Campus Engagement
Introduction
Engaging in sustainability issues through co-curricular activities allows students to deepen and apply their understandings of sustainability principles. Institution-sponsored co-curricular sustainability offerings, often coordinated by student affairs offices, help integrate sustainability into the campus culture and set a positive tone for the institution. Faculty and staff members’ daily decisions impact an institution’s sustainability performance. Equipping faculty and staff with the tools, knowledge, and motivation to adopt behavior changes that promote sustainability is an essential activity of a sustainable campus.
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Project-based Education Approaches to Help Communities Meet Global Sustainability Challenges
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA)
The needs and challenges in assuring a sustainable society are now greater than ever. The challenges range from water pollution and lack of potable drinking water, to solid waste management …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Grassroots to Green Energy: How Five Students Brought Five Acres of Solar to UW-Platteville.
- University of Wisconsin-Platteville (WI)
- McKinstry (WA)
While hundreds of United States colleges and universities have signed the Presidents' Climate Leadership Commitments, HOW to actually start and land renewable energy projects within the complex, frequently cash-strapped world …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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A Campus Sustainability Map Organized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
"Designing a map is not a trivial task." (1) This session discusses the purpose, process, and outcomes of developing a campus sustainability map. However, as we will demonstrate, while designing …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Change Management Campfire Stories: Telling Stories About Our Stumbles and What We Learned
- Georgetown University (DC)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
- Stanford University (CA)
- University of California, Office of the President (CA)
This session will provide a virtual campfire story swap where long-time campus sustainability professionals will talk about their stumbles, unexpected outcomes, how they felt, and what they learned. The saying …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Advocacy for Justice: Classrooms, Colleagues and Community
- Catawba College (NC)
This session will provide an opportunity for an in-depth and perceptive discussion surrounding the intersections of justice across the varied social landscapes within Higher Education. Connected to this is an …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Climate Action Simulation (With en-Roads): A Group Role-Playing Game
- University of Massachusetts Lowell (MA)
- University of Minnesota System Office (MN)
In a lightning fast and immersive method that the presenters have perfected in numerous online trainings, participants will learn how to facilitate a group role-playing simulation (which functions as a …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Conducting a Voluntary University Review to Engage a Campus With the Sustainable Development Goals
- University of California, Davis (CA)
In this presentation, UC Davis Sustainability staff will share how we leverage our sustainability performance assessment as an engagement tool, and we will specifically focus on the process we used …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Herbicide Free Campus: Re-Engaging Students With Their Environment
- Re:wild Your Campus (TX)
Herbicide-Free Campus (HFC) envisions a toxin-free world created by student action. Founded by students, HFC empowers youth leaders to re-engage their campuses with creative outdoor work to end campus reliance …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Immersion & Collaboration: Engaging Students, Staff, and Faculty in Sustainability Reporting
- Ball State University (IN)
For more than a decade, student teams from Ball State University have applied the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) principles and standards to document the operational management approach and annual sustainability …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Move Out Programs: Finding the Solution for Your Campus
- Post-Landfill Action Network (NH)
Every year when students move out of their dorms and apartments, tons of useful stuff is left behind or discarded. Over the past decade or so, campuses all across the …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The Sustainability Mindset Indicator
- oikos International
- FOM University of Applied Sciences for Economics and Management
It has become clear that change is urgent in order to halt the many impacts humans have on our planet. Research has shown that if we want to promote engagement …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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A Beginner's Guide to Developing a Comprehensive Communication Strategy
- Lehigh University (PA)
As sustainability professionals, we tend to wear many hats. This session is designed for those who are new to communications and unsure of where to begin developing a communications plan …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Approaches to Teaching Sustainability-Key Competencies
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
- University of Dayton (OH)
- University of Hawaii System Office (HI)
- Sustainability Curriculum Consortium (MD)
As courses and programs in sustainability continue to expand in higher education, instructors are called on to develop and adapt new and innovative approaches to teaching that enable students to …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Engaging with Community Partners to Advance Sustainability Learning -- A New Affinity Group
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
