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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Tapping campus maple trees
- Babson College (MA)
Students, faculty, and staff working together to tap campus maple trees to make maple syrup.
- Posted Sept. 9, 2016
- Photographs
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Tour of Residence Hall Rooftop Solar
- Babson College (MA)
Sustainability Office staff and interns touring new rooftop solar thermal system.
- Posted Sept. 9, 2016
- Photographs
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Parkerson Mill Creek restoration after one growing season
- Auburn University (AL)
This is Parkerson Mill Creek one growing season after completion of the stream restoration project.
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Photographs
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Spartan Treasure Hunt
- Michigan State University (MI)
In these photos, Michigan State University facilities employees observe equipment while participating in a Spartan Treasure Hunt.
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Photographs
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Student Beekeepers: Almost as Busy as Bees
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
This photograph was taken on April 22 (Earth Day!), 2016. It shows members of the Beekeeping Club at Colorado Mountain College in Steamboat Springs tending their bees and teaching students …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Photographs
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A Mixed Methods Assessment of the Development, Use, and Educational Effectiveness of University Campus Sustainability Tours
- Western Kentucky University (KY)
Campus sustainability tours are available at dozens of colleges and universities across the United States. These tours are considered a vital tool in interpreting the environmental and sustainable aspects of …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Publications
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Rebranding the WKU Office of Sustainability
- Western Kentucky University (KY)
Since its inception in 2008, the WKU Office of Sustainability has struggled with general program and initiative awareness as well as student engagement in university sponsored sustainability activities. Attempts to …
- Posted Sept. 6, 2016
- Publications
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Furman's CCC weatherizes it's 100th home
- Furman University (SC)
The Community Conservation Corps (CCC), coordinated by Furman's David E. Shi Center for Sustainability, partners with a local utility company and Habitat for Humanity to provide needed home weatherization services …
- Posted Sept. 1, 2016
- Photographs
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Sustainability teaching in higher education institutions of Kazakhstan
Sustainability teaching is challenging due to problems of the economic development, as well as of overcoming a post-communist mentality in countries with economies in transition. This is particularly relevant for …
- Posted Aug. 29, 2016
- Publications
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University of Manitoba BEE / HOUSE / LAB Open International Design Competition
- University of Manitoba (MB)
BEE / HOUSE / LAB is an international design competition hosted by the University of Manitoba and open to students and designers in the field of environmental design, architecture, landscape …
- Posted Aug. 25, 2016
- Photographs
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Nursing students’ attitudes towards sustainability and health care
- University of Plymouth (Devon)
Aim
To evaluate attitudes towards embedding sustainability and climate change in nursing curricula among nursing students, some of whom had participated in a sustainability and health skills session, and determine …
- Posted Aug. 24, 2016
- Publications
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Making Sustainable Behaviors the Norm at the University of Minnesota Duluth
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
Interviews with undergraduate students were conducted as part of a follow-up to a survey soliciting information about student engagement in sustainability at a small upper Great Lakes public university. The …
- Posted Aug. 24, 2016
- Publications
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Bitten by the Green Design Bug
According to U.S. News & World Report, "sustainability sensibility is sweeping through and transforming the curricula in America's colleges of engineering, as more educators emphasize the importance of designs …
- Posted Aug. 24, 2016
- Publications
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College hopefuls look for green universities
- USA TODAY (VA)
USA Today reports that "the nation's college-bound students are increasingly looking for green - and no, that doesn't mean just money."
- Posted Aug. 23, 2016
- Publications
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Do students really choose colleges based on how green they are?
