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.

4175 resources

Escaping the Silos and Generating Collaborations: A Sustainable Faculty Development Program

  • Furman University (SC)

The Faculty Affiliates Program gives faculty from all departments on our campus opportunities to meet monthly during the academic year to share ideas, generate resources and foster interdisciplinary connections throughout ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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How to Create an Innovative and Interdisciplinary Sustainability Major

  • University of Virginia (VA)

This case study examines several innovative degree programs that create unusual disciplinary alliances with sustainability. Integrating sustainability across the curriculum is an important goal for AASHE members. While many universities ...

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The Sustainability Exchange at Washington University - Interdisciplinary Focus on Real World Issues

  • Hellmuth + Bicknese Architects (MO)

The Sustainability Exchange, founded in 2014 by Bill Lowry and Liz Kramer, brings together students from across the academic spectrum to focus on and seek solutions to real world issues ...

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From the 3Es to the SDGs: Updating Sustainability Frameworks Used as Educational Tools

  • Ramapo College of New Jersey (NJ)
  • Swarthmore College (PA)
  • Unity Environmental University (ME)

With the 2015 announcement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the multitude of research projects, policies, and frameworks of Sustainable ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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From Theory to Practice: Applied Community Projects in Environmental Capstone Courses

  • Earlham College (IN)

Over the past five years, Environmental Studies and Environmental Sustainability seniors at Earlham College have completed an 'integrated research project (IRP)' in collaboration with a community partner. The IRP is ...

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Service and Community Engaged Learning for Social and Environmental Justice

  • Champlain College (VT)
  • Southern Oregon University (OR)
  • University of Hawaii Kapiolani Community College (HI)
  • Villanova University (PA)

Service-Learning / Community Engaged Learning is a common practice in higher education and is increasingly found being paired with sustainability. This networking session will allow practitioners to share best practices, learn ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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AIM2Flourish: Transforming Management Education Through Positive Business Innovation Stories

  • Case Western Reserve University (OH)

The UN Global Goals are the 'World's Must-Do List' to end poverty, combat climate change, protect life on land, and ensure a livable future for all people. Many business ...

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STARS Reporting as an Undergraduate Educational Opportunity

  • University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)

The University of Illinois, a STARS Gold Campus, has a strong focus on expanding its campus sustainability efforts. Since our 2017 report, administrators have made an increased effort to align ...

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Leveraging the Campus Sustainability Committee: Zombie Committees vs Robust Change Agents

  • Cornell University (NY)
  • Duke University (NC)
  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)

What is the secret to successful sustainability committees? Is there a magic formula for long-term effectiveness or do the committees need to evolve over time? Once sustainability programs become more ...

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Go Green or Get Gone: Teachers College as a Case Study

  • Teachers College, Columbia University (NY)

What is the role of graduate schools of education in the face of local and global environmental challenges? This session explores this question by presenting the development process and implementation ...

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Preaching Beyond the Choir: How to Institutionalize Sustainability Into Organization-Wide Culture

  • Denison University (OH)

It is easy to get caught up in and become comfortable in a group that shares the same views. We know the people who have our back and who will ...

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Inducing Paradigm Shifts through Complementary Curricular and Co-curricular Program Engagement

  • College of Charleston (SC)

The Office of Sustainability (OoS) at the College of Charleston offers a unique work environment. Housed in Business Affairs & led by 2 Staff who also serve as College Faculty ...

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Integrating Social Equity: Texas A&M's 2018 Sustainability Master Plan

  • Texas A&M University (TX)
  • Ayers Saint Gross (MD)

Released in the Spring 2018 semester, Texas A&M's new Sustainability Master Plan has three primary objectives: to better integrate social equity objectives with environmental and economic efforts, to balance ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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What is a Residence Life Sustainability Plan?

  • Texas A&M University (TX)
  • Ayers Saint Gross (MD)

The Department of Residence Life at Texas A&M operates as an auxiliary enterprise to provide student housing to approximately 12,000 students annually. Concurrent to the University's update to ...

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A Framework for Sustainability Competencies for Your Campus

  • Pennsylvania State University (PA)
  • Stanford University (CA)

Last fall we published a study on competencies for sustainability, 'Developing a framework for sustainability meta-competencies,' based on interviews and focus groups with Penn State University employees serving in a ...

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Mapping the Pathway to STARS Platinum

  • University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
  • University of California, Davis (CA)
  • University of California, Merced (CA)

AASHE's Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) is the leading North American green/sustainable campus rating system developed by colleges and universities for colleges and universities. STARS provides ...

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AASHE STARS: Field Notes From New Adopters

  • Case Western Reserve University (OH)
  • University of Chicago (IL)
  • Gordian (SC)

The AASHE STARS program is invaluable. It provides higher education institutions a unified platform for assessing and reporting their contributions towards the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. However, obstacles ...

