| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.90 |
| Liaison | Sarah Stoeckl |
| Submission Date | March 6, 2020 |
University of Oregon
AC-1: Academic Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
11.30 / 14.00 |
Taylor
McHolm Prog. Dir Student Sustainbility CTR Student Life |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Sustainability course offerings
| Undergraduate | Graduate | |
| Total number of courses offered by the institution | 10,542 | 7,396 |
| Number of sustainability-focused courses offered | 573 | 400 |
| Number of sustainability-inclusive courses offered | 1,212 | 620 |
Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
15.64
Part 2. Sustainability course offerings by department
70
Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
53
Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
75.71
Documentation
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Two
A brief description of the methodology used to complete the course inventory :
The raw data comes from a list of all courses offered from Fall of 2017AY to Winter of 2019AY. This data is from the Office of the Registrar, who ran the report using the date parameters we provided.
Each quarter was broken out into its own file, which was then assigned to a member of the Student Sustainability Center staff. These students were trained to evaluate the course offerings in accordance to the guidance in the STARS Technical Manual.
To apply a definition of "sustainability" (so that the courses could be coded as "sustainability-focused" or "sustainability-inclusive"), students were trained on the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and their 5Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships. Students evaluated whether a course took one of these goals as its primary focus.
Foundational courses and specific tool courses (e.g., chemistry or GIS), were not counted as sustainability-focused or inclusive unless sustainability challenges were specifically integrated into the course.
Once complete, the individual files were aggregated into a single file containing all quarters and classes in a single sheet ("Course Lists").
The students' evaluations were overseen and checked by the Director of the Student Sustainability Center, Dr. Taylor McHolm.
Once compiled, we used excel pivot tables to identify the number of "focused" and "inclusive" courses for graduate and undergraduates. We also used pivot tables to identify the number of unique departments that offer either a "focus" or "inclusive" course.
Each quarter was broken out into its own file, which was then assigned to a member of the Student Sustainability Center staff. These students were trained to evaluate the course offerings in accordance to the guidance in the STARS Technical Manual.
To apply a definition of "sustainability" (so that the courses could be coded as "sustainability-focused" or "sustainability-inclusive"), students were trained on the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and their 5Ps: People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnerships. Students evaluated whether a course took one of these goals as its primary focus.
Foundational courses and specific tool courses (e.g., chemistry or GIS), were not counted as sustainability-focused or inclusive unless sustainability challenges were specifically integrated into the course.
Once complete, the individual files were aggregated into a single file containing all quarters and classes in a single sheet ("Course Lists").
The students' evaluations were overseen and checked by the Director of the Student Sustainability Center, Dr. Taylor McHolm.
Once compiled, we used excel pivot tables to identify the number of "focused" and "inclusive" courses for graduate and undergraduates. We also used pivot tables to identify the number of unique departments that offer either a "focus" or "inclusive" course.
How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:
Each course was counted as a single course regardless of the number of offerings or sections
A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted:
Only counted once.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Per the STARS Technical Manual guidance, we made the following decisions:
- Courses for which the course title and/or description indicate a primary and explicit focus on sustainability (pursuant to the UN Sustainability Development Goals) were marked as "Focused" and colored green.
- Courses for which the course title and/or description did not explicitly focus on sustainability but clearly incorporate sustainability challenges, issues, and concepts in a prominent way, were marked as "Inclusive" and colored orange.
- Special topics courses that are not offered on an ongoing basis were included in the course offerings. If there was enough information to determine that the course was "Sustainability-Focused" or "Sustainability-Inclusive" (per the evaluation process above), the course was colored and mark as above (e.g., colored green and marked as "focused" or colored orange and marked as "inclusive"). If there was not enough information in the course title or description to positively determine that the course was "focused" or "inclusive," the course was colored yellow and marked as "Not Sustainability - Unknown." There was no effort to reach out to departments to add additional details.
- Courses that do not relate to sustainability per the above guidelines were colored blue and marked as "Not Sustainability Related."
Data Standards
Following the STARS Technical Manual, the following decisions were made to limit the data set:
- Required courses for which content is directed by external bodies (eg, legally-mandated courses on research ethics) were excluded (colored gray and marked as "Do not Qualify").
- Courses that are strictly practice-oriented (such as PE and performance courses) were excluded (colored gray and marked as "Do not Qualify").
- Individually directed courses (Readings, thesis credits, dissertation credits, practicum, independent study, etc.) were colored gray and marked as "Do not Qualify." These courses were excluded from the total count of courses offered.
- In instances where the same course is offered multiple times in a quarter (for example, WR 121, which is the university's first quarter writing requirement), the course was only counted as offered ONCE that quarter.
- In instances where the same course is offered multiple times in an academic year (for example, ENVS 201, which is offered in the Fall and the Spring), the course is counted multiple times.
- Courses for which the course title and/or description indicate a primary and explicit focus on sustainability (pursuant to the UN Sustainability Development Goals) were marked as "Focused" and colored green.
- Courses for which the course title and/or description did not explicitly focus on sustainability but clearly incorporate sustainability challenges, issues, and concepts in a prominent way, were marked as "Inclusive" and colored orange.
- Special topics courses that are not offered on an ongoing basis were included in the course offerings. If there was enough information to determine that the course was "Sustainability-Focused" or "Sustainability-Inclusive" (per the evaluation process above), the course was colored and mark as above (e.g., colored green and marked as "focused" or colored orange and marked as "inclusive"). If there was not enough information in the course title or description to positively determine that the course was "focused" or "inclusive," the course was colored yellow and marked as "Not Sustainability - Unknown." There was no effort to reach out to departments to add additional details.
- Courses that do not relate to sustainability per the above guidelines were colored blue and marked as "Not Sustainability Related."
Data Standards
Following the STARS Technical Manual, the following decisions were made to limit the data set:
- Required courses for which content is directed by external bodies (eg, legally-mandated courses on research ethics) were excluded (colored gray and marked as "Do not Qualify").
- Courses that are strictly practice-oriented (such as PE and performance courses) were excluded (colored gray and marked as "Do not Qualify").
- Individually directed courses (Readings, thesis credits, dissertation credits, practicum, independent study, etc.) were colored gray and marked as "Do not Qualify." These courses were excluded from the total count of courses offered.
- In instances where the same course is offered multiple times in a quarter (for example, WR 121, which is the university's first quarter writing requirement), the course was only counted as offered ONCE that quarter.
- In instances where the same course is offered multiple times in an academic year (for example, ENVS 201, which is offered in the Fall and the Spring), the course is counted multiple times.
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.