Integrating Service-Learning/Community Engagement (SLCE) into Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) offers opportunities to enhance student learning outcomes and competencies across diverse disciplines. Research has demonstrated that service-learning can deepen knowledge …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Sustainable Living and Collaborative Learning on Pitt's Campus
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
In the Fall of 2022, the University of Pittsburgh will launch it's first Sustainability Living Learning Community for both upperclassmen and freshmen. Living Learning Communities (LLCs) are specialized living environments …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Moving from 'Sustaina-splaining' to Inclusion
- California State University, San Marcos (CA)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)
This presentation will highlight the work of several professionals (2 sustainability officers, 1 diversity, equity and inclusion practitioner and 1 campus center director) at two California universities. We will will …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Leadership & Sustainability in Action: A Practitioner's Case for Integrated Teaching
- Florida State University (FL)
- Harvard University (MA)
At colleges and universities all over the United States, instructors of leadership courses argue that they teach students about equitable, healthy leadership and prepare the next generation of leaders to …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Sustainability & Environmental Career Exploration Series
- Tulane University (LA)
This presentation will share a new approach to career exploration developed for the spring of 2021 by the Tulane Office of Sustainability. The series brought together a number of existing …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Reducing Campus Waste: Ten Years of a Campus FreeStore
- Bemidji State University (MN)
Mother earth is crying out for help, and we are the only ones that have the power to do make things better; for this reason the Sustainability office at Bemidji …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The Future Is Interdisciplinary: A Campus Farm Model
- Grand Valley State University (MI)
This presentation will focus on the GVSU Sustainable Agriculture Project, an interdisciplinary, four-acre, student operated farm. The mission of the SAP is to seed sustainable agriculture best practices, cultivate leadership …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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20 Paths to a Living Wage Policy: Is Fair Employment in Your Institution's Future?
- Saint Joseph's University (PA)
Raising the federal minimum wage has been discussed by the Biden administration and a living wage is receiving increased attention by public, media, employers, and employees. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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How Earth Month Strengthens Student Engagement & Campus-Community Ties
- San Jose State University (CA)
In this session, our inter-departmental campus team will share SJSU's unique Earth Day history and tell the story of how we organized a unique Earth Month series of workshops and …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Integrating Wellness and Diversity Into the Sustainability Model
- Augsburg University (MN)
- Bemidji State University (MN)
- St. Catherine University (MN)
The Bemidji State University (BSU) Sustainability Office realized in 2008 that the work they felt called to do required a different visual representation than the typical Venn diagram that includes …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Integrating Sustainability Literacy Competencies Into Teacher Preparation Programs
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (WI)
Education for sustainability is critical in preparing future generations with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary to address the sustainability problems that challenge the health and stability of our world. …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Let Your Actions Speak: How to Connect Individual Change to Systems Change
- EcoChallenge.org (OR)
To create and enact the solutions necessary for a sustainable future, we need our students - regardless of major - to develop both a sense of and a skill set …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Connecting Your Campus Across Intersections of Climate, Race, and Internationalization
- The GREEN Program (PA)
- Climate Action Network for International Educators (CANIE) (Victoria)
Environmental justice is racial justice. Sustainability necessitates addressing racism. Higher education must play its part to proactively strategize and foster interdepartmental collaboration to address environmental justice at our campus and …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Utilizing Sustainability Literacy and Culture Assessments for Student Research and Advocacy
- Christopher Newport University (VA)
This session highlights the successes of a unique collaboration between undergraduate student researchers, faculty, and sustainability staff. The group developed their university's first sustainability literacy and culture assessment (SLCA) and …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The Future of Life on Earth: A Case for Academia’s Role in Advancing Conservation and Biodiversity to Address Climate and Human Health
- Harvard University (MA)
- Stanford University (CA)
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
- Lincoln Institute of Land Policy (MA)
In a January 2021 executive order addressing the climate crisis, President Joe Biden committed the U.S. to an ambitious conservation goal: to protect 30 percent of U.S. land and coastal …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Maintaining a Campus Bike Share Program for the Long Term
- Bemidji State University (MN)
Located in Northern Minnesota, Bemidji State University (BSU) operates within a dispersed, rural, and diverse community. Following a three-year pilot program in which Nice Ride attempted to establish a self-sustaining …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Tracking Behavioral Activities to Reduce Waste Generation
- University of Illinois, Springfield (IL)
