| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.27 |
| Liaison | Mark Klapatch-Mathias |
| Submission Date | Feb. 29, 2024 |
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
AC-1: Academic Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
12.91 / 14.00 |
Grace
Coggio Sustainability Faculty Fellow Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Sustainability course offerings
| Undergraduate | Graduate | |
| Total number of courses offered by the institution | 1,179 | 208 |
| Number of sustainability-focused courses offered | 68 | 2 |
| Number of sustainability-inclusive courses offered | 168 | 5 |
Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
17.52
Part 2. Sustainability course offerings by department
26
Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
23
Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
88.46
Documentation
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Three
A brief description of the methodology used to complete the course inventory :
We addressed this in multiple ways and then combined and cross referenced all methods to not overcount anything:
1. Staff in the Sustainability Office read every course description offered by the university. Any course that sounded like it may be sustainability focused or may include sustainability was flagged. Sustainability focused courses consisted of any courses that specifically aimed to teach students about sustainability by addressing social/economic/environmental dimensions. Courses that include sustainability are courses that do not directly focus on sustainability, but rather include one or more dimensions of sustainability, look at a given topic through the lens of sustainability, or look at a sustainability topic through the lens of a different topic.
Once the initial courses were identified, staff discussed how each should be designated. If staff had differing views of whether it was a sustainability course, included sustainability, or did not include sustainability, the lower option was always used to be conservative. They then looked up each course individually in the course catalogs to determine the last year each course was taught. Some courses will count no matter who teaches them so the instructor is listed as ALL in the course inventory. Others are only sustainability focused or include sustainability if a specific faculty member went through the Infusing Sustainability Into the Curriculum training to redesign that specific course.
2. We also followed up with a survey to all faculty and instructional academic staff which informed us what to remove from the inventory and what to add during spring 2023 semester.
3. Lastly, we created tracking spreadsheets for each department and asked them to verify, add, and/or remove any relevant data related to sustainability courses. This was done during the fall 2023 semester and captured data from 2021-2023. This allowed us to identify courses, have the departments identify courses, and cross reference.
1. Staff in the Sustainability Office read every course description offered by the university. Any course that sounded like it may be sustainability focused or may include sustainability was flagged. Sustainability focused courses consisted of any courses that specifically aimed to teach students about sustainability by addressing social/economic/environmental dimensions. Courses that include sustainability are courses that do not directly focus on sustainability, but rather include one or more dimensions of sustainability, look at a given topic through the lens of sustainability, or look at a sustainability topic through the lens of a different topic.
Once the initial courses were identified, staff discussed how each should be designated. If staff had differing views of whether it was a sustainability course, included sustainability, or did not include sustainability, the lower option was always used to be conservative. They then looked up each course individually in the course catalogs to determine the last year each course was taught. Some courses will count no matter who teaches them so the instructor is listed as ALL in the course inventory. Others are only sustainability focused or include sustainability if a specific faculty member went through the Infusing Sustainability Into the Curriculum training to redesign that specific course.
2. We also followed up with a survey to all faculty and instructional academic staff which informed us what to remove from the inventory and what to add during spring 2023 semester.
3. Lastly, we created tracking spreadsheets for each department and asked them to verify, add, and/or remove any relevant data related to sustainability courses. This was done during the fall 2023 semester and captured data from 2021-2023. This allowed us to identify courses, have the departments identify courses, and cross reference.
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:
Each course was counted as a single course regardless of how many times it was offered.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.