Presented By: Laura Bowling, Pennsylvania State University
Co-Authors: Michael Mashtare, Pennsylvania State University

An interinstitutional capstone course at two land grant institutions for interdisciplinary environmental science-related majors was initiated in spring 2022. This course, run synchronously at both institutios, enabled students to collaborate and network with students outside of their home institution. Local community-focused service-learning projects (SLPs) provided students with hands-on, practical application of their foundational knowledge. Interinstitutional special topics (IST) presentations and discussions at both institutions (connected via Zoom) allowed students to delve into controversial issues within the realm of environmental science. End-of-semester anonymous surveys using a 7-point Likert scale and open-ended questions were used to assess student perceptions on course effectiveness. Means for Likert scale responses (MR) were calculated on a scale of zero (strongly disagree) to six (strongly agree) with MR >3 suggesting agreement and MR <3 suggesting disagreement. Responding students (n=36, 75%), aggregated across 2022 and 2023, reported that they enjoyed their SLP (89%, MR=5.11) and working in their groups (94%, MR=5.19); felt it created a sense of community (77%, MR=4.74); gained new skills/knowledge (97.2%, MR=5.22); were proud of their deliverable (97.2%, MR=5.22); felt their project would have continuing impact (86.2%, MR=4.69); and would continue to work on future SLPs because of the experience (88.9%, MR=4.92). Student responses regarding ISTs were similar, with students reporting they enjoyed their IST (91.7%, MR=5.06); gained new skills/knowledge (77.8%, MR=4.42); enjoyed working across institutions (66.7%, MR=3.97); improved networking skills (66.7%, MR=3.97); and were proud of their deliverable (91.7%, MR=4.92). Overall, students said the course environment was supportive (97.2%, MR=5.53) and fostered community (91.7%, MR=5.39). They enjoyed the interinstitutional component (69.4%, MR=3.89), felt it added value (66.7%, MR=4.17), and found the virtual workshop effective (100%, MR=5.39). Students also felt they were able to meet the course learning objectives (88-100%). The presentation will discuss these results, challenges, and lessons learned.