The University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu introduced a Sustainability Focus designation for courses in the Fall 2020 semester — there are nearly 20 Sustainability-Focused courses for Spring 2021 — and faculty are being encouraged to apply for the new designation for their upcoming courses.
“There is a growing demand for sustainability amidst our environmental, economic, and societal challenges,” said Joy Mahiko, a Sustainability Focus (SF) committee member and Special Education assistant professor at UH West Oʻahu. “Solving these challenges requires analyzing their complex and interrelated issues.”
This prompts the need to provide authentic environments to train future generations to elevate to a greater level of consciousness as critical thinkers and be ethical decision-makers, Mahiko said.
“This (Sustainability Focus) designation signifies courses that explicitly focus on key ecological, social, and ethical issues dedicated to long-term promotion of environmental quality, human health, equity, diversity, and inclusion,” she said.
There are five hallmarks that faculty can use to determine if their courses might be a good fit for the SF designation:
- Social and/or ecological sustainability issues will be presented and studied in a systematic manner and are fully integrated into the course Student Learning Outcomes and content.
- The disciplinary approach(es) and curriculum used in the course will include content knowledge and skills needed to develop one or more key “sustainability competencies.”
- Students will achieve basic competency in analyzing and deliberating upon contemporary sustainability issues in the biophysical sciences, social sciences, humanities and/or applied disciplines.
- How many required assignments are sustainability focused during the semester?
- What percentage of the course does sustainability account for?
UH West Oʻahu courses that have received the SF designation for Spring 2021 include:
- Anthropology (ANTH) 122, 350, 361, 421, 433, 480
- Economics (ECON) 358
- Facilities Management (FMGT) 403
- Hospitality and Tourism (HOST) 421
- Political Science (POLS) 326, 335, 336,
- Sustainable Community Food Systems (SCFS) 210, 310, 385, 398W, 460, 484
“We encourage all faculty to consider SF designation and apply,” Mahiko emphasized.
To apply, faculty can submit a proposal for SF designation via the Kuali Curriculum Management System.