A Princeton Review survey finds that incoming freshmen would weigh information about environmental issues into their college decisions, but average students say it’s not on their radar
- Posted Aug. 23, 2016
- Publications
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Framing Sustainability for the Free, Frugal, and Fit & Fabulous
- Utah State University (UT)
Selling Utah State University students on a new ‘Blue Goes Green’ fee to fund sustainability projects on campus has involved connecting sustainability with the students’ desires for freedom, saving money, …
- Posted Aug. 23, 2016
- Publications
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Integrating geoscience into undergraduate education about environment, society, and sustainability using place-based learning: three examples
- Metropolitan State University (MN)
- University of Nebraska - Lincoln (NE)
- Utah State University (UT)
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
From water to energy, and from climate change to natural hazards, the geosciences (marine, Earth, and atmospheric science) have an important role to play in addressing a wide range of …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Publications
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Supporting the Integration of Sustainability into Higher Education Curricula—A Case Study from Switzerland
From the perspective of different stakeholders, education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education is highly desirable. In practice, however, this may present challenges, as it involves systemic and cultural …
- Posted Aug. 22, 2016
- Publications
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College Hopes & Worries Survey Reports
- The Princeton Review (MA)
Every year, The Princeton Review surveys thousands of college applicants and their parents about their perspective on the admissions process. For many years, this survey has included a question related …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- Publications
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Environmental Attitudes and Information Sources Among African American College Students
- Texas Southern University (TX)
The author examined the environmental attitudes of African American college students by using the 15-item New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) Scale. The author also attempted to determine their everyday environmental behaviors …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- Publications
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Commitment to the environment and student support for “green” campus initiatives
- Haverford College (PA)
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (VA)
Past research has demonstrated that commitment to the environment strongly predicts global pro-environmental intentions. This research is the first to examine whether the commitment to the environment model predicts college …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- Publications
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Sustainability, meet Doug Flutie
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
This post reviews the available research on how campus sustainability impacts student recruitment, including surveys of incoming students by many individual institutions. It makes the case that campus sustainability is …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- Publications
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Leadership in Collaboration for the Higher Education Sector: HEASC 2008 Annual Report
- Second Nature (MA)
- Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)
This report describes the collective and individual activities of each of the members of the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC), a network of higher education associations working together to …
- Posted Aug. 19, 2016
- Publications
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The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2008
- University of California, Los Angeles (CA)
This survey of entering students at four-year institutions in the US finds significant support for green initiatives among incoming students. Almost a third of entering freshmen (29.5 percent) reported feeling …
- Posted Aug. 18, 2016
- Publications
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Understanding the Management of Sustainability on One Public Midwestern College Campus
- Eastern Illinois University (IL)
Environmental sustainability is a substantial issue within our world today that is on the forefront of policy makers' minds. Implementation of sustainability initiatives on a college campus comes in many …
- Posted Aug. 18, 2016
- Publications
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Food insecure student clients of a university-based food bank have compromised health, dietary intake and academic quality
- University of Alberta (AB)
University and college students in wealthy countries may be vulnerable to financial food insecurity. If food insecure students have suboptimal health, their ability to learn and excel in their education …
- Posted Aug. 14, 2016
- Publications
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Institute of Applied Agriculture Certificate
- University of Maryland, College Park (MD)
The Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) is a 60-credit, two-year academic certificate program in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) at the University of Maryland, College Park. The …
- Posted Aug. 12, 2016
- Academic Programs
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Implementation Model: Tying Energy Costs to Building Occupants
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
- United States Department of Energy (DC)
UC Berkeley's Energy Management Initiative (EMI) targets building occupants through building surveys and energy dashboards, and allocates energy cost responsibility to individual campus operating units to achieve savings of $6.5 …
- Posted Aug. 8, 2016
- Tools
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Northern Arizona University Energy Mentor Program
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
This is a how-to guide for higher education institutions who wish to carry out behavior based energy conservation programs. The guide is based on a program that has been implemented …
- Posted Aug. 3, 2016
- Publications
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Communicating Sustainability Online: An Examination of Corporate, Nonprofit, and University Websites
- Pennsylvania State University (PA)
Sustainability, here defined as environmental quality and well-being, has emerged as a core business strategy and a focal area of investigation among communication scholars. This study analyzed sustainability landing pages …
- Posted July 28, 2016
- Publications
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Educating for Sustainable Fashion: Using Clothing Acquisition Abstinence to Explore Sustainable Consumption and Life Beyond Growth
- Kansas State University (KS)
- Louisiana State University (LA)
- Oklahoma State University (OK)
This paper reports outcomes from a research study whereby fashion-oriented students experienced life where the ability to acquire new clothing was removed. Students volunteered to participate in this experiential learning …
- Posted July 28, 2016
- Publications
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Icebox Detox Challenge
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The Icebox Detox Challenge addresses environmental stewardship activities by promoting an environment where laboratories have an accurate inventory of all biological samples at ASU. This innovative approach allows researchers to …
- Posted July 27, 2016
- Case Studies
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Message in a bottle: what shapes university students’ understanding of sustainability?
