Overall Rating Reporter - expired
Overall Score
Liaison Mark Bremer
Submission Date April 6, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

State University of New York Polytechnic Institute
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter Mark Bremer
Lecturer & Green Team Chair
Arts & Sciences
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures required to calculate the percentage of courses with sustainability content::
Undergraduate Graduate
Total number of courses offered by the institution 1,483 277
Number of sustainability courses offered 5 0
Number of courses offered that include sustainability 17 4

Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer at least one sustainability course and/or course that includes sustainability (at any level):
18

Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):
53

Number of years covered by the data:
One

A copy of the institution’s inventory of its course offerings with sustainability content (and course descriptions):
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An inventory of the institution's course offerings with sustainability content (and course descriptions):
Sustainability Courses (Sustainability-Focused): BIO 106 Solutions for a Sustainable World (4) Examines a broad survey of environmental, social and economic problems and explores solutions for a sustainable future on local, bioregional and global levels. Topics include population growth and consumption, world poverty, global climate change, renewable energy, transportation and biofuels, water conservation, GMO’s, local and organic food production, green building, socially responsible business investing, carbon cap and trade, microlending, environmental racism, and ecovillages among others. The instructor, student teams and guest speakers will give presentations on these issues. Students will see examples of sustainable solutions in their local community on scheduled site visits. Meets new General Education Natural Science requirement. CTC 215 Sustainable Energy Systems (2) An introduction to sustainable energy systems. Topics include solar energy, wind energy, wind energy, fuel cell technology, biomass energy, geothermal energy, clean coal technology, ocean energy, hydroelectric power, and nuclear power. Two hours of lecture per week. Cross-listed with ETC 215 and MTC 215 ME 425 Sustainable Energy: Choosing Among Options (3) The technical, economic, environmental and physical resources constraints of energy sources are discussed in terms of both national and global development needs. The current states of both non-renewable and renewable technologies are presented in terms of their potential contribution to sustainable energy resources required for continued viable economic development. Prerequisite: ME 330 N SCI 102/102Z (= N ENG 102/102Z) Societal Impacts of Nanotechnology (3) Introduction to the societal implications of nanotechnology innovation including public perception of nanotechnology, public impacts, nanomaterials risk assessment, and impacts of nanotechnology on public health policy and energy/environmental sustainability. Only one version of N SCI 102 or N ENG 102 may be taken for credit. SOC 290 Special Topics in Sociology: Sustainability and Society (3) Treatment of a special topic in Sociology. Provides student with the opportunity to investigate sociological subject matter. Students may receive credit in future semester for different topic area. Prerequisite: SOC 100 or SOC 110 or an introductory sociology course. Courses that Include Sustainability (Sustainability-Related): ACC 492 Accounting Internship (4) Supervised, discipline related experience in a business organization. Emphasis is on application, process, and techniques used by business to sustain business and promote growth. Specific skills and competencies needed to be a successful decision-maker will be targeted. Oversight will be provided by the School internship coordinator and the sponsoring organization. Periodic meetings with the supervisor, mid-semester evaluation, and a final, comprehensive written report are required. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. BUS 492 Business Internship (4) Supervised, discipline based experience in business organization. Emphasis on application, process, and techniques used by business to sustain and promote growth. Specific skills and competencies needed to be a successful decision-maker are targeted. Oversight provided by the School internship coordinator and the sponsoring organization. Periodic meetings with the internship coordinator, mid-semester evaluation and a final, comprehensive written report are required. Pre-requisite: Permission of Instructor. Only S/U grades are awarded for this course. CE 302 Transportation Engineering (3) Introduction to basic concepts in transportation engineering including: planning, design, and operations. Introduces the challenges and issues in modeling transportation problems. Studies of various concepts related to the design of highway facilities, level of service, and demand for transportation services. Concepts related to signal optimization, policy implications and the basics of transportation planning. Prerequisite: MAT 152. CE 303 Environmental Engineering (3) A course in environmental engineering fundamentals that applies biological, chemical, and mathematical principles to solve environmental engineering problems using the mass balance approach. Prerequisites/co-requisites: MAT 151, BIO 105 or CHE 110. CE 335 Water Resources Engineering (3) Students will explore water resources engineering processes in pipe flows, pipe networks, open channel flow, and surface and groundwater hydrology. This course is designed to review the fundamentals and practices of water resources engineering with a focus on engineering applications of hydraulics and hydrology. The