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

The Campus as a Living Laboratory: Using the Built Environment to Revitalize College Education

  • American Association of Community Colleges (DC)
  • U.S. Green Building Council (DC)

As community colleges redesign and retrofit campuses in greener ways, many forward-thinking institutions are using these projects as hands-on learning opportunities for students. These so-called “living laboratories” merge academics and ...

  • Posted March 3, 2016
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Evaluating Campus Green Funds: Student Review of Campus Impacts

  • University of Houston (TX)
  • University of Texas at Austin (TX)

Motivated by the work of the Campus Green Fund Collaborative and its AASHE publication, How-To Guide: Campus Green Fund Implementation, the Office of Sustainability at the University of Texas at ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building the Best Team for a Sustainable Operation

  • Western Michigan University (MI)
  • PortionPac Chemical Corporation (IL)
  • Green Seal (DC)
  • Georgia-Pacific (GA)

As green as your school may be, achieving and maintaining the level of sustainable operational performance that today's students expect can be challenging. As a facilities manager, how do ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Diversity, Sustainability, and Mentorship: One Event That Does It All

  • University of Utah (UT)

Engagement is one of the goals of sustainability on college campuses. As part of that engagement, we want to reach the broadest audience possible, including multiple disciplines, genders, and ethnicities ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Measuring Engagement of Student Population Through Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge: Behavior, Perceptions, and Attitudes

  • Michigan State University (MI)

Michigan State University Campus Sustainability commissioned a Sustainability Knowledge Assessment. This assessment represents an initial effort to quantify knowledge of the broad and abstract concept of sustainability. By identifying factors ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Mobility and Climate Action: A Review of the Divestment Movement in Canadian Higher Education Institutions

  • University of Saskatchewan (SK)

Climate change demands a fundamental reorientation of higher education, yet the majority of Canadian campuses do not have a climate policy. In response, students, faculty, and activists are fighting to ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Tours: Using Campus as a Teaching Tool

  • University of Louisville (KY)

With sustainability initiatives reshaping campuses in myriad ways from buildings to grounds to dining to energy, water, waste, & transportation systems, it is vital that we develop effective means for ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Political Effectiveness and Accountability at a Student-Led Sustainability Office

  • University of North Carolina, Asheville (NC)

The University of North Carolina Asheville is among a small group of colleges that chose to establish an entirely student-run, student fee-funded department to house sustainability efforts on campus. In ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Transformative Partnerships: Replacing Consumerism with Community

  • California Lutheran University (CA)
  • City of Thousand Oaks (CA)

Can disciplines traditionally anchored in consumerist perspectives–like marketing and advertising–help students engage with sustainability and provide opportunities to make positive change in their communities? This case study demonstrates ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Banning Bottled Water on Campus; Beyond Excuses

  • Pacific Lutheran University (WA)

Over 100 colleges and universities across the US and Canada have enacted a policy of responsible water sales in their purchasing. Such a drastic change for an institution is made ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Spartan Treasure Hunt: Direct Engagement of Building Occupants in Energy Saving Opportunities

  • Michigan State University (MI)

The Spartan Treasure Hunt is an early step in the building commissioning process. It engages building occupants to help identify opportunities for energy savings and system improvements during a building ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Internship Programs at the University of Illinois at Chicago: Diversity Strengthens Leadership On and Off Campus

  • University of Illinois Chicago (IL)

This case study will describe two internship programs that operate at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The goal of the Heritage Garden and Office of Sustainability (OS) internship ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Impact Advocacy - Fair Trade in Your Life and on Campus

  • Fair Trade Colleges & Universities

Fair Trade empowers farmers and workers and promotes economic development, social justice, and environmental stewardship. The world of Fair Trade includes a wide range of groups and interests; businesses, non-profits ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Engaging Students in Energy Reduction - on and off campus

  • University of Colorado Boulder (CO)

At CU boulder, Residence Life and the Environmental Center are working together to provide all our students with what that they need to practice energy efficiency at home – whether on ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Environmental Dashboard: Using real-time display of resource use & community voices to foster connections & empower stewardship

  • Oberlin College (OH)

Many schools now use real-time 'dashboards' that provide feedback on electricity use in campus buildings to encourage conservation behavior. This presentation will engage audience members in an exploration of 'Environmental ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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PHOENIX lifestyle: Consumerism with Conscience

  • University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)

A student-led initiative at UMass Amherst that strives to bring awareness to the issue of consumerism in the apparel industry and give students, faculty, and others a unique opportunity to ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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SOS – How Global Collaboration will Help you and your Campus

