Salem State tags course sections that incorporate sustainability into class content so that students can find sustainability courses more easily, and Salem State can track interest in these courses. We define “sustainability” as it relates to course sections using the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) definition which is used globally by colleges and universities. AASHE provides definitions of both sustainability-focused and sustainability-inclusive courses. Salem State’s definition of sustainability course section encompasses both of these definitions.
From AASHE:
Benefits:
Sustainability course offerings and equivalent units of instruction can provide valuable grounding in the concepts and principles of sustainability, help build knowledge about a component of sustainability, and/or introduce students to sustainability challenges and concepts. Institutions that integrate sustainability throughout the curriculum prepare students to apply sustainability principles in their professional fields. Having sustainability courses and content offered by numerous departments helps ensure that the institution’s approach to sustainability education is comprehensive and interdisciplinary.
The process of identifying sustainability course offerings provides an important foundation for advancing sustainability curriculum. It provides a baseline for understanding current offerings and can help institutions identify strengths and opportunities for growth. Public sustainability course listings help students understand sustainability course offerings, which can assist them in organizing their academic studies. Incentives, training, and other support programs can help academic staff broaden and deepen the integration of sustainability into the curriculum in ways that may not be captured in departmental offerings or public listings.
Definitions:
Sustainability-focused course – A unit of instruction that has a primary and explicit focus on the integrated concept of sustainability and/or the interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems. This focus must be demonstrated in the title or high-level description of the course.
Sustainability-focused courses may include:
- Foundational courses with a primary and explicit focus on sustainability (e.g., Introduction to Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Sustainability Science).
- Courses with a primary and explicit focus on the application of sustainability within a eld (e.g., Architecture for Sustainability, Green Chemistry, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Business). As sustainability is an interdisciplinary topic, such courses generally incorporate insights from multiple disciplines.
- Courses with a primary and explicit focus on a major sustainability challenge that requires students to consider the interdependence of ecological and social/cultural/economic systems (e.g., Climate Change Science, Environmental Justice, Global Poverty and Development, Renewable Energy Policy). The focus of such courses might be on providing knowledge and understanding of the problems and/or the tools for solving them, but they should bring a systems thinking approach to the challenge.
Sustainability-inclusive course – A unit of instruction that is primarily focused on something other than sustainability, but clearly incorporates sustainability content or addresses one or more sustainability challenges. This may include courses that are focused on, for example, ecological integrity or social justice. It may also include courses that:
- Incorporate a unit or module on sustainability or a sustainability challenge,
- Include one or more sustainability-focused activities or readings
- Integrate sustainability challenges, issues, and concepts throughout the course.
Sustainability challenge – An issue or situation that threatens or undermines ecological integrity, racial equity, and social justice, or the ability of future generations to meet their needs (e.g., biodiversity loss, poverty and inequality, and climate change), OR a goal or objective that contributes to the resolution of such an issue or situation (e.g., ecosystem health, universal human rights, and renewable energy generation). To identify sustainability challenges, it may be helpful to reference the targets embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the principles outlined in the Earth Charter, and/or the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries.
The full AASHE definition of sustainability courses and relevant context are available in the Sustainability Course Offerings document.