Overall Rating Reporter - expired
Overall Score
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date June 29, 2012
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

Swarthmore College
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete Reporter E. Carr Everbach
Professor of Engineering
Engineering
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution developed a definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:
Yes

A copy of the institution's definition of sustainability in the curriculum?:

Any course, project, or study for which the concept of "environment" is essential is counted provisionally as a sustainability-related course, subject to review by the Environmental Studies committee (the faculty body that oversees the ENVS minor). Those courses, projects, and studies that address issues of human equity or economics are counted as sustainability-related only if there is also a connection to the environment (i.e., macroeconomics would not count, but a carbon-market analysis would).


Has the institution identified its sustainability-focused and sustainability-related course offerings?:
Yes

A brief description of the methodology the institution followed to complete the inventory:

All those courses listed in the catalog for a given year (2011) under ENVS cross-listed courses that are actually offered that same academic year are counted as sustainability-focused. Those listed as "Adjunct" courses (ADJ) in the ENVS pages of the course catalog that are actually offered are counted as sustainability-related.
In 2011, an agreement toward a unified Environmental Studies program among the Tri-Colleges (Swarthmore, Haverford, and Bryn Mawr Colleges) was reached. Starting in Fall 2011, ENVS courses offered on any of the three campuses could count toward an ENVS minor. Therefore the numbers of courses for 2011 reflect Haverford and Bryn Mawr ENVS courses actually offered and available to Swarthmore students. It is to be our practice in subsequent years to count all Tri-College ENVS courses in Swarthmore's inventory.


Does the institution make its sustainability course inventory publicly available online?:
Yes

The website URL where the sustainability course inventory is posted:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Since sustainability-focused courses are those cross-listed as counting toward the minor in Environmental Studies (ENVS), the on-line catalog of ENVS courses is also a list of sustainability-focused courses. Those listed as ADJ count as sustainability-related.


Since sustainability-focused courses are those cross-listed as counting toward the minor in Environmental Studies (ENVS), the on-line catalog of ENVS courses is also a list of sustainability-focused courses. Those listed as ADJ count as sustainability-related.

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.