  • National Union of Students

There are 17,000 universities and colleges in the world and students need to leave their education equipped to be part of the solution to sustainability issues, rather than part ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Peer Pressure for Good: Behavior Change in Campus Sustainable Action Campaigns

  • University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)

Want to engage your campus more effectively in sustainability campaigns? Join Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) to learn how it leverages behavior change science to help Minnesotans take action on ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Partnering for an equitable, sustainable school: 3 approaches for building partnerships and programs that connect sustainability

  • California State University, East Bay (CA)
  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • University of Virginia (VA)

As diversity and sustainability become more embedded into a campus culture, the connections between diversity and sustainability become more apparent and critical to create a thriving campus. This panel discussion ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Step Away from the Car: Transforming Student Travel, One Haunted Bus and Hipster Bike Ride at a Time

  • Southern Oregon University (OR)
  • Alta Planning + Design (MN)

Southern Oregon University has gone all-in to help its students break their driving habits. No excuse is safe! Want to drive home midday for an afternoon siesta? No need – there ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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High Impact Leadership Trips: Student-Led Experiential Learning

  • Concordia College (NY)

In 2012, Concordia College students organized an alternative spring break trip to Kentucky focused on how people are trying to stop mountaintop removal coal mining. This was so successful that ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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STARS and Pop Cans' - Using a Video Production to Spread Awareness of What it Means to be STARS Certified

  • Nova Scotia Community College (NS)

The Nova Scotia Community College is a STARS certified institution with 13 campuses across the province. Over recent years sustainability has increasingly been embedded in all that we do, and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student sustainability grants for research, scholarship, projects and travel at Ohio State

  • The Ohio State University (OH)

For the first time, Ohio State's sustainability offices are jointly managing a grants program for student projects in the areas of energy, environment and sustainability. The program helps to ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A World Café: Transforming University of Washington Sustainability Education

  • University of Washington, Seattle (WA)

Have you ever been inspired by new ideas while sharing a cup of coffee with a friend or colleague? The World Café methodology creates opportunities for the generation of inspirational ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How an ESCO Brought a 'Just in Time' Sustainability Teaching Opportunity to NMSU's 'Conservation and Modernization' project

  • New Mexico State University (NM)
  • Ameresco, Inc. (MA)

The 'Conservation and Modernization' project at New Mexico State University is about sustainability education on all levels for campus occupants while doing the tough work of mechanical upgrades and lighting ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Activating Change Agents Across Campus

  • Elon University (NC)
  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • Ohio University (OH)
  • Santa Clara University (CA)
  • Wake Forest University (NC)

Peer education has proven effective at amplifying messages of sustainability issues and practices across a larger breadth of audience than individual staff members can reach on their own. Such programs ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Horizontally and Vertically Integrated Campus Engagement Strategies

  • Fanshawe College (ON)
  • Fleming College (ON)
  • Niagara College Canada (ON)
  • Laurentian University (ON)

The panel discussion will provide an open dialogue and best practice sharing on how to engage any campus community to create a horizontally and vertically integrated culture of sustainability that ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Bike sharing service at Kyoto University

  • Kyoto University

Bicycles are a laudable and sustainable form of transportation for universities in Japan but they also create some problems. An estimated 16,500 bicycles are currently used on campus at ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Launching a Student Sustainable Investing Advisory Committee: Successes and Challenges

  • Ohio University (OH)

In 2014, Ohio University established a new student group, the Sustainable Investing Advisory Committee (SIAC), with the financial backing of The Ohio University Foundation. The mission of SIAC is 'to ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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NYU's Bike Share Program: From Student Grant to Reality

  • New York University (NY)

A case study on the implementation and operation of NYU's Bike Share program. How it became a University wide initiative from a Green Grant awarded to NYU students, which ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Operation Sheep-Mow: Applying Real-World Project Management Skills to Student-led Sustainability Initiatives

  • Carleton College (MN)

Students often lead well-intentioned campus sustainability initiatives that are rich with enthusiasm but lack key project management essentials. The result is often a failed project, disappointed (or resentful) stakeholders and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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UCLA Action Research Teams: student-staff-faculty collaborative research on campus sustainability

  • University of California, Los Angeles (CA)

The UCLA Action Research Team (ART) program is part of the student-led Education for Sustainable Living Program offered for credit through the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Encouraging social norms when there are none: promoting unpopular sustainable behaviors

  • Michigan State University (MI)

Research has shown the importance that social norms hold in influencing a person's behavior. Our own research has found this positive influence specifically in regards to undergraduate students and ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Engaging Your Campus Community in Sustainability Planning

