Case Study: Embedding Sustainability into the Curriculum

The goal to incorporate sustainability into its curriculum came to Algonquin College as it signed its commitment in both the Tailloires Declaration and the ACCC Pan Canadian Protocol for Sustainability. But then came the question of: “how do we do it?”.

The College was already seeing a demand for new programs with a specific focus in sustainability and the environment, relating to professional development in green building design and performance, and technical assessments for environmental and water resources.

While these programs met the need for students with an interest in sustainability, the College needed to determine how to best ensure that a foundational understanding of sustainability would be a part of the curriculum to reach a broader base of students.

A small working group was established to work towards the goal of integrating into the curriculum discipline-specific practices that encourage social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship in the local and global communities. From an environmental scan on what other post-secondary institutions were using as approaches, as well as group members taking advantage of information on the topic from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the group increased its understanding of sustainability and the role of post-secondary institutions in driving change.

The group determined that the greatest opportunity for a broad and deep inclusion of sustainability would be to add a Vocational Learning Outcome (VLO) related to sustainability within all Ontario College Credential programs. The College identified existing processes—such as the Program Quality Review (PQR) process, as a leverage point to incorporate the new outcome within existing programs scheduled for this review, and further worked with program Deans and Chairs to identify programs to be included in an initial pilot process for outcome inclusion.

“We sought the greatest affinity – looking for programs that were already integrating elements of sustainability—and then the task was to articulate and align it with the learning outcomes,” states Jo-Ann Aubut, Dean of Academic Development and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Algonquin Steering Committee.

The new VLO is designed to address both sustainability—with its social, economic and environmental pillars—as well as internationalization. With the College’s desire to incorporate both these elements in College programs, the group saw the opportunity to combine these two related learning outcomes in an effort to streamline the exercise.

A workshop on updating the program curriculum was designed to support professors and program coordinators seeking to incorporate the sustainability and internationalization VLO within programs and to map curriculum and assessments to the additional learning outcome.

Following the pilot process, a debrief with program chairs and/or coordinators provided an opportunity to build upon the established process and prepare for its roll-out across the larger base of programs in the 2013-2014 academic year.

“We all had a heightened understanding of the relevance of sustainability with the publication of the Sustainability White Paper in 2009,” added Jo-Ann Aubut. “We knew that a full inculcation of sustainability means much more than reaching a limited number of students through the specialty programs.”

2012-2013 Pilot Programs Involved in Embedding the Sustainability and Internationalization Vocational Learning Outcome:

Massage Therapy
Recreation and Leisure Services
Interior Decorating
Public Relations
Outdoor Adventure Naturalist
Building Construction
Green Business Management
Business Management and Entrepreneurship
Carpentry and Joinery – Heritage
Hotel and Restaurant Management
Powerline Technician
Mechanical Engineering Technology
General Arts and Sciences – Aviation Management
Motive Power Technician
Electrical Engineering Technician and Technology
Green Architecture

Algonquin College programs with sustainability as a primary focus of the curriculum for students with an interest in pursuing careers in sustainability-related fields.

Bachelor of Building Science
Environmental Technician (Co-op) (Pembroke Campus)
Environmental Management and Assessment
Green Architecture
Water and Waste Water Technician
Sustainability Education Part-time Online