Education for Sustainability: - Insight – University of Gloucestershire

Education for Sustainability:A Guide for University Managers on Needsand OpportunitiesAs Higher Education faces difficult changesand contraction in its resource base over thecoming years, it must reappraise how it can bestmeet sector expectations and commitments insustainability.This briefing outlines the way that the Universityof Gloucestershire can respond to the challengethrough its leading practice in Education forSustainability (EfS). It explores key questionsabout emerging needs, opportunities andbenefits for the University and its partners andstakeholders.Q: How is the sustainability agenda impactingon HE and the University?Q: Why is Education for Sustainability importantfor HE?Q: What are the market needs and opportunitiesin Educaton for Sustainability?Q: How does Education for Sustainability servestudents’ needs?Q: What strategic actions are we taking at theUniversity?

Education for Sustainability A Guide for ManagersEducation for Sustainability A Guide for ManagersHow is the sustainability agendaimpacting on HE and the University?Since the UK government producedits sustainable development strategySecuring the Future in 2005, the devolvedadministrations have developed policiesand plans to improve sustainability practicein universities. Corporate sustainabilitymeasures and rankings are increasing inprominence and this is likely to become moresignificant in an era of greater universitycompetitiveness and accountability. TheUniversity of Gloucestershire has performedwell to date:• No 1 and No 2 rankings in the studentdrivenPeople & Planet Green League ofUK Universities - the only university to havebeen consistently placed in the top fivesince the League began.• Improved score and sector average rankin the BITC Universities that Count schemesince 2008 plus No 1 ranking (91.6% score)for teaching, learning and research in 2010.• National Green Gown award for continuousinstitution-wide improvement in 2008.• National Green Gown award for strategicinstitutional development of EfS in 2010.Why should universities engage withsustainability?• to meet expectations of sector fundingagencies in carbon reductions andsustainability performance• to improve sector profile and marketdifferentiation as well as internationalvisibility• to improve employability rates andrecruitment by focusing on graduates’professional skills for sustainability• to provide leadership on localsustainability enterprise, innovation andengagementThe HE Funding Council for England setsout its rationale and expectations in its2008 Sustainable Development in HigherEducation strategy and action plan.As sustainability agendas enter themainstream, universities are acceleratingtheir performance and opportunities to showleading practices are shrinking.The University of Gloucestershire hasincreased its commitments by incorporatingsustainability in its Strategic Plan (2009)and developing its sustainability strategyPromising Futures 2009-2015, spanning allareas of core business.At the University, sustainability goes beyondreducing our footprint and environmentalimpacts – it is about improving prospectsand quality of life for students and staff, andin the local, national and global communitieswe serve. In EfS, the University has gainedsector recognition, several awards andvaluable funding - a significant platform forfurther innovation.EfS - Background and OriginsThe EfS movement emerged from globalforums such as the Rio Summit in 1992and Johannesburg World Summit onSustainable Development in 2002, gainingmomentum via the United NationsDecade of Education for SustainableDevelopment (UN DESD) 2005-2014.International HE declarations such asTalloires (1990) and Lüneberg (2001) havegained the support of growing numbersof Vice-Chancellors, with promises toreorient courses to support sustainability.Why is Education for Sustainabilityimportant for HE?Universities hold civic responsibilities to actas beacons for society, leading innovationand illuminating pathways towards moresustainable futures. These duties are fulfilledon the widest scale through the educationthey provide for future leaders and decisionmakers.To date the academic success storiesin sustainability have mainly been in:• sustainable development research withsmall scale curriculum offshoots.• generic student ‘taster’ initiatives such asintroductory elective modules.• named ‘sustainable development’programmes suited to niche markets.EfS uses approaches to learning and changethat engage people in thinking critically andcreatively about the future. Its principles areused in all forms of learning, from formal tocommunity education and across all fieldsof professional training and development.There are signs that both students andemployers are demanding action fromHigher Education on this agenda, so thatthe university sector plays a decisive rolein shaping future capabilities to addresssustainability across professions andorganisations.Recent major funders of EfS projects atthe University• Marie Curie Fellowship• Higher Education Funding Council forEngland• Kraft Foods• Grundtvig Programme• Environmental Association ofUniversities and Colleges• UNESCO• Rikkyo University, JapanTotal grants won over 24 months: £523,385However, strategic work to embedsustainability thinking across universities isnot common. Worldwide, few universitieshave attempted large scale educationalinnovation in line with EfS. This is where theUniversity of Gloucestershire has distinctiveexpertise and future opportunities lie.2 Tel: 0844 801 0001 Web: www.glos.ac.uk: +44(0)1242 715 378 E: dtilbury@glos.ac.uk Tel: 0844 801 0001 Web: www.glos.ac.uk 3

