2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

As sustainable design continues to gain prominence in the construction industry, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) has emerged as the globally recognized standard for evaluating building sustainability, influencing practices in over 180 countries and regions. In the post-pandemic era, there has been a growing emphasis on human-centered design principles and post-occupancy evaluations. Greater attention is now being paid to occupant satisfaction with their living environment, including factors such as air quality, comfort, lighting, noise levels, energy consumption, and economic costs. This case study serves as a preliminary investigation into how East Carolina University's (ECU) Green Building Program aligns with these evolving trends and provides insights on how to integrate new content into the curriculum without significantly altering its current structure.

The study will begin by conducting a detailed analysis of ECU’s current green building curriculum, assessing its content coverage, allocation of course hours, and available instructional time. This analysis aims to understand the curriculum's capacity to accommodate emerging topics related to occupant satisfaction and sustainable design post-pandemic. Following this, we will collect and evaluate the time, cost, and accessibility of various methods for introducing this new content into the curriculum, including lectures, guest speaker engagements, site visits to technology centers and factories, and group projects.

Based on this analysis, the case study will propose a comprehensive improvement strategy for ECU’s Green Building Program. The proposed plan is designed to enhance the curriculum by incorporating these emerging trends while maintaining the program’s core structure. The revised curriculum is expected to be piloted in the Fall 2025 semester. Although this case study focuses specifically on ECU’s green building program, it is anticipated that the proposed strategies and insights will offer valuable guidance for other green building programs as well. Ultimately, this research seeks to prepare students for the evolving demands of the sustainable construction industry, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the new green building landscape.