Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.82
Liaison Konrad Schlarbaum
Submission Date Feb. 20, 2015
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Colorado Colorado Springs
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.28 / 8.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students who graduated from a program that has adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
624

Total number of graduates from degree programs:
1,520

A copy of the list or inventory of degree, diploma or certificate programs that have sustainability learning outcomes:
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A list of degree, diploma or certificate programs that have sustainability learning outcomes:

According to campus-wide general education learning outcomes, ALL STUDENTS from ALL PROGRAMS graduating from UCCS are expected to “demonstrate an awareness and understanding of the value of sustainability.” (UCCS Assessment of General Education, Spring 2010, p. 13). Since this is a general education outcome, it applies to all sixty-one academic departments and their associated degree programs.

The campus Student Learning Outcomes Coordinator is in the process of developing an assessment tool to measure student proficiency in sustainability. The tool will be used with a set of incoming students and graduating seniors to assess learning on a longitudinal basis.


A list or sample of the sustainability learning outcomes associated with degree, diploma or certificate programs (if not included in an inventory above):

Sustainable Development Minor – Learning Outcomes (these are not the same as the campus-wide learning outcomes and referenced above)

Upon completion of this minor, students will be able to:

1. Define sustainable development.

2. Describe the interdependency of sustainable development’s three pillars of equity, environment, and economy.

3. Identify existing conditions of: a) environmental degradation, b) economic failure, and c) social inequity; and provide plausible explanations for their cause, interdependency, and reasonable ideas for their resolution.

4. State the importance of inter-generational responsibilities to sustainable development.

5. Describe inequities generated by current economic systems and access to resources.

6. Describe the current state of knowledge regarding global climate change, accurately depict where uncertainty exists with respect to climate change, and identify examples of social (i.e. equity), economic, and environmental impacts resulting from climate changes.

7. Explain the role of technology and its influences on sustainable development.

8. Describe how physical processes and systems create limitations upon and influence the needs of societies. This requires a working knowledge of the laws of thermodynamics; greenhouse effect; circulation of air and ocean currents; hydrological connectivity and watersheds, solid waste streams, and energy and food production, among others.


The website URL where information about the institution’s sustainability learning outcomes is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

With this submission, we are counting the students who graduated in December 2014. All of them graduated from a program that now has sustainability learning outcomes.


With this submission, we are counting the students who graduated in December 2014. All of them graduated from a program that now has sustainability learning outcomes.

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.