Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.40
Liaison Austin Sutherland
Submission Date Feb. 21, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Pennsylvania
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.39 / 14.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Figures required to calculate the percentage of courses offered by the institution that are sustainability course offerings:
Undergraduate Graduate
Total number of courses offered by the institution 1,907 1,859
Number of sustainability courses offered 69 71
Number of courses offered that include sustainability 120 142

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
10.67

Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):
326

Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer at least one sustainability course and/or course that includes sustainability (at any level):
55

Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
16.87

A copy of the institution’s inventory of its sustainability course offerings and descriptions:
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
One

A brief description of the methodology used to determine the total number of courses offered and to identify sustainability course offerings, including the definitions used and the process for reviewing and/or validating the course inventory :

Penn’s Sustainability Course Inventory is a listing of the sustainability courses that the University of Pennsylvania offers. The Inventory is updated every routinely, and is available on-line through the Penn Sustainability website. The Inventory will be updated during 2018 fiscal year. See https://www.sustainability.upenn.edu/course-inventory.

While not an exhaustive list of all the sustainability courses at Penn, the "Inventory" was created in an attempt to capture the majority of courses across Departments and Schools that address environmental sustainability specifically, and to be used as a guide by students and advisers looking for courses and departments that include sustainability-themed instruction. The "Inventory", therefore may not include many of Penn's courses that focus primarily on such sustainability-related topics as social justice, social equity, business ethics, or governance.
The "Inventory" was compiled by searching for keywords in course titles, and also from direct input from professors and academic partners. It is organized alphabetically by school and department.

The "Inventory" is shared with the Office of the Provost, College House advisers, undergraduate advisers from Penn's four undergraduate schools, and the Penn Admissions Office.


How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:
Each offering or section of a course was counted as an individual course

A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted (if different from the options outlined above):
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Are the following course types included in the inventory? :
Yes (included) or No (not included)
Internships No
Practicums No
Independent study No
Special topics Yes
Thesis / dissertation No
Clinical No
Physical education No
Performance arts No

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to teaching environmental sustainability, with a goal to make climate change and sustainability part of the curriculum and educational experience available to all Penn students. (Penn's 2009 "Climate Action Plan".). This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY17 year and compares them to the FY14 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate Action Plan. 2.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.


The University of Pennsylvania is a major research institution, with over 3,000 degrees granted annually from twelve professional and academic schools at the Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate levels. Penn is committed to teaching environmental sustainability, with a goal to make climate change and sustainability part of the curriculum and educational experience available to all Penn students. (Penn's 2009 "Climate Action Plan".). This submission documents Penn's efforts during the FY17 year and compares them to the FY14 baseline year which corresponds with the University's "Climate Action Plan. 2.0". The submission relies on information related to the main, academic, West Philadelphia campus, but to more fully document efforts across the Penn system, information related to the Morris Arboretum and New Bolton has also been referenced and noted as outside the boundary in descriptions. The information is used to enrich examples of University efforts and is not intended to be the primary justification for credits. The responses for each of the questions and sub-questions are drawn from University materials, both internal and public documents. Each section notes the website where the information can be found.

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.