INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Syllabus

Credits: 5
Pre-requisites: None

Course Description:

This course will help the student to prepare for living in current and future society's mixture of
technology and mythology by presenting ideas and concepts about living systems and their
environments. Policy makers and citizens are urgently needed to be aware and have a
conscious understanding of ecological principles when exercising community responsibilities
to handle the environmental problems of our times, such as water use, solid waste
management, global warming, energy use, conservation of irreplaceable natural resources,
overpopulation, and the preservation of biodiversity. An understanding of biological and
ecological principles and their application towards environmental challenges should give the
student the confidence to be a trustworthy and active citizen, a conscientious steward of
nature, and an agent of change for making a healthy, sustainable community and society.
Regardless of the students' field of study, as a citizen of both local and global communities
some environmental issues will impact their lives.

Final Project:

An important component of this course is the final project. It is not enough to know about
current environment issues unless we also learn how to take action and do something about
them. The final project is meant to allow students a chance to apply their learning to a real-
world project they can implement in their homes, community or at work.

Required Textbook and Materials:

There is a main eBook textbook for this course, which is free to view online, and may be
downloaded in an ePUB or pdf file format. Links to the reading assignments can be found
within the relevant learning module in the course online.

Software Requirements/Installation

No special software is required.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes:

The course objectives are to enable you to:

• Construct college level writing and critical thinking analysis of current

environmental issues in all course work.
• Analyze the relationship between the individual, society, economy, culture and
environmental issues and identify ways to minimize impact on the environment.
• Understand the basic principles of matter and energy flows.
• Describe fundamental ecosystem and ecological principles.
• List the major sources of pollution and describe the effects on ecosystems and
human populations.
• Describe the goals of biodiversity conservation and nature preservation
programs.
 • Describe renewable vs. non-renewable energies or natural resources including
affects on climate change.
• Describe the principles of sustainable development and apply them to potential
solutions to current issues.

Course Schedule and Topics

This course will cover the following topics in eight learning sessions, one module per week.
The final exam will take place from Day 1- Day 4 of Module 9.

Unit 1: Science Foundations

Module 1 – Introduction to Environmental Science
Module 2 – Energy, Matter & Cycles
Module 3 – Ecosystems, Biomes & Species

Unit 2: Environmental Issues

Unit 2 Module 4 – Humans & the Biodiversity Crisis
Unit 2 Module 5 – Land Use, Natural Resources & Energy
Unit 2 Module 6 – Air Pollution & Climate Change
Unit 2 Module 7 – Water Use & Pollution

Unit 3: Solutions
Unit 3 Module 8 – Economics, Policy and Living Sustainably
Unit 3 Module 9 – Final Exam

Course Requirements

Assignments
There are three assignments due during the course in modules 2, 4, and 6,

Teacher Virtual Office (VO) Forum

This forum is where students can ask the professor questions about the course, and also
where the professor will post news, updates and course announcements. Check this forum
often.

Discussion Forum
There are Discussion Forum questions to be completed for each study unit in this course. In
each unit, you will be required to post your response to the question in the forum. In addition,
you must provide constructive commentary on at least three of your peers’ postings on at
least 3 days of the week.

Discussion Forums are only active for the relevant learning week and it is not possible to
contribute to a discussion forum once the learning week has come to an end. Failure to
participate in the Discussion Forums may result in failure of the course. No discussion forum
grades are dropped.

Learning Journal
The Learning Journal is a tool for self-reflection on the learning process. In addition to
completing directed tasks, you should use the Learning Journal to document your activities,
record questions, and discuss new vocabulary and concepts learned.

Quizzes
There are four quizzes on the course material, which count towards the student's final grade.
The first quiz is the course policy quiz, completed in module 1. The next three quizzes are on
the course content and the eBook readings. Questions take the form of multiple choice,
true/false, matching, and ordering.
Final Examination
The Final Examination takes place following the completion of all eight modules of work. It
consists of questions similar (but not the same) as the quizzes, covering the eBook chapters
and readings. The question formats will include: multiple choice, true/false, matching, and
ordering.

Policies

This course follows the following grading scale:

Grade Scale Grade Points

A+ 98-100 4.00
A 93-97 4.00
A- 90-92 3.67
B+ 88-89 3.33
B 83-87 3.0
B- 80-82 2.67
C+ 78-79 2.33
C 73-77 2.00
C- 70-72 1.67
D+ 68-69 1.33
D 63-67 1.00
D- 60-62 0.67
F Under 60 0.00

Grades will be based on a standard 100-point scale with the following values and ranges:

Grading Components and Weights

Learning Journal 10%
Assignments 20%
Discussion Forums 10%
Final Exam & Quizzes 60%

Academic Honesty and Integrity

When submitting your work, it is essential to reference all source material. Failure to properly
acknowledge your sources is known as ‘plagiarism’. This is effectively passing off an
individual’s words or ideas as your own. University of the People adheres to a strict policy of
academic honesty. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in sanctions by the
university, including dismissal from the university or course failure. Please review the Student
Handbook for more information on this topic.

Code of Conduct
Students should conduct themselves in a respectful, collaborative and honest manner at all
times. Harassment, threatening behavior, or deliberate embarrassment of others will not be
permitted. Any conduct that interferes with the quality of the educational experience is not
allowed and may result in disciplinary action.