Agnes Scott College
IN-24: Innovation A

In partnership with Kennesaw State University, and the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Agnes Scott College has developed and implemented a LEED Lab course. The course covers sustainable design and renovation, building management practices, and facilities management through the study of the LEED Existing Building Operations and Maintenance certification program. A primary purpose of the course is to complete the certification one of the buildings on Agnes Scott’s campus to LEED EBOM v.4 standards. The course is organized around a campus building to use as a real example, providing students with data to give practicality to their learning and allow them to experience the decisions a college must make while updating an existing building to LEED standards. The students first learn about green building infrastructure and practices, and then focus in on the LEED EBOM program through study of the credits and systems involved in the certification process. Mid-semester they then apply their learning by researching, gathering data, performing tests, and finally documenting a credit’s requirements on LEED Online. They give presentations on their findings at Agnes Scott with leaders on and off campus, and then they provide both colleges with their final results. The goal is to certify the building over multiple courses where the next semester students pick up where the previous students left off until the credit’s requirements have been met and the round of credits can be sent in for review. Professors at KSU have designed, and hosted the course, and also assisted with the acceptance of Agnes Scott students into the course through the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education (ARCHE) cross-registration process. They instruct and aid the students in the completion of their LEED credits, while Agnes Scott provides assistance for the information on the building, campus, policies, and coordinates class visits.