KEY:

= Sustainability-Focused Course

= Sustainability-Related Course

Print Flyer for Track 1 - Arts and Sciences - advising in Anthropology Department

Print Flyer for Track 2 - Engineering - advising in Engineering Technology Department

Print Flyer for Track 3 - Management - advsing in ACES - Environmental Science Department & College of Business - Management Department

For example, count up the number of course offering within a college, and those outside a college offered in each track

Table 2: How many courses are offered inside a College out of total Sustainability Minor offerings in the University-wide Sustainability Minor?

	Environmental Protection	Envionrmental Economics	Environmental Equity	TOTALS
Track 1 Arts & Sciences College	0/6	2/7	4/6	6/9 67%
Track 2 College of Engineering	3/4	0/2	1/1	4/7 57%
Track 3 College of Business	3/3	2/2	2/3	7/8 88%
TOTALS	6/13 46%	4/11 36%	7/10 70%	17/24 71%

 

Out of 24 courses offered, 18 are taught within the college (or about 71%). That means 26% of the courses cross college lines. The results of the rows suggest that Track three (College of Business) could improve strategically, by having more course listings with other colleges. I am therefore working with departments in College of Agriculture to make this happen. Results of the columns of the Matrix suggest that the Envrionnmental Equity is being taught mainly with the college, while the other domain facets of sustainability are rely more more inter-college relationships.

There are three types of Matrix reductions. Table 1 is a Numerical Redution, assiging numbers to the states of each cel. Table 1 also gives a funcational breakdown by the three Tracks. A thrid aspect is what I call 'pragmatic storytelling' in this case a critical look at strategic options for developing Track 2, and the Environmental Equity domain.

Table 3: Zooming Out to See the Viewing the Wider World (v) courses

	Environmental Protection	Envionrmental Economics	Environmental Equity	TOTALS
Track 1 Arts & Sciences College		v	v	2
Track 2 College of Engineering	v			1
Track 3 College of Business	v	v	v	3
TOTALS	2	2	2	6

 

In Table 2, while zooming out, we also notice something important. Track 3 has a V-course in each of the Domains (columns). Engineering has one in first Domain, and Arts & Sciences has v courses in the last two Domains. Overall in the column totals, the V-courses are evenly divided.

Some interesting strategy conclusions follow. We can compare the enrollment results from having more or less inter-college offerings in a Track, and using V-courses as the way to build enrollment in a particular college. Within tracks we can also analyze the inter-department offerings within a College, across Colleges.

There are more qualitative analyses that can be done. For example, develop a table of the number or prerequisites to courses. Do some nested matrices, for example looking at the temporal dimenions. For example, you do not need another Table to figure out, there are no offerings in the Minor, the Matrix in the Freshman and Sophmore years (no 100 or 200 level courses). See http://peaceaware.com/sustainability/Greening_The_Curriculum_Project.html#matrix and do your own count, your own Table, if you like.

It would be terrific to develop templates, pathways for several majors in each College, showing how to fit in electives, V-courses, some courses in the core that are part of the Matrix. This will make it much easier for students and advisors to plan a career path thorugh the University for all three Tracks of the Matrix.

In sum, there are three types of Qualitative Multivariate Matrix reductions. First, there is the numerical, as in the example in Table 1. Second, there is the functional, the displays by university functions (the Rows) in Tables 1 and 2. Third, there is the Pragmatic, the rule of thum, the ways of arraying the display of Matrix cells to make a point about the distributions of courses in spaces and places in the curriculum (both Tables), and the timing of courses (e.g. there are no 100 or 200 courses). This is an exmaple of what I call 'pragmatic storytelling' in this case a 'critical ontology' of the spacetimemattering of courses in the NMSU curriculum. We have also seen examples of fractal rhythms. The fractals are the courses, the leaves, the ways things repeat in a fractal way in the curriculum. And there are rhythms, pathways, tempos, momentums, and self-organizing. What else does it mean when the Track 2 is up and running on Friday, and approved by ADAC on Monday. That is fractal rhythm, at a high rate of speed, for any university.

