Overall Rating Bronze - expired
Overall Score 31.93
Liaison Irena Lambrou
Submission Date Nov. 3, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Whatcom Community College
AC-1: Academic Courses

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 12.67 / 14.00 Bob Riesenberg
Faculty
Social Sciences
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1

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 573 0
Number of sustainability courses offered 30 0
Number of courses offered that include sustainability 152 0

Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
31.76

Part 2 

Total number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer courses (at any level):
10

None
Number of academic departments (or the equivalent) that offer at least one sustainability course and/or course that includes sustainability (at any level):
7

Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
70

Course Inventory

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 determine the total number of courses offered and to identify sustainability course offerings, including the definitions used and the process for reviewing and/or validating the course inventory :
In February 2015 all full-time and adjunct faculty who taught academic credit credits of 100 level and above were invited to complete a brief survey of courses taught, number of sections of each course, and the sustainability content by description and amount for each course for the academic year 2014-15, and the faculty member's name. The initial request was made during Professional Development Day with a in-person presentation and request about the purpose of the survey. Reminders were sent to faculty who did not respond each month until May 2015. By June responses were received from 48 of 75 full-time faculty and 42 of 220 adjunct faculty. Faculty were strongly encouraged by personal requests to reply, regardless of the amount of sustainability content in their courses, to enable an accurate survey of courses. While we do not know exactly the representativeness of the survey respondents of the entire faculty, we have noted that the non-responders fall into both sustainability and non-sustainability engaged faculty. It does not appear that the respondents who include some sustainability in their courses are significantly over-represented.

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 (if different from the options outlined above):
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Are the following course types included in the inventory? :
Yes (included) or No (not included)
Internships No
Practicums No
Independent study Yes
Special topics No
Thesis / dissertation No
Clinical No
Physical education No
Performance arts Yes

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.