Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.51
Liaison Aurora Sharrard
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Pittsburgh
IN-38: Sustainability Course Designation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 0.50 Ellie Cadden
Sustainability Engagement Assistant
Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

A brief description of the formal sustainability course designation program:

The University of Pittsburgh has TWO (2) sustainability attribute codes: sustainability-focused and sustainability related.

These sustainability course attribute codes exist within the Pitt course catalog to provide a way for pairing Pitt courses and faculty expertise with student interest in sustainability. Specifically, these course attribute codes allow students to quickly identify Sustainability courses as they select their classes each semester.

The Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation reviews all courses applying for a Sustainability Course Attribute. Courses can be attributed with the following;

• SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED: A sustainability focused course addresses sustainability as an integrated concept throughout, highlighting the interconnectivity between all THREE pillars: social, economic, and environmental dimensions.
• SUSTAINABILITY-RELATED: A sustainability related course or program incorporates sustainability as a distinct component or concentrates on the interconnection between TWO of the three pillars: social, economic, and environmental dimensions.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUSTAINABILITY COURSES
• Course material is connected to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal(s) (SDGs)
• Address sustainability as an integrated multidisciplinary concept, highlighting the interaction and tradeoffs between ecological, social and economic systems.

LEARNING OUTCOMES OF COURSES
• Students will be able to explain sustainability as an integrated concept within the discipline or course, highlighting the interaction and tradeoffs between ecological, social and economic systems used to support human society.
• Students will articulate current issues and relate them to the Sustainable Development Goal(s).
• Students will propose/build solutions to sustainability challenges and articulate why they are more sustainable to a broad audience.
• Students will consider the ethical dimensions of decisions meant to improve sustainability, working together with other students in converging fields to foster conversation and collaboration between disciplines.
• Students will be able to consider sustainability at multiple scales in accordance with the problem.

TO ACCESS THE COURSES with ATTRIBUTE CODES please do the following:
1. Go to https://psmobile.pitt.edu/app/catalog/classSearch
2. Select “Pittsburgh Campus” under *Campus
3. Skip the rest of the fields and go to the Course Attribute drop down menu and select “Interdisciplinary Themes”
4. Then in the Course Attribute Value drop down menu select either “MCSI-Sustainability Focused” or “MCSI- Sustainability Related”
5. Finally, press search and the appropriate classes will be populated


A copy of the official course catalog where the sustainability course designations appear:
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Website URL for the official course catalog where the sustainability course designations appear:
Does the institution designate sustainability courses on student transcripts?:
Yes

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Completion of the Undergraduate Sustainability Certificate (or other sustainability-related certificate) is noted on student transcripts.

Completion of the Undergraduate Sustainability Transcript Distinction is marked on student transcripts.

Course attribute codes are designated for individual courses on unofficial transcripts that can be pulled internally by advisors for students, but are not on official record transcripts.

Pitt Courses Including Sustainability Content: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/MCSI/Sustainability-Courses/


Completion of the Undergraduate Sustainability Certificate (or other sustainability-related certificate) is noted on student transcripts.

Completion of the Undergraduate Sustainability Transcript Distinction is marked on student transcripts.

Course attribute codes are designated for individual courses on unofficial transcripts that can be pulled internally by advisors for students, but are not on official record transcripts.

Pitt Courses Including Sustainability Content: https://www.engineering.pitt.edu/MCSI/Sustainability-Courses/

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.