 

Introduction: After a Teaching Academy session “Sustainability Across the Curriculum” David Boje of the Management Department, and outgoing chair of Sustainability Council at NMSU submitted a funding application, as outgoing Chair of Sustainability Council that was funded in December. On December 17 2013, the Sustainability Council notification that it succeeded in being awarded 15K FY 2014 of funding from the President’s Performance Funding to enact the Greening of the NMSU Curriculum, including a faculty coordinator of the initiative, and some money to market the initiative. I am the listed Project Manager, and the budget is administered through the Management Department of the College of Business, with Steve Elias my Department Head as its administrative signatory.  The Sustainability Council reviewed this initiative on January 8 2014, which endorsed the project in several unanimous motions. On January 13 there is a second presentation of Greening of the NMSU Curriculum to ADAC.

Click here for A few slides in PDF format summarizing this page.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF Greening the Curriculum @ NMSU

Our proposal is to offer an interdisciplinary minor (18 credit hours, 9 at the upper division level) with a Certificate in Sustainability at the undergraduate level in the first year, and look to doing something similar at the graduate level in the second year. We are not asking for new courses. NMSU already has undergraduate degree programs in place with offerings in sustainability, including a sustainability development minor in Anthropology. We would like to develop a university minor in sustainability, the has Sustainability Development as one track, and then develop several additional tracks. For example, these include plant and environmental sciences, Fish Wildlife Conservation and Ecology, Renewable Energy Technologies (Dept. of Engineering Technology and Survey Engineering).  We propose a matrix of courses offerings (Appendix F) with the first track, and our proposal is to hire a coordinator to go meet with each department on campus, to see which courses they offer regularly, that would could be part of track, such as a track in economic sustainability, and another suited for people with engineering, math, and physical or biological sciences majors.  

 

MILESTONES: If successful in FY 2014, there are two additional years of funding for the initiative. We (Sustainability Council) have a contract to achieve three milestone outcomes:

 

These are the outcomes to be measured:

Table 4: Measures/Targets for Greening the Curriculum @ NMSU

Measures/ Targets	Dec 2014	Dec 2015	Dec 2016
Departments participating in sustainability programs	Set Baseline database	+5%	+10%
Sustainability program enrollment diversity         Hispanic	Set baseline database	+3%	+5%
Sustainability program enrollment diversity (female' hispanic & other minority participation)	Set baseline database	+3% +2% TBD	+5% +5% TBD
Courses with international sustainability service and outreach components	Set baseline database	+10%	+15%
Courses with Energy savings Projects	Set baseline database	+5%	+10%
Estimated savings of those projects	Set baseline database	$20,000	$40,000
Courses with sustainability projects	Set baseline database	+10%	+15
Faculty with sustainability related   donations,  grants and contracts	Set baseline database	+10%	+15%
Sustainability related jobs found by students	Set baseline database	+5%	+10%

 

   These are ways the Greening the Curriculum @ NMSU is part of all 7 Vision 2020 Goals          

Table 5: 7 Vision 2020 Goals and SUSTAINABILITY MINOR outcomes & measures
1.      Graduation – Teaching, Learning & Programs - Provide effective academic programs, stellar teaching and learning, and enhanced student engagement to advance highly capable graduates	Increases in enrollment from 3% from Baseline by 2014: graduating students; 5% increases from the current course offerings; 5% increase in departments participating with course offerings that are sustainability-focused or sustainability-related.
2.      Diversity –  Be a model of student, faculty and staff diversity at all levels	Increase in diversity enrollment by 3% by FY 2014: NMSU currently has 45% Hispanic enrollment, which we intend to increase in this program; includes 3% increase in female enrollment in the sustainability-focused or sustainability-related courses.
3.      Internationalization -  Effectively prepare students for a global society	Increase 10% in International courses that are sustainability-focused or sustainability-related; includes 10% increase in course projects that focus on international cases and service projects. Talloires Declaration signed by NMSU, item 9 is to broaden service and outreach of sustainability both nationally and internationally
4.      Research & Creative Activity--  Be the catalyst for promoting discovery, encouraging innovation, sparking economic advancement, and inspiring creative achievement	Measure is number of these energy saving projects, and secondly their estimate dollar savings to NMSU and its communities. FY 2014 goal is $20,000 in reported project savings to university and/or community
5.      Economic Development -- Be a driving force for economic progress in New Mexico	We will assess number of projects in courses students are taking as part of Sustainability minor, and in sustainability-focused or sustainability-related courses.
6.      Resource Stewardship -- Increase philanthropy and alternative revenue to support teaching, research and service	Alumni donations increase of 10% in FY 2014, specifically for sustainability efforts to support teaching, research, and service.  Currently 106/694 (15%) faculty are doing grants and research related to sustainability
7.      Community - Service, Extension & Outreach -- Be a model for community engagement at all levels through innovative and exceptional outreach activity	This is measured by students picking sustainability careers. Part of our project is to work with career center, have boths in 3 career expos in FY 2014, training for advising across the campus, so counselors have access to sustainability careers.

