Universities that Count

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The Universities that Count Teaching, Learning, Research and Knowledge Exchange Impact Area

Please visit the Times Higher website to see the recent article released on the Universities that Counts project. A huge congratulations goes out to all those mentioned in the article. Visit here

The Teaching, Learning, Research and Knowledge Exchange Impact Area has been part of the Universities that Count survey for two years now. The latest set of questions has been developed with the assistance of the UK’s leading academics in education for sustainable development. There are two strands to this Impact Area. The first- and the one we are focusing on here- is concerned with the curriculum (teaching and learning). The second is about academic activities focussing on sustainability outside the curriculum such as research, knowledge exchange and extracurricular sustainability-focussed activities.

We would like to take this opportunity to extend our congratulations to the following:

Top five performers (in alphabetical order) are the University of Bradford for their Ecoversity work, University of Gloucestershire for their Education for Sustainable Development work along with their RCN Centre of Excellence (United Nations), University of Plymouth for their Centre for Sustainable Futures (CSF), University of St. Andrews for their St Andrews Sustainability Institute and finally the University of the West of England for a range of activity including having Education and Sustainable Development named the top priority in their University of the West of England's management strategy for 2008-12 .

And the five ‘Ones to Watch’ * are Bournemouth University, London School of Economics & Political Science, University of Edinburgh, University of Exeter and the University of Glamorgan.

If you are not yet a participant of Universities that Count please email us at utc@eauc.org.uk to log your interest for Year Three (2010-2011) of the project.

Let’s hear from the Top Performers

Professor Jan Bebbington, Director, Sustainability Institute, University of St Andrews said that “Universities can and should make a difference, and I’m proud to be part of the St Andrews Sustainability Institute (SASI), a group of people at the University of St Andrews who are working towards a sustainable future for everyone. We are working towards this by doing the classic things a university does - teaching undergraduate and postgraduate students, researching stuff, and knowledge transfer (sharing the knowledge with people other than students) as well as trying to be sustainable ourselves.”

Dr Stephen Sterling, Associate Director, Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Plymouth commented that “How we evaluate and measure anything, be it education for sustainable development (ESD), or anything else in Higher Education (HE), depends on what we think it is. Our perception and conception of ESD will inform the kind of indicators we choose. So while it may not be possible to achieve consensus on the nature and implications of ESD, we can at least attempt some clarification of its dimensions, so that debate on evaluation is in turn clearer. In this task, it is helpful to draw a direct parallel with the emergence of sustainable development (SD) in wider society. Put simply, either SD is seen as a necessary add-on to current practices (‘A’) – what might be termed a reformist approach – or, it is seen significantly challenging mainstream policies and practices (‘B’): a transformist conception. So it is with ESD.
“The situation currently is that whilst debates are pushing into ‘B’ territory, not least with regard to the wellbeing and broadening CSR agendas, most universities are in practice still struggling to embed sustainability through the ‘A’ pathway. The challenge is how evaluation can be used to assist an effective ‘A’ strategy, as an important first stage, whilst also assisting the organisational learning that can move universities towards a dynamic ‘B’ position, so increasing universities’ overall ‘response-ability’ to the sustainability imperative.”

Professor Daniella Tilbury, Director of Sustainability, Gloucestershire University highlighted that “the aim of reversing unsustainable trends in human societies requires effective education for sustainability at all levels, not least in higher education. Through their core academic functions of research, teaching and knowledge exchange, Universities have the opportunity to act as learning and change agents in society.” Adding that it is currently a “fundamental challenge to Universities to produce ‘sustainability literate’ and capable graduates for all sectors of society.”
She went on to explain that “Learning about and for sustainability must be an integral and not a bolt-on activity of Universities. Recognition of the integrity of these civic aspirations for Universities requires a comprehensive view of the business and purpose of higher education institutions. At present, senior managers are grappling with the implications for policy and practice, while colleagues and stakeholders at all levels are also mindful of the need to protect academic freedom and to agree on emergent parameters for education for sustainability. For Universities to fulfil this leadership role, learning opportunities for sustainability must be integrated into institutional plans and efforts at all levels where the academic and educational endeavour is implicated. The question is how do we then assess this contribution given the complexity and pervasiveness of this activity?”

