Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.46
Liaison Paul Mathisen
Submission Date May 22, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.50 / 8.00 Paul Mathisen
Dir. of Sustainability & Assoc. Prof
Civil & Environmental Engineering
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total number of graduates from degree programs (i.e. majors, minors, concentrations, certificates, and other academic designations):
1,752

Number of students that graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
766

Percentage of students who graduate from programs that have adopted at least one sustainability learning outcome:
43.72

Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
One

Institution and Division Level Learning Outcomes

Does the institution specify sustainability learning outcomes at the institution level (e.g. covering all students)?:
No

Does the institution specify sustainability learning outcomes at the division level (e.g. covering particular schools or colleges within the institution)?:
No

A list or brief description of the institution level or division level sustainability learning outcomes:
WPI's Undergraduate Program includes institute-wide learning outcomes for all undergraduates and also include learning outcomes associated with the Interactive Qualifying Project (which is required of all undergraduates) both include sustainability-related outcomes. WPI developed a new Learning Outcome (Outcome 8) to the institutional outcomes. This outcome requires the ability to identify, explain, and critically evaluate the forces that shape the self and others as they engage with local and global communities. This additional outcome supports outcomes on the requirements for interdisciplinary problem solving and consideration of personal, societal, and ethical standards. These outcomes are assessed by WPI’s Undergraduate Outcomes Assessment Committee. For WPI’s Interactive Qualifying Project, students are required to understand, analyze and synthesize results from social, ethical, technical, and humanistic perspectives (See Outcomes 1, 5, and 9 for the IQP). Many of WPI's undergraduate programs have adopted program-level learning outcomes in sustainability, including essentially all of the engineering majors. These are specified on the inventory. Even though WPI has not formally adopted learning outcomes for its graduate students, all graduates of the Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering graduate programs are expected to understand and be able to apply sustainability principles. Accordingly, we are including graduates from the these departments in the assessment.

Program Level Learning Outcomes

Does the institution specify sustainability learning outcomes at the program level (i.e. majors, minors, concentrations, degrees, diplomas, certificates, and other academic designations)?:
Yes

A list or brief description of the program level sustainability learning outcomes (or a list of sustainability-focused programs):
All engineering programs at WPI include sustainability-related outcomes. These are consistent with the American Board of Engineering Accreditation (ABET). The primary sustainability learning outcomes are listed as: "an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors." and an ability to recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts. We list these as programmatic outcomes because they clearly require all aspects of sustainability. Other sustainability-focused programs include: Biology and Biotechnology, Interdisciplinary and Global Studies, Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Society, Technology and Policy.

Course Level Learning Outcomes

Do course level sustainability learning outcomes contribute to the figure reported above (i.e. in the absence of program, division, or institution level learning outcomes)?:
No

A list or brief description of the course level sustainability learning outcomes and the programs for which the courses are required:
A wide array of sustainability courses are available for students at WPI. The list of sustainability courses included under AC1. Because specific courses are not typically required of all students at WPI, we cannot provide confirmation that any one course is taken by all students in the programs that don't have sustainability learning. Therefore we did not include course level learning outcomes in our estimate above.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fqZJrcFZflUhGfsJoZpfNXlE-daRG2FK/view?usp=sharing

Additional documentation to support the submission:
WPI Sustainability Learning OutcomesV4.xlsx

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Learning outcomes for for each degree program are listed in the program area of the course catalog https://www.wpi.edu/sites/default/files/2018/12/05/WPI_UGCat18-19WEB-Final3.pdf https://www.wpi.edu/library/faculty/teaching-support/instruction-learning-outcomes https://www.wpi.edu/about/policies/undergraduate-learning-outcomes

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.