Course Syllabus

Fall 2026 | ENV-1010-VO02 - Introduction to Environmental Science

Online Class

Online courses take place 100% online via Canvas, without required in-person or Zoom meetings.

Faculty

Laura DesJardins
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jen Guarino

General Education Requirements

Natural Science

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

This course is a multidisciplinary study of the interrelationship between living things and their environment. The fundamentals of biology, chemistry, geology, and energy flow are studied so that current environmental issues can be understood and discussed from a scientific perspective. Emphasis is placed on maintaining and restoring sustainable ecosystems.

Essential Objectives

1. Identify concepts of ecology as they relate to environmental issues.
2. Summarize the foundations of nutrient cycling and energy flow as they relate to the movement of matter and energy within ecosystems.
3. Analyze the impacts of population changes on ecosystems, including issues of human population growth.
4. Identify the role of atmospheric thermodynamics and chemistry as they relate to the biosphere.
5. Analyze the causes and effects of major ecological issues and outline strategies to restore ecosystem balance.
6. Compare and contrast methods, impacts, and sustainability of traditional and alternative energy.
7. Discuss the history behind the creation of public lands in the United States and how scientific discoveries influenced the laws and policies behind the modern environmental movement.
8. Analyze the influence of science, economics, ethics, and culture on environmental management and social justice issues.
9. Evaluate environmental issues and solutions, including emerging technologies, from global, national, local, and personal perspectives. 
10. Explore educational, career, and professional options in the field of environmental science through assignments such as informational interviews, job shadows, or other career-exploration activities.
11. Demonstrate proficiency in understanding, interpreting, applying, and evaluating the accuracy of data and information sources.
12. Explain how knowledge created in the natural sciences has contributed to the creation, maintenance, and dismantling of social inequalities and discuss the impacts of diversity and inclusion on scientific research and practice.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Allowed: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges technology, including generative AI, plays a supportive role in learning and feedback. During our class, we may use AI writing tools such as ChatGPT in certain specific cases. You will be informed as to when, where, and how these tools are permitted to be used, along with guidance for attribution. Any use outside of these specific cases constitutes a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

All written work (homework and final project) must be submitted through OneDrive.

AI is only permitted when explicitly required as part of an assignment. Students are not permitted ot use AI for assignments where it is not indicated.

Methods

A Typical Week in this Class

Each week I will post a Weekly Overview that lays out the objectives, assignments, resources, and expectations for the week. I will also include any "upcoming important dates" to be aware of. Students should begin each week by reading the Weekly Overview. In general, each week you should expect to do the following:

• Read the assigned passages in the online text..

• Read articles, watch videos, or use interactive modules posted to the Weekly Overview.

• Participate in the class discussion (please read discussion rubric carefully).

• Answer homework questions.

• Take a quiz (every other week).

Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria

Discussions 25%

Homework 25%

Quizzes 25%

Final Project 25%

Discussion Participation

Each week students are assessed on their participation in the discussion forum. These discussion forums are where you demonstrate your learning and represent 25% of the overall grade. Posts should be thoughtfully composed, reference the resources for the week, cite as needed, include a bibliography, and be carefully proofread. The first week I will complete a rubric for each student and provide specific feedback regarding progress. After the first week I will only enter these grades (with minimal written feedback) in the Canvas gradebook. As with anything, please contact me if you have questions or concerns regarding your progress. Please see the Discussion Rubric to see how students will be assessed.

Homework

Every week there will be homework questions. These may reference any of the resources assigned for the week.

Work Submission Requirements:The college regulates the software that instructors are permitted to to accept assignments in. Beginning this term, only assigments completed in Microsoft OneDrive, the software that supported by the school, may be submitted. Also, for computer security reasons, I only accept assignments that are submitted via URL and hosted in the cloud;I will not download student work to my device.Therefore, you may not upload files to submit, you will need to host your assignment on the cloud and submit the URL.The school prohibits instructors from accepting assignments that are hosted on Google Drive or other similar servers. If you have questions about this, please reach out to the tech department.

Quizzes

Every other week there will be a quiz over the last two modules. These quizzes are open book, notes, and class resource and are housed either in Canvas or Google Forms. All typed responses (essay questions) should be typed directly into the quiz response box. The use of generative AI on these is prohibited and students will not be given credit for responses that are not their work.

Final Project

During the last week of the course students will complete a final project. There will several project checkpoints (during non-quiz weeks) and the whole thing will be scaffolded well enough so that students can build ideas, get feedback, and try out the technology before the final week. Students will have all of week 15 to fine tune the project.

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

	High	Low
A+	100	98
A	Less than 98	93
A-	Less than 93	90
B+	Less than 90	88
B	Less than 88	83
B-	Less than 83	80
C+	Less than 80	78
C	Less than 78	73
C-	Less than 73	70
D+	Less than 70	68
D	Less than 68	63
D-	Less than 63	60
F	Less than 60
P	100	60
NP	Less than 60	0

Weekly Schedule

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

• In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
• Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
• Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Attendance Policy

Attendance will be recorded every Tuesday morning and will be based on participation during the prior week. Students will be marked present based on participation in one or more assignments that week.

Communicating with the Instructor

I check my email (lbd01100@ccv.vsc.edu) most days. Messages sent through Canvas Inbox sometimes forward to my email, but not reliably andI do not check Canvas Inbox with any regularity. I do not recommend communicating with me through Canvas Inbox. If you need to reach me, send me a direct email at lbd01100@ccv.vsc.edu.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Discussion deadlines are outlined in the Discussion Rubric.

Homework submitted past the due date will be reduced by 10% for each day it is late. However, there are no definitive grace periods around late homework; once I grade that homework and a 0 is entered, you may no longer submit the assignment.

Late quizzes will not be accepted without prior, written permission from the instructor and only in extenuating circumstances. In the event that you are granted an extension, know that this will only be done once for you during the term. If you find yourself experiencing life events that prevent your success in the course and requesting multiple extensions, I will refer you to your adviser to discuss your options for the term.

No late final projects will be accepted.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/student-support/accessibility-services/
2. Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
3. Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

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