Academics | Areas of Focus | Campus Sustainability Plan | UNB

Academic

Vision

UNB is a leader in sustainable education and research. Faculty and educators are active and knowledgeable in sustainability, guiding students in sustainable learning and research. UNB fosters an academic community that demonstrates and advances sustainability.

Existing successes

  • Offering undergraduate and graduate environmental courses that teach students to manage environmental and natural resources sustainably.
  • Students utilizing UNB as a living laboratory, to learn about sustainability first hand through the use of the campus.
  • 66% of departments at UNB Fredericton offer sustainability courses to students.
  • 100% of departments at UNB Saint John currently conduct research that is engaged in sustainability.
  • SOCS4501 - A structured Campus as a Learning Lab course at UNB Saint John.

UNB Fredericton 2017 STARS SCORE: 55%
UNB Fredericton 2020 STARS SCORE: 77%
UNB Saint John 2020 STARS SCORE: 66%

UNB Fredericton Goals & Strategies

Increase opportunities for students to use UNB as a Learning Laboratory (CaLL)

  • Identify programs, courses, and operations that could offer Campus as a Living Laboratory opportunities.
  • Develop an online inventory of CaLL projects that have been completed and are currently available to students.

Increase support for research on sustainability

  • Determine the feasibility of incentivizing and supporting sustainable research by students and faculty.
  • Highlight and promote those conducting sustainability research on UNB FR campus.

Improve availability of sustainability focused courses

  • Identify sustainability learning outcomes, and work with units to incorporate the outcomes into curriculum.
  • Maintain a sustainability course list, outlining courses available in all faculties.
  • Produce an educational package for faculty on the relevance, importance, and methods of incorporating sustainability into their courses.

Assess sustainability knowledge of the campus community

  • Develop and conduct a student sustainability literacy assessment.

UNB Saint John Goals & Strategies

Increase the availability of academic courses that include sustainability

  • Create a sustainability course list inventory.
  • Explore the feasibility of developing a ‘minor’ in sustainability or interdisciplinary courses to gain a ‘sustainability certificate’ option at UNBSJ.

Increase opportunities for students to use UNB as a Learning Laboratory (CaLL)

  • Expand the SOCS:4501 CaLL pilot to offer more projects opportunities.
  • Develop a formalized CaLL program in Collaboration with the Office of Experiential Education.

  • Develop an online inventory of CaLL projects that have been completed and are currently available to students.

Assess and improve students' knowledge of sustainability

  • Formalize the distribution of the Sustainability Literacy Assessment to the UNBSJ community.
  • Develop a Sustainability 101 Module to educate the campus community on basic sustainability concepts.

Alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal #4: Quality Education

  •  Target: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all