Peter Hopkinson, Education for Sustainable Development Directorate, University of Bradford said that if you “Ask a pharmacy lecturer, or a midwifery student what they understand by the term education for sustainable development and you may get a blank stare – at best. The HEFCE statement in 2005 that the greatest contribution a University can make to sustainable development is through the education of their graduates, threw down a challenge to the sector but also raised the question - what does it mean and how do you do it? It’s pretty obvious and relatively easy in certain subjects, such as geography and subjects allied to the built environment but these represent a fraction of subjects taught in higher education.”
He went on to explain that “The University of Bradford’s Ecoversity programme has taken on a daunting challenge to embed ESD in the learning of all students, irrespective of discipline. Every university is different and there is no ‘green-print’ on how to implement such a major educational objective. Our approach has configured three major pathways for engaging students and staff with ESD: the formal curriculum; an informal curriculum (student volunteering, service learning, events, internships, ambassadors roles etc) and a physical curriculum influencing attitude and behaviour through the way we design, run and operate our campuses and the values and symbols that are transmitted and communicated through multiple everyday actions and activities. Our ESD journey began from a relatively modest starting point and we do not claim to have reached our final destination. We can demonstrate clear commitment to ESD in our corporate strategy, our teaching and learning framework and academic school plans.”

Quoted from the recently released Times Higher article “Education and sustainable development has been named the top priority in the University of the West of England's management strategy for 2008-12. "It aims to ensure that every UWE student is exposed to the context of sustainability within their course and for their future professional careers," says Mark Webster, UWE's environmental manager. "Our students will be able to take action on sustainability."

Ones to Watch

Bournemouth University carried out a detailed assessment for ESD in all school and faculties on a “Global Perspectives” approach.
London School of Economics and Political Science developed the ‘LSE100’ strand which presents sustainability issues to students, and run a very successful podcast series based on their public lectures.
The University of Edinburgh developed a Social Responsibility and Sustainability Strategy to bring a “whole-institution” approach to the issues. Pioneering the Transition Edinburgh University scheme.
The University of Exeter appointed DVC Janice Kay to lead a “Task and Finish” group which resulted in the appointment of a "Sustainability Curriculum Coordinator" who leads on the embedding of education for environmental sustainability, the university is also developing a bid for an Institute for Environment and Sustainability.
The University of Glanmorgan are engaging their Board of Governors to ensure that sustainability is the backbone of all that they do.

*Whilst not the highest scorers in this Impact Area in year two, the HEIs in the Ones to Watch group have been identified as showing early signs of either radically transforming the way their institution addresses sustainability within its curriculum and/or using ingenuity to increase opportunities for ‘sustainability’ in its learning and teaching activities. These are the HEIs emerging as the ones to watch over the next five years.

If you are not yet a participant of Universities that Count please email us at shayward@eauc.org.uk to log your interest for Year Three (2010-2011) of the project.

Keep a lookout for the Year Two (2009-2010) annual report coming out in September 2010. To view the annual report from Year One (2008-2009) of the programme follow the link on this page.

Universities that Count – Messages from Year 1

The Universities that Count programme has had an excellent first year with 56 institutions taking part. The Annual Report gives an in-depth look at the results under the 4 pillars of social responsibility ‘Community, Environment, Marketplace and Workplace’ and gives some excellent examples of how institutions are engaging with this agenda.

Universities that Count Annual Report 2009

Click to launch the full edition in a new window.To download a PDF version see the reports section at the bottom of the page.

The objective of UTC is to encourage and inform a process of performance improvement, to bring about radical change in the way universities approach issues of social and environmental responsibility. The Barometer of Progress helps chart this progress, looking at the key aspects of the index scores, and gives a clear picture of how HEIs have progressed along the pathways of social and environmental responsibility.

The results from year 1 of UTC show that HEIs do have the building blocks for social responsibility in place but full integration of CSR is rare in many institutions and they have a long way to go in achieving this. However excellent examples of good practice are in place and universities are aiming to embed sustainability in everything they do, to equip new populations with the skills and values to live sustainability.

Please view our Summary Report for a quick look at these fascinating finds!

The 2009 scores show that institutions have improved in ALL areas since the pilot study in 2005-07 and the breadth of scores achieved offers many opportunities for lower performing institutions to learn from their higher scoring colleagues. The average environment score rose from 56% to 62% and the CSR score from 51% to 67%. Find out how! Universities are getting better at considering social and environmental responsibility strategically and as a result are achieving excellent performance improvement.

A very successful first year so make sure that you are part of year 2!

UTC Index Workshops
The UTC team are running a series of workshops for new and returning participants in December 2009. Please click here to find out all the details!
We hope you will join us across the country to find out more about the UTC programme and sign up for year 2. Spaces are limited so please book soon to avoid disappointment.

Year 1 has exceeded expectation, more participation, significant improvement and performance in the results achieved from the pilot study, and plenty of learning opportunities of great depth and variety for us all. It is clear that UK universities and colleges are ready to step up to the mark and be what our economy, society and planet needs us to be – responsible leaders!

The UTC team are committed to developing the index each year to ensure it reflect the needs of the sector and provide a better benchmarking and performance improvement service. To find out how please view our Summary Report and view our 'You Said...We Did' document to see what changes have been made.

The Index opens for completion for year 2 on 30 November 2009 – please click here for further details and to sign up now!.

Please be a ‘University that Counts’! – We look forward to working with you for an even more successful year in 2009/10.

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