| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.46 |
| Liaison | Paul Mathisen |
| Submission Date | May 22, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Paul
Mathisen Dir. of Sustainability & Assoc. Prof Civil & Environmental Engineering |
Does the institution have an ongoing program or programs that offer incentives for faculty in multiple disciplines or departments to develop new sustainability courses and/or incorporate sustainability into existing courses?:
A brief description of the program(s), including positive outcomes during the previous three years (e.g. descriptions of new courses or course content resulting from the program):
WPI's Strategic Plan that was developed in 2016 includes Sustainability as a prominent component. Quoting from the Plan: "WPI will promote a culture of sustainability that incorporates the beliefs and behaviors supported by our technical strengths and by our heritage of the application of both theory and practice to the solution of global problems."
WPI's has a number of initiatives to promote curriculum development. First, the Morgan Teaching and Learning Center, in conjunction with WPI’s Educational Development Council (EDC), the Academic Technology Center (ATC), had developed a grant program aimed at supporting innovation in undergraduate and graduate education. Funds totaling $75,000 were distributed among two programs: Faculty Learning Community Grants, and Independent Project Grants. A Faculty Learning Community (FLC) is a small group of faculty (and staff, as appropriate) from multiple disciplines engaging in inquiry and action around a central theme. Past themes have included -_ The Independent Project Grants support bold new initiatives that enrich learning in classrooms, laboratories, and projects, in undergraduate or graduate education. Themes have included assessment of global and intercultural competency; issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the curriculum and teaching practices; ethics across the curriculum; significant redesign of courses for active learning classrooms.
WPI has also developed a new Global School, which will serve to integrate and promote many of it's Global Programs. A number of graduate programs are being developed through the Global School, and additional support is provided through WPI's Global Lab.
Other initiatives include WPI's Grand Challenges Scholars Programs and WPI's Major and a Mission Initiative, a program to encourage students to consider their academic plan in relation to an overall mission.
A brief description of the incentives that faculty members who participate in the program(s) receive:
Support for faculty learning communities, and specific support for student field trips, sustainability-related modeling software, student workers to develop materials
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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