This study collects primary data from students enrolled in the Introduction to Environmental Health course. This study is a multi-year repeated cross-sectional study where the instructor will collect data each …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Sustainability Micro-credentials for Higher Education Employees
- Southern New Hampshire University (NH)
Micro-credentials have become an important part of learning for adults and workers who need to acquire specific job-related skills (Gibson et al., 2015). Defined as "a visual representation of your …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Studying Plug Load Savings from Idle Devices in Unoccupied Buildings during the Pandemic
- Stanford University (CA)
During the pandemic, some unoccupied buildings at Stanford were reaping less electricity savings than expected. In these particular buildings, heating and cooling had been turned off, and all occupants were …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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How the Free Store Can Change the Face of Sustainability
- University of Southern Maine (ME)
The Office of Sustainability at USM has a group called the Eco-rep. The USM Eco-reps have gone on to create the Free Store, which collects donations to give out to …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Athletics, Activism & Action: Partnering to Creatively Communicate Sustainability
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Communication can be difficult on a Campus. Utilizing partnerships on campus, UK Recycling, Sustainability and Energy Research created a new way to engage campus - WholeSum- a blog that encourages …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Food Waste and Food Insecurity: A Multidimensional Approach With Three Pillars of Sustainability
- University of Kentucky (KY)
Food insecurity, a growing concern due to unsustainable and unjust food systems, has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic whereas food waste issues remained prevalent. The pandemic has disproportionately affected …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Student Involvement in Supporting the Carbon Commitment at UNC Asheville
- University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)
This session will explain steps to take toward climate action on a university campus. In a UNC Asheville course entitled "Communicating Climate Change," a group of students led an initiative …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Sustainability Advisory Council - Lessons Learned in Setting a Sustainability Strategy
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
The UW-Madison Sustainability Advisory Council (SAC) convened in the fall of 2020 in order to leverage the results of the University's first STARS report to develop strategic sustainability recommendations to …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Towards Sustainability Maturity: A Local-to-Global Approach at a Learning Community
- Bucknell University (PA)
An innovative simultaneous planning/implementation process for sustainability maturity/resiliency has been deployed. Sustainability is the ability of a community to endure and remain resilient socially, technologically and environmentally. At the most …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Collaborative Back-casting Game for Audacious Sustainability Visions
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (WI)
Several sustainability researchers that collaborate with cities have proposed a visioning game to connect audacious goals with action-oriented strategies (Reutter, 2018; Withycombe Keeler, Beaudoin, Lerner, John, Beecroft, Tamm, Wiek, Lang, …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Pedagogies for Cultivating Critical Consciousness: Engaging With Social Justice and Sustainability
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The challenge to support students in higher education to navigate complex issues related to not only sustainability but racial equity and social justice has become increasingly dynamic yet essential. Cultivating …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Campuses Launch Innovative and Creative Waste Minimization Practices in Response to Pandemic
- George Mason University (VA)
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift toward sustainable economic practices, colleges and universities across North America have become great sources for innovation that can inspire both long-term …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The Future is Collaborative: Outcomes From a Network of Sustainability Professionals in Virginia
- James Madison University (VA)
- Radford University (VA)
With an average of just 1.5 - 2.1 paid non-student sustainability staff positions at institutions of higher education, access to a broader network of sustainability professionals with common goals and …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Sustainability on Tap! Experience a Silo-Busting Student Engagement Event
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
Busting through academic silos can be tough. Enter - Sustainability on Tap! For the past 4 years, this University of Texas at Austin event has brought together graduate students from …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Finding Intersectional Solutions to Environmental Sustainability & Social Justice
- Augsburg University (MN)
During the summer of 2021 and continuing into the 2021-2022 school year, Nyasa is conducting research with Monica McDaniel, the Sustainability Officer at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to identify …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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The Future is Co-Created: EfS Through Relationship Building in the Delaware Valley
- University of Pennsylvania (PA)
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
- PHENND (PA)
This session will introduce the new PHENND Sustainability network. Starting as a community of practitioners interested in finding partners for real-world Education for Sustainability (EfS), PHENND Sustainability has grown into …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Building the Future We Desire: Crossing Boundaries & Challenging Historical Ideas of Sustainability
