Loyola University Maryland
AC-1: Academic Courses

The course inventory spans one academic year (2022-2023). The Office of Sustainability requested data from each academic department head on active sustainability-focused or sustainability-inclusive courses (defined via STARS Manual v .2.2). While accumulating responses from Loyola Faculty members and department chairs, the Loyola Records Office provided the Office of Sustainability materials that detailed a complete inventory of all courses offered at the university that academic year for both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Office of Sustainability examined these materials, eliminating all courses counted as exceptions. The following types of courses were excluded from the undergraduate & graduate course lists and the total number of courses: individually-directed courses (i.e., independent studies, theses, practicums, senior project courses, etc.), courses with two or fewer students, special topics courses (i.e., a course where the topic the courses focuses on is not consistent and thus not offered on an ongoing basis), courses that are practice-oriented, and internships-for-credit courses. The Office of Sustainability then gathered all sustainability-focused and sustainability-inclusive courses identified and gathered their corresponding course descriptions. Utilizing the course descriptions, the Office of Sustainability evaluated whether the courses specified by faculty meet AASHE's definition and then adjusted the list appropriately.

For a course to count as sustainability-inclusive, the following criteria must be met:
1. Sustainability must be clearly incorporated into the course content. Sustainability in this context is defined as the interdependence of ecological and social/economic systems. Therefore, it cannot focus solely on the environment, it must have an interdisciplinary component.

If the course focuses on one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it must cover the interdependence of ecological and social/economic systems. For example, if the course covers SDG 1 – No Poverty, it must also address how climate change or other environmental issues can exacerbate poverty or disproportionately affect poor communities.

2. The course must also either:
a. incorporate a unit or module on sustainability or
b. include one or more sustainability-focused activities or
c. integrate sustainability challenges, issues, and concepts throughout the course.

For a course to be considered sustainability-focused, the course title or description must indicate a primary and explicit focus on sustainability.

Identical courses listed in multiple departments or academic divisions count as one course. If a course had a duplicate, one was excluded from all lists and totals.

Some STEM courses at Loyola University Maryland are offered in multiple ways. For example, a STEM course may have a 3-credit lecture-style version, a separate 2-credit lab-style version, and a 5-credit combined lab and lecture-style version, each with different course numbers. In these instances, only the 5-credit version of the course is counted, with others being excluded from all lists and totals.