Appalachian State University
ER-9: Sustainability Learning Outcomes

A degree from Appalachian State University begins with the General Education Program. General education at Appalachian is anchored in the ideals and practices of liberal education and aims to prepare students to fulfill the responsibilities and meet the challenges presented by a changing world. The goals and outcomes of the Gen Ed program "promote broad based, interdisciplinary knowledge, higher level transferable skills, the connection between local and global issues and environments, and a sense of personal and social responsibility as applied to problems." Every degree seeking student has to take a minimum of 6 hours in "Local to Global." The rationale of this perspective is: "Appalachian State University is both in and of the southern Appalachian region, and it is also part of a world that is globally connected. Life in the twenty-first century requires an understanding of the connections and multi-layered interactions among diverse local and global human cultures, as well as between humans and the natural and physical environments. In this context, the general education program helps to cultivate an active understanding of global change and the effect of human agency on both natural and cultural environments. Students should understand the importance of biodiversity, ecological integrity, and the need to achieve sustainable benefits for communities. Knowledge of other cultures, diverse cultural frames of reference, and alternative perspectives are essential to thinking critically and creatively and to understanding the responsibilities of membership in local, regional, and global communities. The cultivation and maintenance of intercultural relationships require active cultural understanding, which is achieved by exploring multiple strategies for interacting with other peoples and cultures." http://www.generaleducation.appstate.edu/making-local-global-connections

The learning outcomes of Making Local to Global Connections are: IIIA. Analyze past and present relationships between humans and the natural and physical environment; IIIB. Evaluate community, natural, and global change through the lens of sustainability; IIIC. Demonstrate the ability to think critically and creatively about the relationship between local regions and global issues, processes, trends, and systems; IIID. Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary issues related to cultural diversity in the United States and other areas of the world; IIIE. Employ appropriate and increasingly sophisticated means for communicating with people of other cultures."

Start and end dates of the year from which the graduate information was acquired is July 2010 - June 2011.