Application for Sustainability Course Status

Application for Sustainability Course Status

What
Modeled on Lane's Application for Ethnic/Gender/Cultural Diversity Requirement form, this Application for Sustainability Course status is the first step in a quick and easy process of having your course recognized as sustainability-focused. 

How

• Step 1:  Have sustainability content in your class that meets the requirements outlined in the application.
• Step 2:  Submit your completed application to Jennifer Hayward.  She will convene the Sustainability in Learning Committee who will review the form and approve it or provide feedback on why it was not approved.
• Step 3:  Now you officially have a Sustainability-focused class or have feedback on some changes that you could make to your course so that it will be approved in the next review.
• Step 4:  The Sustainability in Learning Committee will notify the Curriculum Committee of the approved classes.

Why
Human-kind's current take-make-waste method of resource use threatens to disrupt the livelihood and wellbeing of our current generation of students and to completely decimate 20-50% of all species by the end of this century.  As educators, we can contribute to breaking this cycle by equipping our students to participate actively in building a sustainable society.  As a first step, I encourage all of us to participate in helping to ensure that no student leaves Lane without taking a sustainability-focused class. 

What, specifically, is the importance of filling out the form?  Filling out the form is the boring part, but it is important because it allows us to track where we are doing well with incorporating sustainability into the curriculum and where we need to target efforts to do more professional development.  Also, we will soon have a sustainability category in our course catalog.  When this occurs, sustainability-focussed classes will be searchable in both the primary discipline and under sustainability. This will allow students to easily identify sustainability courses.

The Institute for Sustainable Practices periodically schedules workshops for faculty who are interested in completing this application.  If you would like to be put on a list of those notified when workshops are scheduled, please let Jennifer Hayward know.