UMassOnline to Address Environmental Mandates
UMassOnline, the online learning division of the University of Massachusetts, has developed three new program offerings in Sustainable Entrepreneurship, Environmental Public Policy, and Green Building.
These programs were collaboratively developed by and are being offered through UMass Amherst Continuing & Professional Education and its University Without Walls (UWW) unit and UMass Dartmouth.
Sustainable Entrepreneurship, comprising a mix of online as well as blended learning courses, is a bachelor's degree completion program. Designed to teach adult learners the new art of sustainable entrepreneurship, the course will draw on holistic health, sustainable food and farming, geothermal energy conservation, and green building curriculum.
The Environmental Public Policy graduate certificate comprises two required and two elective courses, all of which are entirely online. The required courses are: Public Institutions and the Policy Process; and Environmental Policy. Electives include Environmental Consequences of Globalization, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, and Ocean Policy and Law. These courses, as well as five additional courses also offered by UMass Dartmouth in their Sustainability Undergraduate Certificate program, may be substituted for the blended learning programs, thereby enabling students anywhere in the world the option of pursuing a Sustainable Entrepreneurship degree completion program entirely online. The five additional courses in UMass Dartmouth's Sustainability Studies Undergraduate Certificate program are Quantitative Reasoning in the Environment, Principles of Sustainability, Environmental Policy, Special Topics and Readings in Sustainability, and Sustainable Living.
A third set of courses slated for fall semester are the Green Building Professional Development Series, developed as part of the Building Materials and Wood Technology program in the Department of Natural Resources Conservation in the College of Natural Resources and the Environment on the UMass Amherst campus. This program is designed for architects, engineers, builders, and building officials who wish to enhance their knowledge of sustainable building methods and materials; for design and construction professionals who desire a deeper understanding of the environmental impact of construction and ways to mitigate it; for real estate professionals seeking a program that provides practical training; and for Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) AP professionals looking for a program that will compliment their credentials.
Courses offered in this program include Sustainable Building and LEED Certification, Energy Efficient Housing, The Built Environment, Green Building and Indoor Environmental Quality, and Sustainable Sites for Green Building.
Complete program details can be viewed here.