University of Louisville
AC-1: Academic Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
6.23 / 14.00 |
Justin
Mog Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives Office of the Provost |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1. Sustainability course offerings
| Undergraduate | Graduate | |
| Total number of courses offered by the institution | 2,013 | 2,886 |
| Number of sustainability-focused courses offered | 29 | 28 |
| Number of sustainability-inclusive courses offered | 130 | 264 |
Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
9.21
Part 2. Sustainability course offerings by department
81
Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
31
Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
38.27
Documentation
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
Three
A brief description of the methodology used to complete the course inventory :
In 2011, UofL updated its system for listing new courses and revising existing courses (the Course Inventory File) to include codes for sustainability-focused or -related courses. This information is now easily available to students, faculty, and staff via a drop-down search menu in the online Course Catalog (https://htmlaccess.louisville.edu/classSchedule/setupSearchClassSchedule.cfm).
In addition to the Registrar's report of courses that have already been coded, the Sustainability Council's Education & Research Committee was tasked with trying to identify courses that have yet to get coded properly. Faculty on the committee reviewed course offerings from their fields of expertise or interviewed colleagues in other fields to get a more complete listing. A survey was sent to all faculty who have participated in our Green Threads: Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshops asking for them to list all courses they have taught in the last three years with sustainability content.
The following definitions were used in our process of developing the course inventory:
- Sustainability is defined in a pluralistic and inclusive way, encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations. Major sustainability challenges include (but are not limited to) climate change, global poverty and inequality, natural resource depletion, environmental degradation, and other priorities included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
A course was included in the inventory if it contained discussion, lectures, assignments, modules, or units that include topics that address or are related to one of the following areas of Sustainability. Example topics are included below, but are not limited to the following. Special topics courses and individually directed courses such as independent study, thesis, graduate research courses, internships, practicums, co-ops, dissertations/candidacy were all excluded.
- Natural Environment: Sustainability challenges such as species conservation, biodiversity, ocean acidification, climate change, energy resources and impact on the environment, ecosystem conversion, habitat loss and degradation, habitat restoration, ecosystem functions and services, human impact on biogeochemical cycles (nutrient, water, etc.), ocean levels, sustainable energy, access to safe and healthy water, resource and environmental management, agricultural management, eutrophication, food systems, GMO, etc.
- Social Environment: Sustainability challenges such as environmental justice, environmental education or communication, policies negatively impacting the following: gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion, anti-racism, ethical business, corporate responsibility, fairness, poverty, reducing hunger, peace and justice, conflict resolution, global environmental governance and decision making, environmental health and safety, public health, community engagement, or humanities, arts, and history addressing environmental or justice themes.
- Built Environment: Sustainability challenges such as sustainable city design and planning, transportation, access and connectivity for all people, sustainable and green infrastructure, storm water and sewer management, flooding mitigation, urban heat island, air quality, urban agriculture, green space including parks, energy conservation, etc.
- Methods Courses such as GIS, statistics, design, program evaluation, methods of professional practice, ethnography, community–based research, education etc. may be considered a sustainability course if it addresses a sustainability-related challenge with an assessment tool.
In addition to the Registrar's report of courses that have already been coded, the Sustainability Council's Education & Research Committee was tasked with trying to identify courses that have yet to get coded properly. Faculty on the committee reviewed course offerings from their fields of expertise or interviewed colleagues in other fields to get a more complete listing. A survey was sent to all faculty who have participated in our Green Threads: Sustainability Across the Curriculum workshops asking for them to list all courses they have taught in the last three years with sustainability content.
The following definitions were used in our process of developing the course inventory:
- Sustainability is defined in a pluralistic and inclusive way, encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods, and a better world for all generations. Major sustainability challenges include (but are not limited to) climate change, global poverty and inequality, natural resource depletion, environmental degradation, and other priorities included in the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
A course was included in the inventory if it contained discussion, lectures, assignments, modules, or units that include topics that address or are related to one of the following areas of Sustainability. Example topics are included below, but are not limited to the following. Special topics courses and individually directed courses such as independent study, thesis, graduate research courses, internships, practicums, co-ops, dissertations/candidacy were all excluded.
- Natural Environment: Sustainability challenges such as species conservation, biodiversity, ocean acidification, climate change, energy resources and impact on the environment, ecosystem conversion, habitat loss and degradation, habitat restoration, ecosystem functions and services, human impact on biogeochemical cycles (nutrient, water, etc.), ocean levels, sustainable energy, access to safe and healthy water, resource and environmental management, agricultural management, eutrophication, food systems, GMO, etc.
- Social Environment: Sustainability challenges such as environmental justice, environmental education or communication, policies negatively impacting the following: gender, diversity, equity, and inclusion, anti-racism, ethical business, corporate responsibility, fairness, poverty, reducing hunger, peace and justice, conflict resolution, global environmental governance and decision making, environmental health and safety, public health, community engagement, or humanities, arts, and history addressing environmental or justice themes.
- Built Environment: Sustainability challenges such as sustainable city design and planning, transportation, access and connectivity for all people, sustainable and green infrastructure, storm water and sewer management, flooding mitigation, urban heat island, air quality, urban agriculture, green space including parks, energy conservation, etc.
- Methods Courses such as GIS, statistics, design, program evaluation, methods of professional practice, ethnography, community–based research, education etc. may be considered a sustainability course if it addresses a sustainability-related challenge with an assessment tool.
How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:
Each course was counted as a single course regardless of the number of offerings or sections
A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted:
All courses offered from the 2018 to 2021 academic years were counted as singular - regardless of the number of sections that were offered. All courses which were designated as sustainability related or focused have included with them in the attached document a course description and when appropriate justification for why it has been classified as such.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The University of Louisville course catalog for undergraduate and graduate degree programs is available at
https://catalog.louisville.edu/courses/#o9095314. Full-length course descriptions may be found by following this link.
Undergraduate programs were determined to be courses leveled below 500 while graduate courses were determined to be those including and above 500.
https://catalog.louisville.edu/courses/#o9095314. Full-length course descriptions may be found by following this link.
Undergraduate programs were determined to be courses leveled below 500 while graduate courses were determined to be those including and above 500.
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.