Leveraging the ASCE ExCEEd Model to Design a Course on Sustainable Infrastructure Development

Abstract

Environmental, social, and economic considerations, commonly called the “triple bottom line” of sustainability, are critical components of a civil engineering education. Currently, civil engineering programs typically teach sustainability indirectly, generally as a theme accompanying more conventional disciplines or through select embedded lessons within traditional courses. Some universities employ upper-level electives, clubs, or even independent study experiences to teach sustainability principles to undergraduates. Many courses dedicated to sustainable development are limited to graduate programs. In this paper, we present the results of a faculty team’s efforts to design a new course on sustainable infrastructure development as a part of undergraduate civil engineering curricula. We conduct benchmarking with existing programs that teach infrastructure and sustainable development as explicit courses within civil engineering. We crosswalk the pedagogical framework within the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Excellence in Civil Engineering Education (ExCEEd) Model to the draft syllabus and specific elements of the new course, to include a structured organization with appropriate learning objectives for each lesson, in-class activities, and proposed out-of-class assignments. We further map specific learning objectives and learning activities to requirements for program accreditation by ABET. The resulting course syllabus schedule, learning objectives, and crosswalk to accreditation criteria can serve as a model for faculty seeking to expand their course offerings within the civil engineering program.