Bellevue College Faculty have been integrating sustainability into the Bellevue College curriculum since before the first Bellevue College Earth Week. In 2009 the Sustainability Task Force launched by President Floaten opened up discussion on sustainability in the curriculum.
In 2010 the College’s first sustainability position was hired and the task force reformed as the Sustainability Curriculum Subcommittee of the Environmental Advisory Committee. The Committee drafted goals and sustainability learning outcomes focused on infusing teaching and courses throughout the curriculum. They were presented to instructional leadership and the curriculum advisory committee to seek a pathway towards integration into general education.
Sustainability is now a part of the teaching and learning of hundreds of faculty and thousands of BC students’ experiences at Bellevue College.
Here are a few highlights of the last few years:
• A $45,000 annual budget allocated to sustainability in the curriculum work by the Student Environmental Sustainability Fund Committee (2012)
• 65 Faculty complete the quarter-long hybrid Integrating Sustainability Workshop adding sustainability coursework to their Syllabi (2014)
• Professional Development Day workshops, book and video discussions on sustainability in the curriculum offered to Faculty in collaboration with the Faculty Commons (2011, ’12, ‘13)
• The Faculty Sustainability Reps program supports curriculum infusion and faculty outreach by academic division (2013)
• Learning outcomes in 70 existing courses map to sustainability learning outcomes (2013)
• Quarterly list of courses with sustainability content published (since 2013)
• 100 Faculty report already teaching sustainability, another 65 are interested in doing so in survey of Faculty (2013)
• Canvas site for Sustainability Resources created with faculty contributions of more than 55 modules from Accounting to Sociology (2014) and Library Guide for students (2013).
• BC Reads book chosen for sustainability, “Deep Economy,” programming offered (book club, orientation) to support Faculty (2013).
• More than 150 Faculty pledge to teach Earth Week during April events combined in the last two years.
Last Updated May 6, 2014