| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.67 |
| Liaison | Aurora Sharrard |
| Submission Date | Feb. 13, 2024 |
University of Pittsburgh
AC-1: Academic Courses
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
8.71 / 14.00 |
Gena
Kovalcik Codirector Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation |
Figures required to calculate the percentage of courses offered by the institution that are sustainability course offerings:
| Undergraduate | Graduate | |
| Total number of courses offered by the institution | 4,461 | 5,449 |
| Number of sustainability-focused courses offered | 238 | 147 |
| Number of sustainability-inclusive courses offered | 263 | 242 |
Percentage of courses that are sustainability course offerings:
Total number of academic departments that offer courses:
Number of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
Percentage of academic departments with sustainability course offerings:
A copy of the institution’s inventory of its sustainability course offerings and descriptions:
Do the figures reported above cover one, two, or three academic years?:
A brief description of the methodology used to complete the course inventory :
The University of Pittsburgh’s approach to this credit was led by the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation (MCSI) utilizing TWO methods detailed below. Final numbers reported above were compiled using both methods:
FIRST METHOD = SUSTAINABILITY-FOCUSED Courses, Rigorous Assessment
Courses were included in our 2024 AASHE STARS “Sustainability-Focused” count if they are currently identified within the University’s Curriculog system with a Sustainability-Focused or Sustainability-Related attribute code.
In order to be identified with attribute codes, these courses must be submitted by Pitt faculty and go through a rigorous review process led by MCSI Co-Director, Gena Kovalcik, and Ellie Cadden, Academic Programs Manager for the Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation. This submission and review process helps to ensure that each identified course includes at least 2 of the 3 sustainability pillars (economic, social, environmental).
Each of these identified courses can then be included as core or elective courses for the university-wide Sustainability Certificate, the Transcript of Distinction in Sustainability, and the MS in Sustainable Engineering programs.
Through this in-depth approach we identified a total of 385 University-wide sustainability course offerings, 52 have the Sustainability-Focused attribute code and 333 have the Sustainability-Related Attribute code.
SECOND METHOD = SUSTAINABILITY-INCLUSIVE Course Determination
The MCSI team conducted a thorough review of the University’s full course catalog, reviewing course descriptions and generating an additional list of “Sustainability-Relevant” courses within the course catalog.
During this review we looked for content that demonstrated a connection to UN Sustainable Development Goals AND used a listing of AASHE keywords as a guide.
Though smaller than AASHE's Suggested Keywords for Sustainability Course and Research Inventories list, the MCSI keyword list is denoted on Tab 2 of the attached spreadsheet.
During this review, MCSI excluded courses with the following designations:
Clinicals,
Clerkships,
Dissertations,
Traineeships,
Independent Studies,
Directed Research / Study,
Study Abroad,
Research Thesis,
Teaching Assistantships and Practicums.
Through this additional course review, MCSI identified an additional 505 Sustainability-Inclusive courses.
In addition, if a course is cross listed in 2 departments, it was counted ONCE in the course count, but in ALL departments cross-listing the course for the departments offering sustainability courses tally.
Finally, if a course is designated as both an undergraduate and graduate course, it is counted here in both categories.
How were courses with multiple offerings or sections counted for the figures reported above?:
A brief description of how courses with multiple offerings or sections were counted:
Each course offering with a unique course number was counted. A course offering that had multiple sections was counted once.
Website URL where information about the sustainability course offerings is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
+ 2022-2023 Course Catalog,
+ List of courses with Sustainability course Attributes,
+Inventory of specific sustainability course syllabi.
+Pitt Sustainability Course Attributes Codes (fully documented under Credit IN-38): https://www.sustainable.pitt.edu/course-attribute-sustainability/
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.