University of Louisville
AC-1: Academic Courses

In 2011, UofL updated its system for listing new courses and revising existing courses (the Course Inventory File) to include codes for sustainability-focused or -related courses. This information is now easily available to students, faculty, and staff via a drop-down search menu in the online Course Catalog (https://htmlaccess.louisville.edu/classSchedule/setupSearchClassSchedule.cfm).

In addition to the Registrar's report of courses that have already been coded, the Sustainability Council's Education & Research Committee was tasked with trying to identify courses that have yet to get coded properly. Faculty on the committee reviewed course offerings from their fields of expertise or interviewed colleagues in other fields to get a more complete listing. A survey was sent to all faculty who have participated in our Green Threads: Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshops asking for them to list all courses they have taught in the last three years with sustainability content.

The following definitions were used in our process of developing the course inventory:
- Sustainability is defined in a pluralistic and inclusive way, encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations. Major sustainability challenges include (but are not limited to) climate change, global poverty and inequality, natural resource depletion, environmental degradation, and other priorities included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
A course was included in the inventory if it contained discussion, lectures, assignments, modules, or units that include topics that address or are related to one of the following areas of Sustainability. Example topics are included below, but are not limited to the following. Special topics courses and individually directed courses such as independent study, thesis, graduate research courses, internships, practicums, co-ops, dissertations/candidacy were all excluded.
- Natural Environment: Sustainability challenges such as species conservation, biodiversity, ocean acidification, climate change, energy resources and impact on the environment, ecosystem conversion, habitat loss and degradation, habitat restoration, ecosystem functions and services, human impact on biogeochemical cycles (nutrient, water, etc.), ocean levels, sustainable energy, access to safe and healthy water, resource and environmental management, agricultural management, eutrophication, food systems, GMO, etc.
- Social Environment: Sustainability challenges such as environmental justice, environmental education or communication, policies negatively impacting the following: gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion, anti-racism, ethical business, corporate responsibility, fairness, poverty, reducing hunger, peace and justice, conflict resolution, global environmental governance and decision making, environmental health and safety, public health, community engagement, or humanities, arts, and history addressing environmental or justice themes.
- Built Environment: Sustainability challenges such as sustainable city design and planning, transportation, access and connectivity for all people, sustainable and green infrastructure, storm water and sewer management, flooding mitigation, urban heat island, air quality, urban agriculture, green space including parks, energy conservation, etc.
- Methods Courses such as GIS, statistics, design, program evaluation, methods of professional practice, ethnography, community–based research, education etc. may be considered a sustainability course if it addresses a sustainability-related challenge with an assessment tool.

All courses offered from the 2018 to 2021 academic years were counted as singular - regardless of the number of sections that were offered. All courses which were designated as sustainability related or focused have included with them in the attached document a course description and when appropriate justification for why it has been classified as such.

The University of Louisville course catalog for undergraduate and graduate degree programs is available at
https://catalog.louisville.edu/courses/#o9095314. Full-length course descriptions may be found by following this link.

Undergraduate programs were determined to be courses leveled below 500 while graduate courses were determined to be those including and above 500.