Education for Sustainability A Guide for ManagersEducation for Sustainability A Guide for ManagersIn summary, the external trends pointto two distinct areas of opportunity:1 Signs that demand will increase forgraduates who are more employable asthey are not only aware of sustainabilityissues, but have the competence to tacklethem, and that future students will factorthis into their HE choices- This requires the strategic approachto embed generic capabilities intocourses and tailor learning forsustainability to each subject area.2 Likely growth in demand for the deliveryof professional development programmesfor sustainability, geared to the needs ofspecific groups- This requires expertise in using EfSapproaches to design and facilitatebespoke training and developmentofferings in sustainability.The University of Gloucestershire hasestablished itself as a distinctive player in EfS,with its No.1 ranking in the Universities thatCount index and winning the Green Gownaward in 2010.Leading Curriculum Change forSustainabilityFrom 2010 to 2012 the University is hostingan ambitious strategic project funded bythe Higher Education Funding Council forEngland to bring EfS more deeply intothe arena of quality enhancement andcurriculum development, working with fivepartner universities.Consideration needs to be given to areas ofrisk and most fruitful investment of effort,but there are several potential benefits to begained by continuing to develop this profile:• Drawing on Tradition – the University’shistory and profile in teaching and learninginnovation• Securing the USP – the University’sstrategic work in EfS is distinctive andsector-leading• Income Generation – bespoke andprofessional courses, consultancy andpartnerships in EfS• Improving Efficiency – EfS promotesunified academic enhancement processes• Sector Fit – EfS aligns with global trendstowards integrated curriculum change• Graduate Employability – responsivenessof EfS to student employability concernsWhat strategic actions are we taking atthe University?Promising Futures 2009-2015 sets outstrategic targets for action to improve profileand expertise across the University in EfS.These actions are designed to provide acoherent learning experience for students.They encourage unity of approach aroundteaching and learning principles, but allowthe freedom for programme innovation to bedriven by subject specialists. They also aimfor better alignment of EfS with the driveto improve employability, entrepreneurshipand internationalisation strategies across theUniversity.EfS approaches are embedded in theprinciples of the University’s Learning andTeaching Strategy and its set of GraduateAttributes. Colleagues at the University aresupported by a framework for effectiveteaching and learning in EfS which includessubject guides linked to national qualitybenchmarks and the priorities of individualacademic areas.Our current priorities in this area include:• identification of graduate capabilitiesand attributes in EfS, derived from thelearning needs identified by studentsand employers• development of ‘real-world’ workfocusedand community-focusedlearning activities and placementopportunities geared to sustainability• leading a national project to bring EfSinto the quality enhancement arenaand to change academic practiceacross five partner universities• strategic support to embedsustainability across core courses,including staff development activitiesto build capacity in EfS• development of major funding bidsand research consultancy workthrough the International ResearchInstitute in Sustainability (IRIS)• opportunities for curriculum projectsand for co-curricular learning linkedto our corporate operations,campus activities and EmployableGloucestershire Graduates Scheme6 Tel: 0844 801 0001 Web: www.glos.ac.uk: +44(0)1242 715 378 E: dtilbury@glos.ac.ukTel: 0844 801 0001 Web: www.glos.ac.uk 7