STARS Reflection (process)
My partner (Julia Mast) and I decided to take on a bigger chunk for our STARS assignment, so we tried to start really early on working through the information. It looked like a daunting task so we split up the work as best we could and started right away. Our first step was determining which classes were sustainability focused versus sustainability inclusive. We found out very quickly that the University of New England apparently doesn’t have any sort of “master list” for all of the classes offered at the institution. This led us to have to create a list from the information available on the UNE website. It was a hassle to say the least.
After creating that list, it seemed as though we had gotten “over the hump” and everything else was fairly easy to find. We met about once a week to discuss what tasks we needed to complete next as well as what we have finished so far.
All in all, the process of filling in this survey seemed daunting but when broken down piece by piece it was much easier to tackle.
STARS Reflection (ah-ha moment)
The most shocking part to me didn’t come especially when we were going through the information for UNE, it came more from seeing the data from other schools. Looking at the percentage of classes with sustainability teachings versus UNE’s statistics was shocking to see. Because I am in the Environmental Department I take and have access to a lot of classes focused on sustainability and the environment, but anyone outside of the Environmental Department really only has one class with sustainability focus. It’s is a one semester course taken only in freshman year that focuses on increasing student literacy of environmental issues. While solutions are provided, students do not fully explore sustainability. I definitely would like to see more integration from UNE of sustainability into classes for all four years. The effectiveness would increase as well as keeping it in the front of student’s minds.
