University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
AC-1: Academic Courses

Methodology:

A request was submitted to the University’s Academic Support Resource information technology team to generate two sets of data.

All courses taught from Summer 2019 to Spring 2022. Courses offered in the course catalog, but were not taught, were not included. Courses that were taught in the inventory period but are no longer offered (inactive courses in the system) were removed.

Courses taught during that same time period with the below key search terms in their course title, course description or syllabus.

Search terms: sust*, enviro*, climate, air, water, biodivers*, efficiency, energy, renewable, photovoltaic, hydro, smart grid, green, biomass, biofuel, soil, poverty, forestry, or life cycle cost, ecolog*, waters, forest, pollinat*, organic, pollut*, solar, eco, adapt*, resilienc*, global warming, anthropocene, justice, livelihood, generations, equality, inequality, natur*

Courses were compared to the previous list to determine which courses were new since the last assessment of sustainability-focused and sustainability-inclusive courses. All new courses identified in the 2nd set of data (possible courses) were assessed to determine if they meet the criteria to be either focused or inclusive of sustainability, the interdependence of ecological and social/economic systems, or a sustainability challenge. Courses which did not meet this criteria (or if they were false positives that were identified by the term search, such as course AIR1104 Air Force Heritage & Value) were culled from the list. All previously assessed courses were determined if they are still being offered or not.

The following course types were excluded from both the count of sustainability course offerings and in the count of total courses:
● Individually-directed courses (e.g., thesis, independent study, practicum)
● Special topics courses (e.g., courses that address emerging issues or specialized content and
that are not offered on an ongoing basis)
● Courses that are strictly practice-oriented, e.g.:
○ Medical courses dedicated to clinical practice. Clinical courses in medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine and pharmacy were removed.
○ Arts courses dedicated to performance, technique, or composition.
○ Physical education courses that are activity-based.
● Courses offered by outside entities, specifically courses offered through study abroad programs that are not administered by the institution were not counted in the calculations.


For the number of academic departments that offer courses and have sustainability course offerings, the administrative department number was used. Some departments offer courses with multiple course indicators (the alphabetical portion of the course), so for clarity, the department number used for administration was used to count actual departments, not course identifiers.

Each course taught within the reporting period was counted only one time for the inventory.

Some courses that meet the Environmental Liberal Education requirement for undergraduate students are designated on student transcripts, but not all sustainability courses.