Certificate of Proficiency | 23 credits

Program Division: Biology Department
Program Location:  Taylorsville-Redwood Road, SI341
General Information: 801-957-7522
Program Information: 801-957-4922, 801-957-4923
Program Website:  www.slcc.edu/biology
Academic Advisor:  SI209,  801-957-4858,
Academic and Career Advising

Program Faculty:
Associate Professors: Adam Dastrup MS, Mary Jane Keleher, PhD.
Assistant Professors: Kristen Taylor PhD, Chris Johnson P.G.
Instructors: Jessica Berryman MS, Maura Hahnenberger MS

Program Description:
Sustainability is an awareness of the connectivity of the world and implications of human actions.  It is finding solutions through innovative approaches and expanding further options by practicing environmental stewardship.  Sustainable practices allow individuals, communities, and companies to constructively and creatively respond to external events, and to mitigate the risks of their own behavior.  These practices take into account the interconnectedness of the economy, society, and the environment.  Salt Lake Community College is concerned with the growing interest in and need for curriculum focusing on various aspects of sustainability.  The College already has responded to this need by recognizing that two distinct populations might have an interest in the area of sustainability:  working adults who need training to meet the growing demand for green building, energy management, and related fields, and transfer students who want to acquire expertise in this area. This Certificate establishes a cohesive program of study related to these issues for those who have either an interest in these topics or are looking toward a career in these areas. The purpose of this Certificate will be to train students to meet increasingly complex intellectual and real-world sustainability challenges of the 21st Century.

Certificate Objectives

• Advance student and community understanding and discourse on issues of environmental science and sustainability and the interrelationships of the economy, environment, and human well-being.
• Offer students the opportunity to enhance their potential degree programs and/or to provide job opportunities by focusing their study on issues of environmental science and sustainability.
• Encourage students to research, evaluate, analyze and communicate issues associated with the environment and sustainability through various media and genre.
• Offer students a quality academic program that has the potential to effect positive change at local, regional and global levels.
• Encourage student participation and practice in leadership and service within the wider SLCC community, providing for a more sustainable campus and an opportunity for all SLCC students to develop a basic familiarity with leading environmental and sustainability concepts and issues.

Transfer/Articulation Information: Students are encouraged to work with their advisors and departments in order to select courses that will articulate into degree programs at SLCC or transfer readily to other schools.

Estimated Time to Completion:  Two semesters if below sample schedule is followed.