| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 67.49 |
| Liaison | Elizabeth Swiman |
| Submission Date | March 15, 2023 |
Florida State University
AC-7: Incentives for Developing Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Elizabeth
Swiman Director of Campus Sustainability Facilities |
Does the institution have an ongoing program that offers incentives for academic staff in multiple disciplines or departments to develop new sustainability courses and/or incorporate sustainability into existing courses? :
A brief description of the incentive program(s):
FSU Honors Experience Program
The FSU Honors Program launched the Honors Experience Program (HEP) in Fall of 2018. The HEP is an interdisciplinary, inquiry-based, and state-of-the-art curriculum supported by an extensive co-curricular program. Honors Teaching Scholars are faculty members from departments across campus who help the Honors Program meet student demand for HEP courses; broaden the interdisciplinary reach and breadth of the program; and create a diverse community of teaching scholars that can lead pedagogical innovation in the Honors program.
The inaugural core HEP courses were developed as a topical course cluster, Freedom and (In)equality. In 2020, the curriculum expanded to include a cluster of courses on the topic of sustainability as well as other courses designed to help students develop information and scientific literacy. Presently, three sustainability courses are offered by faculty outside of the Honors Program, including “Ecology of Food”, “Scientific and Social Dimensions of Climate Change”, and “Global Sustainability”. These courses are designed and taught by departmental faculty across majors who are selected for their teaching and research expertise. Together these course clusters comprise the overarching program theme, Inquiry and Practice Across the Disciplines.
Gulf Scholars Program (GSP) Curriculum Development Grants
The GSP aims to educate, support, and launch future leaders that understand the unique history of the Gulf region; work effectively across disciplines, cultures, and communities; apply social responsibility and ethical reasoning to problem-solving, and combine these skills and experiences to make an impact in the Gulf of Mexico region and beyond. The GSP supports and enables diverse Gulf Scholars in their academic, professional, community, and leadership development to launch them towards a future as change agents focused on building more just, equitable, sustainable, and resilient systems and communities. The GSP Curriculum Development Grant provides support for creating or revising a course to align with GSP learning outcomes.
FSU Living Lab Grants
The FSU Green Fund offers Living Lab Grants to faculty members in support of the Campus as a Living Laboratory (Living Lab) initiative. Living Lab projects are small-scale, experiential learning opportunities within the scope of an individual course that utilize campus and community infrastructure/operations as living environments for applied research. Funds can be used to support on-campus infrastructure development, as well as research, site visits, and other related experiences that take place at FSU or in the Tallahassee area. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the limit of the grant request is $500 or less.
A brief description of the incentives that academic staff who participate in the program(s) receive:
Benefits to faculty who join HEP include:
- The energy and fun of doing this kind of work with colleagues from across campus and some of FSU’s most dedicated, curious, and engaged students. Students are enthusiastic about the program and, already, longstanding honors staff can see a visible change in the student culture and engagement in honors since the program began.
- Funding to departments for course offerings and the possibility of professional development funding for Honors Teaching Scholars for work related to honors teaching and research. Funding is subject to availability of university resources.
- The ability to engage HEP students in co- and extracurricular experiences with event funding by the Honors Program.
- The opportunity to join HEP-focused workshops or book groups through the Center for the Advancement of Teaching (CAT) at FSU.
- Opportunities to collaborate with faculty from other disciplines in pedagogical or other professional research.
- Assistance from our new Assistant Director of Alumni and Student Engagement to connect your HEP students to internships, alumni mentoring, and applied learning separate from your course.
Benefits to faculty who utilize GSP Curriculum Development Grants include:
- Up to $5,000 stipend or classroom support.
Benefits to faculty who utilize Living Lab Grants include:
- Up to $500 in funding for small-scale, experiential learning opportunities within the scope of an individual course that utilize campus and community infrastructure/operations as living environments for applied research.
Website URL where information about the incentives for developing sustainability course content is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.