Our research question concerned how life stories shape university students’ understanding of the sustainable use of natural resources. We searched for an answer for this question by listening to the …
- Posted July 25, 2016
- Publications
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An integrated leadership model for leading education for sustainability in higher education and the vital role of students as change agents
- University of Plymouth (Devon)
This paper explores the leadership of education for sustainability (EfS) in higher education, focusing specifically on the key role students can play as internal catalysts for change. It presents a …
- Posted July 21, 2016
- Publications
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Toward a Sustainable Future: The Role of Student Affairs in Creating Healthy Environments, Social Justice, and Strong Economies
- ACPA - College Student Educators International (DC)
Toward a Sustainable Future: The Role of Student Affairs in Creating Healthy Environments, Social Justice, and Strong Economies is a call to action for college student educators, articulating the crucial …
- Posted July 21, 2016
- Publications
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Collective action competence: an asset to campus sustainability
- Duke University (NC)
Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to operationalize theories of social learning and collective action for campus sustainability practitioners at higher education instititions (IHEs) to enhance their work, …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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Enhancing sustainability curricula through faculty learning communities
- University of Vermont (VT)
Purpose
Although the number of higher education institutions adopting sustainability-focused faculty learning communities (FLCs) has grown, very few of these programs have published evaluation research. This paper aims to report …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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Greening the campus: a theoretical extension of the dialogic communication approach
- Michigan State University (MI)
Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the strategic organization-public dialogic communication practices of universities in the USA. The authors used the dialogic model of communication to explore …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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Recycling as a result of “cultural greening”?
- Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick Campus (NJ)
- The College of New Jersey (NJ)
Purpose This study aims to test whether faculty and students who have developed the most pro-environmental values and concerns are also the most likely to reduce the on-campus waste stream. …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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The value of adding ambient energy feedback to conservation tips and goal-setting in a dormitory
- Middlebury College (VT)
Purpose The majority of research on energy feedback has been conducted in residential households; in this study, the authors aim to examine the effectiveness of similar initiatives in a college …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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What goes on behind closed doors?: How college dormitory residents change to save energy during a competition-based energy reduction intervention
- University of Southern California (CA)
Purpose The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the impact of a competition-based intervention combining high-resolution electricity feedback, incentives, information and prompts on college dormitory residents’ energy consumption and …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Materials Guidebook
- ACPA - College Student Educators International (DC)
ACPA’s Sustainability Task Force partnered with the Commission on Assessment and Evaluation with the goal of creating assessment tools to help ACPA members effectively measure student learning around sustainability. This …
- Posted July 18, 2016
- Publications
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Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program
- Audubon International (NY)
The Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program (ACSP) is an education and certification program that helps organizations and businesses protect the environment while enhancing their bottom line. The “plan-do-check-act” approach of the …
- Posted July 15, 2016
- Tools
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Regenerative Sustainable Development of Universities and Cities The Role of Living Laboratories
Now that the Earth has reached the limits of its biophysical carrying capacity, we have to change technologies, social practices and social norms relating to material production and consumption to …
- Posted July 5, 2016
- Publications
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Environmental Navigation Network: Developing a Peer Mentor Program in the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont
- University of Vermont (VT)
The acknowledgement of complex environmental problems and society’s work to address them during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, inspired higher education to respond by developing a high number of …
- Posted July 5, 2016
- Publications
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Go Green at Oakton
- Oakton Community College (IL)
Created in house by our Media Services Department, this video was developed as an introduction of sustainable initiatives at Oakton Community College to students and campus visitors. We focused on …
- Posted July 1, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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A Big Hairy Audacious Goal: Marketing University Sustainability Credentials
- College of the Atlantic (ME)
- Ithaca College (NY)
- Northland College (WI)
- St. Lawrence University (NY)
- University of Plymouth (Devon)
- Bradford University (West Yorkshire)
- University of Gloucestershire (Gloucestershire)
- University of Leeds (West Yorkshire)
This paper explores the potential recruitment and retention benefits arising from the marketing of University of Plymouth’s sustainability credentials. It attempts this by:
- reviewing academic and professional literature on higher …
- Posted June 27, 2016
- Publications
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More colleges using green as selling tool
- USA TODAY (VA)
USA Today reports that "universities and colleges across the country are increasingly putting on the green to attract students who are serious about environmental issues."
- Posted June 27, 2016
- Publications
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First-year student attitudes towards, and skills in, sustainable development
- Higher Education Academy (York)
This report on student attitudes towards, and skills in, sustainable development describes the results of an online survey of 5,763 first-year higher education (HE) students, across all four UK member …
- Posted June 23, 2016
- Publications
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University Students as Change agents? A Comparative Study of the Role of Students in Higher Education for Sustainable Development in Germany and Sweden
- Uppsala University
To readjust the direction of social development and to enable sustainable learning for students at all levels, international policy emphasises the necessity to transform education systems based on a whole …
- Posted June 23, 2016
- Publications
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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.