Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 53.11
Liaison Elizabeth Malcolm
Submission Date Jan. 19, 2023

STARS v2.2

Virginia Wesleyan University
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 11.45 / 14.00 Elizabeth Malcolm
Director of Sustainability
Earth and Environmental Sciences
"---" 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 703 41
Number of sustainability-focused courses offered 26 0
Number of sustainability-inclusive courses offered 84 6

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
15.59

Total number of academic departments that offer courses:
23

Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
18

Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
78.26

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 complete the course inventory :

Course descriptions were the primary means to determine if sustainability or UN SDG challenges were included in course content. In cases that were not clear, the syllabus or primary instructor were consulted. The number of courses in our course catalog that met this description was 106.

The number of sections of each of these courses offered over a one year period (August 2021-July 2022) was used to determine the number of course offerings for Part 1.

Departments were defined based on university's organizational structure (https://www.vwu.edu/academics/academic-affairs/department-chairs.php). Any interdisciplinarity program that also offered courses with it's own rubric were included in the count of total "departments that offer courses". The latter included the following:
Africana Studies
Computer Science and Information Systems
Environmental Studies
Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies
Nursing and Allied Health


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:
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Website URL where information about the sustainability course offerings is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

For Part 1, sustainability Course Offerings were determined by counting the number of sections of each sustainability focused or inclusive course offered over a one year period (August 2021-July 2022).

The following courses were excluded from the total list of courses in the inventory:
- individually-directed courses (e.g., internship, research)
- Courses that are strictly practice-oriented (e.g., arts courses dedicated to performance, technique or composition, physical education courses that are activity-based)
- Sections with 3 or fewer students

Special topics courses were not considered to be sustainability inclusive unless all possible topics offered addressed sustainability or a UN SDG challenge.

Each section offered during the one year period (August 2021-July 2022) was counted as a separate course. Cross listed courses were counted as separate sections as long as each section had at least 3 students enrolled.

Of the 106 sustainability focused or inclusive courses in our catalog, 116 total sections were offered in the snapshot year, 2021/22.


For Part 1, sustainability Course Offerings were determined by counting the number of sections of each sustainability focused or inclusive course offered over a one year period (August 2021-July 2022).

The following courses were excluded from the total list of courses in the inventory:
- individually-directed courses (e.g., internship, research)
- Courses that are strictly practice-oriented (e.g., arts courses dedicated to performance, technique or composition, physical education courses that are activity-based)
- Sections with 3 or fewer students

Special topics courses were not considered to be sustainability inclusive unless all possible topics offered addressed sustainability or a UN SDG challenge.

Each section offered during the one year period (August 2021-July 2022) was counted as a separate course. Cross listed courses were counted as separate sections as long as each section had at least 3 students enrolled.

Of the 106 sustainability focused or inclusive courses in our catalog, 116 total sections were offered in the snapshot year, 2021/22.

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.