This article describes the collection of views from political science alumni via a web-based survey as a central part of efforts to review and improve the curriculum and the broader political science program at a public university. Based on the literature and on interviews with faculty members and former students, we iteratively constructed a questionnaire containing five categories of items: program structure, content/knowledge, skills, outcomes, and learning environment. These categories were intended to capture curricular elements and outcomes that include but extend beyond employment and professional-skill attainment. Graduate students contributed in meaningful ways to the effort through a research-methods course. The article discusses how results of the survey fed into the curriculum-revision process specifically and program review and assessment considerations more generally.

To date, more than 650 university presidents across the United States have become signatories of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC). A central goal of being a signatory is for a campus to achieve carbon neutrality. This article suggests that bringing the practice of experiential learning to the college classroom is a mechanism to help students understand and become involved in campus carbon-neutrality efforts. More specifically, it discusses the practical realities of using an undergraduate environmental-policy course to create policy proposals for our campus’s 2020 carbon-neutrality goal. The findings support a growing body of literature that demonstrates the value of experiential learning by enabling students to move from theory to practice.