concepts of fluid mechanics (hydrostatics, conservation laws) will be applied to analyze flow phenomena are illustrated in demonstrations and field trips. The course will prepare interested students for future careers in water supply, wastewater treatment, floodplain management, storm water management, and groundwater management. Prerequisite/Co-requisite: CE 330. CE 430 Hydrology and Storm Water Management (3) Students will learn about hydrologic design and the analysis of drainage and storm water management systems. This will include hydrologic cycle components necessary for determining design flows and pipe flow calculations. Computer modeling. Prerequisite: CE 303. CE 431 Hazardous and Solid Waste Treatment (3) Teaches students about hazardous and solid waste including: waste identification, subsurface fate and transport, toxicology, environmental/public health and risk assessment, site characterization and assessment tools, remediation tools and technologies. Prerequisite: CE 303. CE 432 Water & Waste Water Unit Design (3) Design-based environmental engineering course. Unites design of drinking water and waste-water treatment plants. Applies microbiology, water chemistry principles, and units of treatment-plant design techniques. Prerequisite: CE 303. CE 480 Capstone Design I (3) This course will provide students with the opportunity to work as part of a multi-disciplinary Civil Engineering design team. The course will consist of developing the preliminary design plans with presentations and reports. Students will learn about the regulatory process, LEED design, and site planning. Lectures in professional practice and teaming will augment the design project. Prerequisites/co-requisites: Senior standing and completion of one class in a CE emphases. ECO 425 Economics of the Environment (4) An economic analysis of environmental protection. Topics include: the economic nature of environmental problems; a description of air, water, and land pollution; global environmental issues; the economics of natural resource use, conservation, and recycling; and an analysis of the history and evolution of environmental policies in the United States. Prerequisite: ECO 110 or equivalent. ENT 492 Entrepreneurship Internship (4) Supervised, discipline based experience in business organization. Emphasis on application, process and techniques used by business to sustain and promote growth. Specific skills and competencies needed to be a successful decision-maker are targeted. Oversight provided by the School internship coordinator, min-semester evaluation and a final, comprehensive written report are required. Prerequisite: ENT 375, ENT 378, and Permission of Instructor. Only S/U grades are awarded for this course. FIN 492 Finance Internship (4) Supervised, discipline related experience in a business organization. Emphasis is on application, process, and techniques used by business to sustain business and promote growth. Specific skills and competencies needed to be a successful decision-maker will be targeted. Oversight will be provided by the School internship coordinator and the sponsoring organization. Periodic meetings with the supervisor, mid-semester evaluation, and a final, comprehensive written report are required. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. IDS 103 Science, Technology, and Human Values (4) An exploration of the interrelationships between science and technology and their social and cultural contexts. This course is a topics-based investigation that introduces students to a multi-disciplinary examination of a specific topic with the goal of developing an integrated, coherent, and well-rounded understanding of both that topic and the value of interdisciplinary inquiry. Possible topics include health and illness, food, transportation, energy, information, and other subjects. A reading and writing intensive seminar class; meets the Humanities SUNY General Education Requirement. IDS 203 Introduction to Science, Technology, and Society (4) Explores the humanistic and social dimensions of science and technology by looking at the interactions and interrelationships among science, technology, and society. We will explore: 1) the practice of science and technology to understand how scientific and technological work are conducted as creative and human enterprises; 2) how science and technology are shaped by different social and economic forces; 3) the impact of science and technology on society; 4) ethical issues related to science and technology. MGT 492 Management Internship (4) Supervised, discipline related experience in a business organization. Emphasis is on application, process, and techniques used by business to sustain business and promote growth. Specific skills and competencies needed to be a successful decision-maker will be targeted. Oversight will be provided by the School internship coordinator and the sponsoring organization. Periodic meetings with the supervisor, mid-semester evaluation, and a final, comprehensive written report are required. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. MIS 315 Introduction to Management Information Systems (4) The wide availability of powerful and affordable information technologies today has made it imperative for managers and entrepreneurs to not only appreciate the role that they play in achieving organizational goals but also develop skills to deploy them for both personal and organizational competitive advantage. This course introduces students to information technologies, the common systems built using such technologies, the major organizational processes that such systems sustain, and the development and management of systems in organizations. Topics covered include the role of business intelligence, e-commerce, hardware, software, databases, and telecommunications; information systems development and management. MKT 492 Marketing Internship (4) Supervised, discipline related experience in a business organization. Emphasis is on application, process, and techniques used by business to sustain business and promote growth. Specific skills and competencies needed to be a successful decision-maker will be targeted. Oversight will be provided by the School internship coordinator and the sponsoring organization. Periodic meetings with the supervisor, mid-semester evaluation, and a final, comprehensive written report are required. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. NNSE 622 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics of Small Systems (3) This course addresses the fundamental concepts and methods of statistical thermodynamics relevant to the investigation of nanomaterials and their application to the development of new nanoscale electronic, biomedical devices and sustainable energy nanotechnologies. Topics covered include fundamental concepts and methods in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, statistical thermodynamics of surfaces and interfaces, phase transitions, wetting phenomena, molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations, transport processes and chemical kinetics. Prerequisites: Foundation of Nanotechnology modules. It is recommended a student has passed the qualifying exams in Nanoscale Science or Nanoscale Engineering. Permission of instructor. NNSE 644 Nanoelectrochemical Systems (3) This course will explore the theory and application of electrochemical processes as they apply to integrated nanoelectrochemical systems for use in sustainable ecosystems, including fuel cells, electrolyzers, supercapacitors, batteries, and photochemical solar cells. As an introduction, a thorough review of classical electrochemical principles, concepts and characterization methods will be given, including the nature and structure of the double layer, as well as the kinetics of electrode reactions. This will be followed by a discussion of and extension of these principles to the nanoscale. The discussion will focus on this area of active research; will involve an examination of recent literature in the field, including recent progress in electrocatalysis with nanoparticles supported on a variety of materials. Specific attention will be given to nanostructured thin film electrodes and electrolytes which are applicable to integrated nanoelectrochemical systems. The course will include the introduction to and hands on use of an electrochemical scanning microscope. Prerequisites: Foundations (506) courses and permission of instructor. NUR 524 Program Planning and Development (2) Program planning provides a concise, practical, critically reflective approach to planning, managing, and evaluating health programs within an acute or community based health care delivery system. A variety of theoretical and health system models are applied to program planning. The program planning process is presented with illustrations of how this process provides fiscally sound, sustainable change in a variety of practice and collaborative environments. TIM 585 Leading Organizational Change and Innovation (3) Leading change at the individual, group, and organizational levels is critical to the survival, growth and success of various types of organizations. This course aims to prepare leaders for the challenges of guiding organizations through strategic change and innovation projects. Pressures in the dynamic external and internal environments of firms create opportunities for, or make necessary, innovation and transformation. Given the complex nature of change, the course offers a holistic and multi-disciplinary view of sustainable change and innovation by integrating knowledge from three discrete domains: creativity and design, leadership, and organizational change. This course expands the standard innovation discourse by introducing technological design concepts and principles as tools for effectively envisioning future change states. Furthermore, the course explores the human, technological, network, environmental, industry, public sector, and societal variables that mediate creative and innovation outcomes for organizations. Prerequisites: TIM 500 or permission of instructor.

The website URL where the inventory of course offerings with sustainability content is publicly available:
A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the course inventory:
The total number of course sections offered in F14-SP15 was provided by the registrar's office. The number of departments was counted by reviewing the online course catalog. Courses were determined to be sustainability-focused or sustainability-related by the Sustainability Coordinator reviewing course descriptions in the online course catalog. A sustainability focused-course is a course that incorporates all three aspects of sustainability: environment, equity, and economy. A sustainability-related course is a course that incorporates up to two of the three aspects of sustainability.

How did the institution count courses with multiple offerings or sections in the inventory?:
Each offering or section of a course was counted as an individual course

A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted (if different from the options outlined above):
If a course was cross-listed in different departments, the course was only counted once.

Which of the following course types were included in the inventory?:
Yes or No
Internships Yes
Practicums Yes
Independent study Yes
Special topics Yes
Thesis/dissertation Yes
Clinical Yes
Physical education Yes
Performance arts Yes

Does the institution designate sustainability courses in its catalog of course offerings?:
No

Does the institution designate sustainability courses on student transcripts?:
No

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.