Does MSU’s curricula meet today's modern issues?

In recent years, sustainability and climate change discussions have become more mainstream, but according to political science professor Paul Lachapelle, these conversations have deadlocked and necessary progress has yet to materialize.

This begs the question: Does MSU have a responsibility to facilitate conversations involving climate issues? 

One important distinction of a land-grant university is the outlined responsibility to prepare students to solve real-world problems by adapting curricula to meet current issues, according to MSU’s Strategic Plan.

Among other researchers working to address this standard, Dan Short — a researcher on campus who received his master's in education in 2022 — has placed an emphasis on the importance of centering students’ lived experiences and values when teaching about sustainability.  Dan Short published his thesis, “Education For Sustainability As A Lived Experience at a Land-Grant University MSU — A Case Study Of MSU Teaching Faculty,” which explored his concept. His work also examined the role of universities and the challenging complexities around the term sustainability. 

Short worked with four professors who taught courses on sustainability and had extensive experience on the topic. In an interview with the Exponent on Oct. 9, Short said it is important to be conscious of sustainability, especially in classes where it is not the main topic. 

“It is applicable in every field of study, but how it is connected and brought into the classroom is super important,” he said. “Being mindful of language, bias and tone, can separate students from being closed off to engaging in the conversation.” 

“If we bring it back to having the student experience at the center of how we think and approach sustainability, I think it will be a really good roadmap for this institution to see how to move forward,” he said.

Paul Edlund, the associate director of MSU’s Office of Sustainability, led the reporting of the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) report at MSU in 2019 and 2023. According to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, STARS increases transparency through a framework of meaningful comparisons and measurement tools. One of the measurement tools focuses on sustainability topics in the curriculum.

According to the 2023 report, 14 percent of the 1,783 courses offered at MSU touched on sustainability in at least one form. This was an increase of about one percent from the 2019 report. The report distinguished between the 76 sustainability-focused classes and the 175 sustainability-inclusive classes. Sustainability-inclusive courses were determined to have at least one element that addresses a sustainability-related topic.

In 2023, the Office of Sustainability identified that 3,226 students graduated from MSU. The Office of Sustainability determined that about 56 percent of them graduated with sustainability learning outcomes. Participating in STARS highlights potential projects students, admin or faculty can work on. 

Lachapelle said he believes that sustainability should be integrated into the core curricula at MSU to best prepare students and our communities for the future. 

“Why can't [MSU] be a leader in this area and provide this kind of innovative, relevant leadership for an area that is beyond dispute; it's unequivocal that climate change is going to have a significant impact for students,” he said. “We have no majors with the word climate in it. We have no departments with the word climate in it.” 

Short said that students should be able to benefit from the technology and resources that MSU has developed. “We've invested all this money and resources into this amazing infrastructure. Why can't the students touch it?” He said. “I know some of the most powerful actions — powerful things — have come from students, like the solar thermal wall on the Norm Building.” 

“As an educational institution and campus, you know, I think we're missing an opportunity to not allow students to dig into that stuff,” Short said. These increased opportunities could give students hands-on experiences in their area of interest. 

Brooke Lahneman is an assistant professor in the Jake Jabs College of Business. She volunteers with the Career for Faculty Excellence (CFE) to facilitate conversations around productively teaching sustainability in the classroom. Lahneman said this was developed because there's been a growing interest from different departments and disciplines to learn how to better teach their students. “Because the group is cross-disciplinary, we can leverage each other's strengths and expertise across campus to provide materials,” she said.

Lahneman said that this sound-board process allows professors to bounce ideas around to develop effective curricula, rubrics and projects. Their last meeting for faculty this semester will be on Nov. 4. 

Both Lachapelle and Lahneman teach classes around sustainability. They both noted that their classes are very popular and usually have a waiting list. When Lahneman began teaching Sustainable Business Practices, BMGT 410, it had a capacity for 45 students. Last semester she opened the class to 80 students and it still filled. Lachapelle also noted that his class quickly fills and is rated highly by students. 

Lahneman, Lachapelle and Short all stated that student voices drive change in the university and can drive change to the curricula. “If the students say it, then everyone pays attention,” Lahneman said. 

“Our Office [of Sustainability] has operated in such a way that we are really excited when students come to us with their passion projects,” Edlund said.  

STARS reporting can be found through your school email at https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/montana-state-university-mt/report/.