| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 83.37 |
| Liaison | Ruairi O'Mahony |
| Submission Date | Feb. 11, 2022 |
University of Massachusetts Lowell
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Ruairi
O'Mahony Executive Director Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy |
Does the institution have an ongoing program that offers incentives for academic staff in multiple disciplines or departments to develop new sustainability courses and/or incorporate sustainability into existing courses? :
A brief description of the incentive program(s):
The university's sustainability fund, known as the Sustainability Engagement and Enrichment Development (SEED) Fund, provides funding for projects that promote environmental sustainability, and positively impact and enhance the student experience at UMass Lowell. The Fund supports the sustainability goals outlined in UMass Lowell’s 2020 Strategic Plan. The Fund is supported by student fees and administered through a student-majority committee. Students, faculty, and staff of the University of Massachusetts Lowell community can apply for funds for up to $10,000.
In 2021, Prof. Cordula Schmid was awarded a fellowship to expand UMass Lowell’s sustainability-related course offerings by developing the new course "Solar PV Performance Analysis and Characterization" that includes a hands-on lab component during which each student will prototype a solar PV module.
A brief description of the incentives that academic staff who participate in the program(s) receive:
Through the SEED Fund, faculty or staff can apply for funding course load reductions to allow for a fellow faculty member to receive a course reduction, provided the Department Chair and Dean approves it for the receiving faculty member. This course release would have to be specifically-focused on a project that supports building new modules for sustainability within existing curricula or academic programs.
This methodology was endorsed by our University's 2020 Strategic Plan Committee for Sustainability in Academics.
Website URL where information about the incentives for developing sustainability course content is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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