Virginia Tech
ER-6: Sustainability-Focused Courses

Institution offers sustainability-focused academic courses. 

This credit does not include continuing education and extension courses, which are covered by PAE Credit 21: Sustainability in Continuing Education. 

This credit applies to all institutions.

Institutions earn the maximum of 10 points for this credit if sustainability-focused courses comprise 10 percent or more of all courses offered.  Incremental points are available based on the percentage of course offerings that are sustainability-focused.  For example, an institution where 5 percent of all courses offered were focused on sustainability would earn 5 points (half of the points available for this credit).

Timeframe

Report the most recent data available. 

Institutions may choose to report course offerings from one, two, or three academic years, as long as both the total number of courses offered and the number of sustainability-focused courses offered are measured during the same time. 

Sampling and Data Standards

Courses that are cross-listed in multiple departments do not count as separate courses. 

To streamline the data gathering process, institutions may choose whether or not to count each time a course is offered as a separate course, as long as sustainability-focused course offerings are counted in the same way as total course offerings.   For example, a course that is held twice (or if there are two sections) in the fall term and once in the spring term may be counted as 3 courses or 1 course, as long as the institution’s course counting methodology is consistent.

Institutions may also choose to exclude courses of 4 or fewer students, as long as they are excluded from both the count of sustainability-focused courses and the count of total courses.

Courses offered by outside entities (e.g. courses offered by other colleges that are part of a consortium with the institution or courses offered through study abroad programs that are not administered by the institution) should not be counted in the participating institution’s course inventory.  

However, courses developed and offered jointly by multiple institutions that are listed in the participating institution’s course catalog may be counted.  In such circumstances, sustainability courses and courses not focused on sustainability should be counted consistently.  This means that if sustainability courses offered jointly by the participating institution and another entity are included in the inventory, courses not focused on sustainability meeting these criteria should be included as well.