Sustainability Focused vs. Related Courses



Tyler Plante - Laurier - 10.12.2014

Good Morning All,



We are trying to find an objective way to differentiate between what could be considered a sustainability “focused” vs. “related” course/program. We’ll use this to refine our academic inventory for both internal and reporting (AASHE) purposes. Any guidance or examples of definitions/criteria you may use is much appreciated!



Kind regards,

Ty

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Trish O'Connor - Fleming - 10.12.2014


Tyler, we developed a faculty survey at Fleming, based on the AASHE definitions.  In the survey we also drew from the Moore definition. Happy to share. Filed STARS under Technical manual 1.2. Trish



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Stephanie Foster - George Brown - 10.12.2014


Hi Tyler, I have asked Sandra Neill who oversaw the course inventory for George Brown College to contact you directly.



FYI - you should be sure to check out the STARS Version 2 definitions and criteria, i.e. "sustainability courses; and courses that include sustainability" instead of  the Version 1 definition (sustainability-focused, sustainability-related). ​ - Stephanie

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Beverley Ayeni - Wilfred Laurier - 15.12.2014



Hi Tyler,

I'm pretty sure we found this on the AASHE site at one time or another:

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.

Depending on what version of of STARS you decide to go for next (1.2 vs 2.0), the requirements have changed: STARS Version 1 looks to "sustainability-focused" and "sustainability-related" courses whereas Version 2 looks to define courses as: "sustainability courses; courses that include sustainability" - so a little less specific in the newer version.

Our inventory is listed here: http://sustainability.uwo.ca/academic_programs/relatedfocused_inventory/FINAL%20_%202014%20Course%20Inventory%20_%20Sustainability.pdf

Hope this helps,

Bev