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Got Plans? Perspectives on Developing and Implementing Campus Sustainability Plans

  • East Carolina University (NC)
  • Emory University (GA)
  • Harvey Mudd College (CA)
  • Marquette University (WI)
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

Panelists and audience members will share diverse perspectives on and experiences with sustainability strategic planning. To serve a broad audience, our panelists (and, hopefully, audience members) represent the following perspectives ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Notre Dame's Success in Developing a Sustainability Strategy Aligned to SDGs and Its Mission

  • University of Notre Dame (IN)

In response to Pope Francis' 2015 encyclical Laudato si', the University of Notre Dame leadership championed a committee out of the Executive Vice President's office to take action. Using ...

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Leveraging the SDGs to Build a System-Wide Higher Education Sustainability Strategy

  • University at Albany (NY)
  • University at Buffalo (NY)
  • State University of New York at Geneseo (NY)

Sixty-Four schools, nearly half a million enrolled students, 33,000 faculty and 96,000 degrees granted annually--the higher education scope and impact of the State University of New York system ...

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How to Create Sustainable Solutions in Your Community

  • GreenLight Solutions Foundation (AZ)

Want to learn how to implement sustainability projects with local businesses in your community? Join GreenLight Solutions Foundation for an interactive brainstorming session to create a strategic framework for catalyzing ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Imposters, Insiders, and Collaborators: Bringing Outside Expertise to the World of Sustainability

  • Dickinson College (PA)
  • University of Florida (FL)
  • West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
  • University of California, Merced (CA)

Sustainability is often viewed as a field reserved for those with expertise gained through an academic background in Environmental Science, Ecology, Sustainability or similar areas, and individuals from outside of ...

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Abandoned Bikes on Campus: Redistribution and the Sustainable Development Goals

  • Eastern Mennonite University (VA)
  • Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA and Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in Harrisonburg, VA are presented with a number of bikes abandoned by students each year. As cycling gains ...

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Resiliency: A Platform for Institutional Change, Case Study Cal State University San Bernardino

  • California State University, San Bernardino (CA)

Historically, California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) has embraced sustainability through faculty curriculum, students initiatives, and facilities management retrofitting projects, however, sustainability efforts are not coordinated and transformational change is ...

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Institution Nitrogen Footprints in SIMAP: Updated Results and New Insights

  • University of New Hampshire (NH)
  • University of Virginia (VA)

Seven campuses that participated in the development of the nitrogen footprint tool (NFT) published findings from their initial nitrogen footprint calculations in the April 2017 special issue of Sustainability: The ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process to Perform a Materiality Study on the SDGs

  • Villanova University (PA)

To effectively 'ignite change' in regards to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a university must first determine which of them are applicable and material to the organization. This process ...

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Organizational Transitions and Continuity in a University Setting

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

Turnover is the cardinal issue that plagues collegiate organizations because of the ever changing minds of the student population as well as the traditional four year system of undergraduate education ...

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How to Overcome Challenges at Large, Urban Campuses

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)

This will provide a space for large urban campuses to discuss challenges and accomplishments of working on sustainability on Urban campuses. AASHE has lacked the spaces for these types of ...

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The Design Thinking Process: User-Centered Solutions to Complex and Confounding Problems

  • University of Denver (CO)

Coming out of Stanford's Institute of Design, the Design Thinking (DT) framework has taken the Architecture, and now the business world, by storm. However, this solution- and user-focused design ...

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How a Team of Student Ambassadors Can Amplify and Accelerate Wins for a Small Sustainability Staff

  • Case Western Reserve University (OH)

Facing the Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals of campus sustainability work with small offices can feel impossible; however, despite having a small staff, college and university sustainability offices can effect real ...

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Top Down and Bottom-Up: The Pitt Sustainability Planning Process

  • University of Pittsburgh (PA)
  • SmithGroup (MI)

In 2017 Pitt embarked on their first comprehensive sustainability plan which launched early this year. This session outlines the top-down approaches to connect with leadership and link this planning effort ...

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International Networking Meeting

  • Portland Community College (OR)
  • AASHE (PA)

Members of the international community who are attending the AASHE conference and those who are interested in international issues are invited to join in a networking meeting to share resources ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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How to Design an Annual Report People Actually Read

  • Pomona College (CA)
  • University of California, Berkeley (CA)
  • University of Tennessee at Knoxville (TN)

Have you struggled with keeping up with annual reporting for your sustainability program? Are you somebody who's on top of their annual reporting but feel like nobody reads your ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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ISSP Networking Session: Do You Have All It Takes to Be an Effective Sustainability Professional?

