Colorado State University
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

College of Business:
"An understanding of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability and how to measure, report, and manage sustainability in organizations."

College of Engineering:
"The broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context."

Ecosystem Science and Sustainability:
Students in the major are learning:
• How to help people use natural resources in a sustainable way.
• About environmental change at local and global scales.
• How they can identify ways people can adapt to change and improve
their lives.
• The amazing connections between different earth system
components.
• How to conduct field work in a variety of settings addressing
questions important to sustainability.

Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology:
"Demonstrate a mastery of ecological concepts and fundamental principles and techniques to manage and conserve fish and wildlife populations, and how they apply to current natural resource management issues"

Environmental Horticulture:
"Management and leadership skills necessary for a successful career in the green industry. Technical competencies in their understanding of growth and development of horticultural plants and landscapes, including development as influenced by manipulation of horticulture technologies, such as fertility and water management, and integrated pest management for all aspects of landscape horticulture. Skills to assess site issues, provide creative environmentally sound solutions and manage designed and built landscapes"

Environmental and Resource Economics:
"Successful [graduating] students will demonstrate...an ability to solve real world problems beyond the pedagogical context. Students will be able to identify a problem and its scope, evaluate resources available to address the problem, formulate alternative solutions, and select the solution(s) most consistent with a stated objective."

Forestry:
Students will demonstrate proficiency in subject areas outside their major study focus, including principles/issues in wildlife, water, recreation, wilderness, soil, range, and fishery resources. Students will learn comprehensive knowledge of subject areas relevant to the major fields of study in forest sciences, including forest ecology and forest management, and apply this knowledge in a complex, problem-solving environment

Human Dimensions of Natural Resources:
Students will apply social science concepts and techniques to understand and address conservation problems, attain a breadth of understanding of how different social science disciplines can contribute to conservation, describe the linkages between conservation and human livelihoods, ecosystem services and human well-being.

Natural Resources Management:
Students will demonstrate knowledge of a wide range of natural resource topics spanning ecological, social and physical aspects of wildland ecosystems, and demonstrate proficiency in an area of specialization through completion of a minor in an area complementary to natural resource management. They will be able to apply their broad natural resources knowledge to create sustainable solutions at local, national, and global scales.

Minor in Ecological Restoration:
The Ecological Restoration minor allows students in related majors to gain knowledge of the science and art of restoring ecosystems. This background is especially valuable to students who will be working in the various natural resource management fields. Since the prevalence of damaged, degraded or destroyed ecosystems is likely to increase in the future, restoration will be imperative for transforming these lands to once again provide ecosystem services.

Minor in Organic Agriculture:
The Organic Agriculture interdisciplinary minor is designed for students with an interest in alternative agricultural production approaches, in particular, organic agriculture. The focus of this program is on the science of organic agriculture with additional courses specifically focused on organic agriculture production techniques, business management, marketing, and decision making.

Minor in Conservation Biology:
Conservation Biology is a scientific discipline and management context that deals with the diversity of life in ecosystems. Humans have tremendous effects on other species and ecosystems on Earth, and Conservation Biology considers these effects, and how our impacts can be altered to sustain diverse and healthy ecosystems.

Global Environmental Sustainability Minor:
The Global Environmental Sustainability Minor offers students in every department a curriculum that enhances their major with an understanding of the issues of sustainability and provides students with the tools to bring sustainability into their career paths.

Environmental Health:
Students will effectively communicate the health consequences of actions, behaviors, or environmental degradation to the public, political community, legal experts, or the media, demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving abilities for environmental issues as an individual and as a member of a problem solving team and, integrate knowledge in social, physical, and biological sciences to evaluate environmental issues.

A full description of learning outcomes is available for each department through the course catalog.

GES 470- Applications of Environmental Sustainability -
Students will learn and apply tools for assessing environmental issues and best practices for working in interdisciplinary teams.

GES 141 - Introduction to Sustainable Energy -
You will be able to:
• Understand the science of all major types of energy.
• Understand the relevance of science to energy-related problems and questions.
• Understand how to evaluate the sustainability of energy resources.
• Evaluate the pros and cons of a current energy issue in the news.

GES 460 - Law and Sustainability
Students successfully completing this course will be able to:
• Describe the role of courts, caselaw, and precedent in the implementation of laws relevant to sustainability.
• Discuss and describe the major provisions of relevant environmental, natural resource, and international laws that affect sustainability.
• Identify and discuss some of the most important US Supreme Court cases that influence the interpretation, implementation, and execution of environmental laws and regulations.
• Know how to research caselaw and laws for academic or professional purposes.
• Clearly express opinions on the relationship of law and policy to sustainability principles.

CSU has a large number of Sustainability Courses (i.e. primary focus is sustainability) as well as Courses that Include Sustainability (fully listed in AC1). Graduates who took a Sustainability Course as part of their program (major, minor, concentration, certificate) at Colorado State University were cross-listed by Institutional Research with students who graduated from a college or program of study that had a sustainability learning outcome (Courses that Include Sustainability were not included in this credit). The cross-listing by Institutional Research ensures that students who were exposed to a sustainability learning outcome during their time at CSU were counted only once (either in their college, in their program of study, or via a Sustainability Course). The Sustainability Courses are all listed individually in credit AC1. CSU opted to use this methodology because our campus has made a strong commitment to sustainability, diversity, and inclusion in our All-University Core Curriculum and we felt it was important to acknowledge that many CSU students are exposed to sustainability learning outcomes at the college, program, and/or course level thanks to this commitment.

Detailed methodology for this credit is included as a cover sheet on our Excel spreadsheet for this credit.