  • University of Alberta (AB)

The University of Alberta's first institution-wide sustainability plan is due to expire in January 2016. To prepare for a new plan, the Office of Sustainability coordinated and facilitated a ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Best Practices for Collaborating with Student Affairs

  • Boston University (MA)
  • Colorado State University (CO)

NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, is 'the leading voice for the student affairs profession worldwide.' One critical way for NASPA members to get involved with various interest areas ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Beyond Boundaries in Oberlin, Ohio: College and Community Collaboration for Developing Sustainable and Resilient Energy Systems

  • Oberlin College (OH)

What does it mean to be a leader and create transformational change in a community and beyond? This is the profound experiment happening in Oberlin, Ohio. Here, we are daring ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Integrating Sustainability into Social Media Opportunities

  • Coastal Carolina University (SC)

Sustainability must maintain engagement among a diverse audience in order to successfully evolve. One method that will be explored in this presentation will be through social media. While social media ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Positive Sustainable Change: The Crossroads of Sustainability & Civic Engagement

  • Florida State University (FL)
  • North Carolina State University (NC)
  • University of Arizona (AZ)

Many common elements exist between the realms of sustainability education and civic engagement. Both movements are meant to foster an ethic of responsibility and justice, leadership development, and address community ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Implementing the LEED Lab Program on Your Campus: Exploring Different Contexts

  • University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (WI)
  • U.S. Green Building Council (DC)

This session will address planning, implementing, and executing a LEED Lab program on campus while engaging as many stakeholders as possible. LEED Lab is a multidisciplinary immersion course utilizing the ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student Sustainability Centers and Offices' 3 R’s: Resources, Roles, and Revenue

  • University of Missouri (MO)

This round table session seeks to share the successes, challenges, and lessons learned related to founding and managing student focused sustainability resource centers. Discussion topics will include: Topic 1: Revenue ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Coming to a Screen Near You: Creating Original Videos to Engage your Audience

  • University of Michigan (MI)

(LED) lights, (solar-powered) camera, (sustainability) action! Film is a powerful medium for communicating your message, and in today's media landscape, no campaign is complete without it. In this session ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Blueprint: A Residence Life Perspective on Sustainability Education

  • Texas A&M University (TX)

The purpose of this presentation is to highlight practices and programs that residence life departments can introduce on their respective campuses to create a foundation for sustainability education. Utilizing several ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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HydroCats: Water Harvesting and Community Connections in Tucson

  • University of Arizona (AZ)

Like an infant born from Tucson's sustainable communities, the University of Arizona's HydroCats project has developed in less than a year from the glimmer of an idea to ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Outdoor Education Space Design Challenge: A Collaborative Approach to Sustainable Design on Campus

  • Western Michigan University (MI)

In 2014, the Office for Sustainability at Western Michigan University conducted a multidisciplinary design competition for the design of an Outdoor Education Space at the Gibbs House. The Design Challenge ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Value of Flexibility: A Case Study of Stanford's Cardinal Green Office Program

  • Stanford University (CA)

Stanford's Cardinal Green Office Program harnesses the actions of individual building occupants to achieve resource savings. Over the past five years, the program has become an effective communication, education ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing a Successful Student Sustainability Internship Program on a Liberal Arts Campus

  • Colgate University (NY)

In this case study, we will walk attendees through the development process of Colgate's Sustainability Internship program that I have worked with from its creation through its current iteration ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Fostering Sustainability in Residence Life Programming: Creating Sustainable Campus Communities

  • College of Charleston (SC)

The Office of Sustainability at the College of Charleston has worked on Residence Life Programming since 2012 and is now in its third phase of interns. In those years we ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Stories of Ivy Road: Roles for Public Art in Sustainability Planning & Community Engagement

  • University of Virginia (VA)

As student enrollment increases and campuses expand, it is crucial to plan in a truly sustainable way within local communities. This case study examines a recent public art project that ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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EcoLeaders Community Supports Student Sustainability Efforts and Helps Build Career and Leadership Skills

  • National Wildlife Federation (VA)

National Wildlife Federation's EcoLeaders Initiative is a sustainability leadership certification program for college students and recent graduates. EcoLeaders features first web-based community to provide students with the virtual space ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Building Better Homes: University of Arizona’s Residential Sustainability Program

  • University of Arizona (AZ)

This presentation is focused on residential education. Components of the University of Arizona's (UA) on-campus sustainability program will be briefly discussed. The presenters will specifically discuss replicable and successful ...

  • Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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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