University of California, Irvine
AC-1: Academic Courses

The 2018 Sustainability Course Inventory presented in this section is compilation of all sustainability courses and courses including sustainability offered during the 2017/2018 academic year.

The methodology for identifying the total number of qualifying courses offered was improved for the 2018 inventory. Non-applicable course such as internships, practicums, independent study, special topics, thesis/dissertation, clinical, and performance art classes were excluded from the 2018 inventory consistent with STARS guidelines. These courses were excluded from both the count of sustainability course offerings and the count of total courses. Previous years' inventories did not fully exclude all of these non-applicable courses, resulting in the lower amount of total graduate and undergraduate courses.

The methodology used for the 2018 review of academic courses was updated from previous inventories and involved a more rigorous review of courses involving a three-tiered process of campus-wide faculty surveys, review of course descriptions, and follow-up interviews with faculty in selected academic departments. First, UCI faculty were surveyed via an online form. The link to this form was emailed to all campus faculty via a mailing list maintained by ZotMail, UCI's primary electronic communication system. ZotMail enables authorized senders in the offices of the Chancellor, Provost, Vice Chancellors, and Deans to send official UCI messages using a password-protected interface. Survey respondents were given the definition of a “sustainability course” versus a “course that includes sustainability,” as well as a link to UCI’s most recent course inventory. Respondents were then asked to identify any courses they taught within the last three academic years that met each definition. 159 individuals responded to the survey, identifying a total of 33 sustainability and sustainability-related courses. Courses that were not offered in the most recent academic year were removed.

Because this number does not capture the full range of sustainability course offerings at UCI, the survey was then supplemented by a review of the UCI course catalog in order to identify additional courses that meet the definition of “sustainability course” or “course that includes sustainability.” In addition to conducting a comprehensive campus wide faculty survey and a review of all course descriptions, sustainability staff interviewed selected faculty to confirm course content related to sustainability. As an example of course content identified in these interviews, ceramics faculty include sustainability as part of course instruction including water and materials conservation, firing techniques and associated energy use, and the carbon footprint of materials procurement.

Each unique course was counted as a single course. Only primary courses were counted. Secondary courses (e.g., labs, discussions, independent study, etc.) were not included; field courses directly related to sustainability were included. Courses with multiple offerings within a year or courses that are offered annually were counted as one unique course. Courses with the same general number but with unique course designations (e.g., ESS 60A and ESS 60B, for which ESS 60A is a prerequisite) were counted individually. Courses cross-listed in multiple departments with unique course numbers were counted as separate courses.

The methodology for identifying the total number of qualifying courses offered was improved for the 2018 inventory. Non-applicable course such as internships, practicums, independent study, special topics, thesis/dissertation, clinical, and performance art classes were excluded from the 2018 inventory consistent with STARS guidelines. These courses were excluded from both the count of sustainability course offerings and the count of total courses. Previous years' inventories did not fully exclude all of these non-applicable courses, resulting in the lower amount of total graduate and undergraduate courses.

The methodology used for the 2018 review of academic courses was updated from previous inventories and involved a more rigorous review of courses involving a three-tiered process of campus-wide faculty surveys, review of course descriptions, and follow-up interviews with faculty in selected academic departments.