                                                  

 

 

IMPLEMENTATION - The Spiral of Success in Sustainability @ NMSU

The Matrix is implemented using the method called D-P-I-E (diagnosis, project plan, implementation, and evaluation on measures/metrics of outcomes. The D-P-I-E cycle Savall, Zardet, and Bonnet (2008: 21-24) is fundamental to releasing the untapped potentional of enterprises thorugh socioeconomic interventions, including sustainability curriculum development at a university.

In the first D-P-I-E loop, a set of datable activites have been planned adter diagnosis by leaders in sustainability at NMSU in preparation for the propoasl submitted for 'Greening the Curriculum' to NMSU Presidents' Excellence Fund.

 

NMSU earned its Gold Star rating in Sustainability, NOv 30 2012. ADAC stands for Associate Deans Academic Council. They make decisions onf minors and majors at NMSU. The negotiations are in their 2nd ADAC meeting where the topic on 13 Jan 2014 is getting approval for developing STARS audit, putting Green leaf on first 50 courses (most already vetted through the Antrhpology Department's minor in sustainability), and introduction of several University Sustainability Minor Steering Committee Members. OIA in the figure stands for Office of Institutional Analysis (a work order has been submitted and discussions of it start 13 Jan 2014. Since then a Diagnosis by Sustainability Council and sustainability leaders across campus focused on building a three track miror. Plans for the Univeristy-wide Sustinability Minor have been drafted. The President's Excellence Fund for expanding enrollment awarded the plan $15K, of which $5K is for marketing.

There are 8 datable events taking place in the plan for the 1st D-P-I-E loop. At the end of D-P-I-E Loop #1 there is an evaluation of all activities in that loop in order to learn and grow into the next loop of the spiral.

The purpose of D-P-I-E loop #2 is to build momentum from the 1st loop, learn, and grow the spiral so it draws in more participants, more funding, more visibility withing the university, and becomes an identity marker for the entire university resulting in employers seeking out graduates with a Sustainability Minor from NMSU.

 

Next look at the entire First Year plan all four DPIE loops for the Sustainability Minor @ NMSU. In the 4th loop preparations are put in place for an NMSU School of Sustainability. This was an idea suggested in the College of Business Convocation discussion of the Sustainaiblity Minor @ NMSU.

It was suggested that ASU's School of Sustainability be considered a role model, so the Sustainability Minor @ NMSU can grow into an Interdisciplinary School of Sustainability @ NMSU. ASU has excellent marketing to students and employers and has a university-wide Minor in Sustainability. Their marketing features students at ASU and how they work sustainability into their major. See ASU's Sustainability Connect. Example of students in courses in the Minor in Sustainability working with Operations: "Undergraduate and Graduate students worked together with ASU staff and local experts to research and propose strategies for transforming ASU's food waste system."

See more of those notes at the end of the history page.

 Click here for a PDF you can print out above MAP to review the Implementation Plans for 2014.

 

Please provide any suggestions, innovations, or schedule meetings to discuss Sustainability Minor @ NMSU with coordinator, David Boje . Thank you for your support.