University of Waterloo
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Beyond the Ontario Council of Academic Vice Presidents’ Undergraduate Level Expectations, the University of Waterloo intends its graduating students be able to demonstrate an understanding of the intellectual, social, cultural, and political diversity of the world in which we live: https://uwaterloo.ca/academic-quality-enhancement/degree-level-expectations-dles/undergraduate-degree-learning-expectations-udles

As we grapple with complex sustainability issues and environmental, geopolitical and technological changes in our society, we will continue Waterloo’s tradition of looking outward for the betterment of humanity, with our willingness to engage in the most pressing challenges in our own community. As part of the Strategic Plan, this includes becoming a societal role model of sustainability in policy, process and practice through full implementation of the University’s Environmental Sustainability Strategy and meaningful action to address climate change in our operations. As a leading institution mobilizing knowledge and research related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Waterloo is committed to sustainability within and beyond our campus borders: https://uwaterloo.ca/strategic-plan/

Waterloo is a community of curious, collaborative, innovative and entrepreneurial problem-solvers and leaders who seek to understand and identify equitable and sustainable solutions for the future of humanity and our planet. We must continue to be bold and unconventional as we help shape a better future for humanity and the planet: https://uwaterloo.ca/waterloo-100/

Additionally, the curriculum integration project aims to make environmental sustainability skills, knowledge, and values more readily available and intentionally integrated in the curriculum of all undergraduate University of Waterloo students, in order to prepare them for career success in light of a rapidly changing planet. Phase 1 of the project developed a flexible framework through which sustainability can be meaningfully integrated throughout programs of study. To support this framework, a collection of resources and supports is available in this toolkit: https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability-in-curriculum/

Lastly, our sustainability strategy outlines our goal to be a leader in sustainability education and research, specifically:

• by 2019, ensure undergraduate students from any program of study will have the opportunity to learn about sustainability in their courses
• by 2025, identify and implement flexible strategies for 5 programs of study to more deeply integrate sustainability within the curriculum
• https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainability/about/environmental-sustainability-strategy

Waterloo counted all degree programs across the current (2024) academic calendar, and reviewed their core course requirements to determine if required courses included a sustainability-focused course from the AC-1 inventory. To count, the course had to be either a direct requirement, or if a program had an elective list (i.e. pick 2 of the following 4 courses), then it had to be mathematically necessary to take a sustainability-focused course from that list. (i.e., if a program required to select 2 from a list of 5 courses, of which 2 were sustainability-focused, this was not counted; if a program required 3 from a list of 5 courses, and 3 were sustainability-focused, this was counted). Minors, certificates, and diplomas were not counted, as they would duplicate the headcount of already included students. Both the numerator (graduates from a program with a required sustainability-focused course), and the denominator (graduates from all programs) were counted for undergraduate students only.