Sustainability for the modern campus: curriculum, governance and community impact through systemic change in higher education

Purpose This study aims to investigate how curriculum integration, institutional governance and campus–community partnerships jointly shape sustainable performance in higher education. It emphasizes how pedagogical and operational innovation mediate these relationships and how institutional and policy dynamics condition their strength and direction across contexts. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design grounded in a comprehensive conceptual literature review and six semi-structured stakeholder interviews was used to capture the dynamics of sustainability integration across curriculum, governance and community systems. The review synthesized 164 peer-reviewed studies from Scopus, Web of Science and policy databases, while interviews represented key campus and partnership roles. Data were coded inductively using the general inductive approach, supported by constant comparison and consensus validation to identify thematic patterns and develop a multilevel conceptual framework. Findings Results show that sustainability outcomes strengthen when curriculum, governance and partnership mechanisms are intentionally aligned and reinforced through innovation in teaching, operations and collaboration. Integrated dashboards, authentic projects and reciprocal partnerships generate feedback loops linking macro-level policy intent with micro-level learning and operational routines. Institutional coherence, data transparency and leadership commitment enable these effects to persist and scale over time. Practical implications The framework provides actionable guidance for university leaders, faculty and community partners to embed sustainability into curricula, operations and engagement, supporting systemic and verifiable transformation across the modern campus. Originality/value This study advances existing work by integrating affordance actualization theory and resource orchestration theory into a multilevel moderated–mediation framework for campus sustainability and by grounding this framework in a 164-article conceptual review and stakeholder interviews from a Global South institution.