- University of Minnesota, Crookston (MN)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
The Student Engagement Leadership Forum on Sustainability (SELFsustain) is a five-campus collaborative retreat that rotates between campuses. In April 2021, UM-Crookston hosted a provocative online series on indigenous identity, community …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Creating Sustainable Curriculum Processes for a Sustainability Outcome
- Fleming College (ON)
In 2018, Ontario Colleges Quality Assurance Services (OCQAS) conducted an institutional level quality audit of Fleming College, Ontario, Canada. This audit involved a comprehensive review of the College's quality assurance …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Transformative Sustainability Learning: An Affective Photovoice Lens
- Texas A&M University-Commerce (TX)
- University of Wisconsin-Platteville (WI)
This presentation shares the results of a doctoral dissertation in an educational sustainability program. The purpose was to understand the learning experiences and the role of affect for students in …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Resiliency Planning Through Relationship Building and Appreciative Inquiry
- Bemidji State University (MN)
Located in Northern Minnesota, Bemidji State University (BSU) operates within a dispersed, rural, and diverse community. Bemidji State staff and faculty will be joined by planning consultant Precipitate and a …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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Assessing Campus Sustainability Literacy and Culture: How Are Universities Doing It and To What End?
- George Mason University (VA)
Assessing student, staff, and faculty sustainability literacy and culture poses a challenge to many higher education institutions (HEI). The assessments are essential for providing an understanding of campus sustainability knowledge, …
- Posted Jan. 21, 2022
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
EN 1: Student Educators Program
- Percent of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program
- Description of the student educators program (1st program)
- Description of the student educators program (2nd program)
- Brief description of the student educators program (3rd program)
- Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per students served
- Website URL - Student sustainability educators programs
EN 2: Student Orientation
- Percent of entering students that have an opportunity to participate in sustainability-inclusive orientation activities and programming
- Description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation
- Website URL - Information about sustainability in student orientation
EN 3: Student Life
- Description of the active student groups focused on sustainability
- Description of student gardens, farms, CSAs, fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects
- Description of the student-run enterprises
- Description of student sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives
- Description of sustainability-focused conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events for students
- Description of sustainability-focused cultural arts events, installations, or performances
- Description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles
- Description of sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences
- Description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills
- Description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution
- Description of graduation pledge(s)
- Description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives
EN 4: Student Life
- Website URL - Central sustainability website
- Description of sustainability newsletter or social media platform(s)
- Description of the signage that highlights campus sustainability features
- Description of the sustainability walking map or tour
- Description of the guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience
- Description of other comprehensive sustainability outreach materials and publications
EN 5: Student Life
- Description of the first sustainability outreach campaign
- Description of the second sustainability outreach campaign
- Description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns
EN 6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
- Description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted
- Copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture (upload)
- Copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture (description)
- Website URL - Assessment of sustainability culture
EN 7: Employee Educators Program
- Percent of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program
- Description of the employee educators program (1st program)
- Description of the employee educators program (2nd program)
- Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employees served
- Website URL - Employee sustainability educators programs
EN 8: Employee Orientation
- Percent of new employees that have an opportunity to participate in sustainability-inclusive orientation activities and programming
- Description of how sustainability is included prominently in new employee orientation
- Website URL - Information about sustainability in employee orientation
EN 9: Staff Professional Development & Training
- Estimated percentage of regular, non-academic staff that participates annually in sustainability professional development and training
- Description of any internal sustainability professional development and training opportunities
- Description of any external professional development and training opportunities in sustainability that are supported by the institution
- Estimated percentage of staff for which sustainability is included in performance reviews
- Description of how sustainability is included in staff performance reviews
- Website URL - Information about staff professional development and training in sustainability
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.