and ELL. Included is differentiation is courses that address intercultural competence, The development of intercultural competence is a key component of Pacific's commitment to cultivate graduates who are motivated and prepared to contribute to the global community. All undergraduate students meet a second language proficiency requirement as well as an “international or diverse perspectives” course requirement toward this goal, and graduate programs similarly integrate intentional programming. To provide direct evidence of students’ achievement in this domain, Pacific is implementing the universal use of a common, nationally-validated AAC&U VALUE assessment rubric for intercultural competence, with a Level 3 proficiency goal representing the second highest threshold for sophistication.

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.