Course Syllabus

Spring 2024 | ENV-1010-VU01 - Introduction to Environmental Science

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Faculty

Fred Kosnitsky
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Jennifer Guarino

General Education Requirements

VSCS 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 the major pollution issues (including but not limited to: climate change, ocean acidification, eutrophication, acid rain, ozone depletion) and outline strategies to restore ecological 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 from a global, national, local and personal perspective.
10. Research and establish educational, career, and professional goals related to the field of environmental science.
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 IT Support page. https://support.ccv.edu/general/computer-recommendations/

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 uses one or more textbooks/books/simulations, along with free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials.

Spring 2024 textbook/book details will be available on 2023-11-06. On that date a link will be available below that will take you to eCampus, CCV's bookstore. The information provided there will be specific to this class. Please see this page for more information regarding the purchase of textbooks/books.

ENV-1010-VU01 Link to Textbooks for this course in eCampus.

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

The last day to use a Financial Aid Advance to purchase textbooks/books is the 3rd Tuesday of the semester. See your financial aid counselor at your academic center if you have any questions.

Methods

Welcome to ENV 1010 - Introduction to Environmental Science. In this course we will be using our text, Environmental Science 16th Edition by Miller and Spoolman, as the backbone for our course content.

In addition to weekly readings in the text we will have assigned short supplemental readings and assigned short videos to supplement and reinforce the key concepts for each weekly Module.

There will be a weekly writing assignment or class discussion (a written post and comments to classmates) each week.

Each student will choose a topic (approved by the instructor) to research and submit an 8 - 10 page paper by the end of the semester.

Evaluation Criteria

Students will be evaluated based on the quality of their submitted assignments, discussion posts, and final research paper. My grading is admittedly somewhat subjective - I try to give credit for effort and for your ability to show understanding of the concepts of the course while offering honest critiques of both your strengths and weaknesses.

Weekly written assignments and Discussions will count for 80% of your grade, and the final research paper will count for 20% of your grade. Students are expected to be active participants in our in-class work and discussions.

Work in the A range shows excellent understanding of the material and very high quality research and writing skills.

Work in the B range will show good levels of understanding and good writing and research.

Work in the C range is acceptable but needs strengthening of understanding key concepts and/or significant improvement of writing and research skills.

Work in the D range shows serious weaknesses in the ability to understand our material and/or convey your understanding through your assignments.

Work that is consistently missing or showing little effort to meet the requirements will result in an F.

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

Students are expected to be active participants in all class activities and discussions

Missing & Late Work Policy

Students are expected to attend all classes unless excused for a good reason and to do all assigned work. If work is turned in late without being excused there is a 10% penalty for lateness within the first week and 20% off thereafter.

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

1. Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
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