Washington and Lee University
ER-5: Sustainability Course Identification

What is sustainability education?
“Washington and Lee's motto is Non Incautus Futuri - not unmindful of the future. The University has been preparing students for a life of service as future leaders for over 250 years. Our present challenge is to lead the way to a more sustainable future by developing a learning community whose members are mindful of their responsibility to future generations, sensitive to the stewardship of natural resources, and equitable in their social and economic relationships.” (USC; http://gogreen.wlu.edu)

Sustainability is a process that integrates the ecological, economic and social aspects of the relationships that we have with each other, with the natural world and with future generations. As an institution of higher education with sustainability as one of our institutional priorities, we should provide our students, regardless of their courses of study, with the knowledge and skills to help create a healthy economy, society, and environment.

The Education Subcommittee of the University Sustainability Committee sent the following instructions to all faculty to identify sustainability courses:

STEP ONE: Consider the courses that you teach. Ask yourself these questions about each course:

1. Does your course give sustainability a prominent place in the syllabus?
2. Does your course include economic sustainability components, such as concepts like corporate responsibility and the triple bottom line?
3. Does your course include ecological sustainability components, such as concepts like ecological health, natural environments, and conservation/preservation?
4. Does your course include social justice components, such as concepts like equitable allocation of resources, distributive justice, or environmental justice?
5. Do students develop and use an ethical perspective in which they view themselves as embedded in the fabric of an interconnected world?
6. Does your course include material that can apply to questions of sustainability even if it isn’t a strong focus of the course?
7. Do students finish the course with a clear understanding of some of the key concepts and skills of sustainability?
8. Do students gain skills to contribute to practical solutions for current and emerging social, environmental, and economic challenges?
9. Do students become aware of and explore the connections between their chosen course of study and sustainability?
10. Will you be incorporating more of a sustainability focus into your course in the future?

STEP TWO: Consider your answers to these questions to guide whether you would identify any of your courses as sustainability-focused or related, according the following general descriptions.

Sustainability-focused courses concentrate on the concept of sustainability, including its social, economic, and environmental dimensions, or examine an issue or topic using sustainability as a lens.

Sustainability-related courses incorporate sustainability as a distinct course component or module, or concentrate on a single sustainability principle or issue.

STEP THREE: If you have any courses that you feel fit within one of these categories, report them via the link below.