  • Auburn University (AL)
  • Colorado State University (CO)
  • Michigan State University (MI)
  • University of Richmond (VA)
  • International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) (OR)

Calling all active and aspiring sustainability professionals: come learn about the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) community and earning ISSP's sustainability credentials. Meet with ISSP members and hear ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Latin Flavor in AASHE: Contributions to Sustainability Offices

  • University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (TX)
  • Universidad EAN
  • Dallas College (TX)

In many institutions of higher education and universities around the world, there are offices that manage the issue of sustainability for years. AASHE is a multicultural space where many of ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Mainstreaming the Sustainable Development Goals: An Insiders' Account of change in a UK University

  • De Montfort University

Higher Education institutions have a crucial role to play in catalysing action to address the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The call to action that the Goals represent can ...

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Extending Sustainability Practices to Tenant Spaces: Green Leasing at Portland State University

  • Portland State University (OR)

Portland State University (PSU) is home to approximately 60 commercial tenants. Tenants range from food service and retail, to offices, banks, ATMs, and advertising. To encourage sustainability practices and behaviors ...

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How Do Sustainability and Resilience Work Together in Practice?

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
  • University of New Hampshire (NH)

Resilience and sustainability have had a confusing relationship over the past decade. While resilience has long been an important element of sustainability, for example going back to the work of ...

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Resilience Bootcamp - Turning Threats into Opportunities

  • Rochester Institute of Technology (NY)
  • St. Lawrence University (NY)
  • Second Nature (MA)

Resilience is a hot topic for those who work within the campus operational and built environment. But what does it really mean for a campus community and how does it ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Leading and Integrating Sustainability 2.0: A Discussion About Deep Organizational Change

  • University of Vermont (VT)

Many institutions are entering a 'Sustainability 2.0' phase, where offices have been established for up to ten years and topics such as recycling, composting, Eco-Reps, and active transportation plans ...

  • Posted Nov. 5, 2018
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Interactive and Captivating: How to Create a Successful Workshop

  • Texas A&M University (TX)

Texas A&M University has found the most effective way to communicate the importance of sustainability with our campus community is through interactive and engaging content. Our most successful approach has ...

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Smith College House Sustainability Challenge

  • Smith College (MA)

As part of Smith College's efforts to integrate environmentally sustainable practices into institutional operations and student life, a diverse group of campus stakeholders launched the House Sustainability Challenge in ...

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From Awareness to Action: Behavior Design for Campus Sustainability

  • Root Solutions (CA)

This workshop will provide participants with an overview of Root Solutions' proven human-centered design approach to environmental behavior change. You will learn how to strategically select which behavior(s) to ...

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Sustainability Perspectives: A Video Showcase

  • Princeton University (NJ)

This session will showcase a diverse collection of videos from institutions across the country, all with different production quality, intended audiences, content, theme, and impact. Start off your morning with ...

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Sustainability Student Engagement Through the use of Online Platforms

  • Colorado State University (CO)

This 30-minute presentation will cover two successful student engagement campaigns run at Colorado State University that primarily relies on custom online platforms. These engagement campaigns have been run for multiple ...

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Graduate Students Implement Sustainability During a Short Academic Window: Case Study Eden Hall

  • Chatham University (PA)

Eden Hall Campus at Chatham University was built to be a living learning lab for sustainable initiatives in the Falk School of Sustainability. Although the focus of the university is ...

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Bees as a Bridge From Local Experiential Learning to Collaborative Global Education

  • Champlain College (VT)

The Champlain College Apiary was established in 2013 in order to provide experiential learning opportunities for students and community members and to support the college's commitment to sustainability. This ...

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Is your staff engaged with your sustainability practices?

  • Carnegie Mellon University (PA)

At Carnegie Mellon University there are numerous sustainable practices on campus. Our presentation is to share the ways we engage the faculty, staff and students to raise awareness about green ...

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Involving the Greek Community in Sustainability

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
  • Washington State University, Pullman (WA)

Greek communities nationwide have large impacts on college campuses. Currently, close to one million undergraduate students are associated with Greek organizations. Influential and prominent, involving the greek community in sustainability ...

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Break out of a Social Media Slump: How to Create a Strategy, Build Community & Engage Your Audience

  • Agnes Scott College (GA)
  • University of Florida (FL)

By 2021, it's estimated that there will be more than 3 billion social media users around the world. If universities and colleges are going to be leaders in addressing ...

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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

EN 2: Student Orientation

EN 3: Student Life

EN 4: Student Life

EN 5: Student Life

EN 6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

EN 7: Employee Educators Program

EN 8: Employee Orientation

EN 9: Staff Professional Development & Training

Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.

Campus Engagement Partners