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.
Featured Resources
New Resources
Student Eco-Rep Programs: Meeting the evolving needs of an existing program
- Champlain College (VT)
With now over 60 student sustainability education Eco-Rep Programs across the US and Canada, several of which are 5-10 years old, it is time to step back, reflect on where ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Connecting Campus and Community on Earth Day
- Indiana University South Bend (IN)
The Center for a Sustainable Future celebrates Earth Day as an international day of awareness of environmental policy, education, and public engagement. It is also celebrated as an anniversary for ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Putting the Sustainability into Existing Courses
- Frostburg State University (MD)
While many courses have a potential connection to sustainability studies, developing that linkage requires additional work. For existing courses to maximize their contribution to the sustainability studies program, course revision ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus Sustainability Programs as a Tool for Building Student Leadership
- University of South Carolina (SC)
Campus sustainability organization can be an important avenue for student leadership development. At the University of South Carolina, applying green values across the campus has gone beyond transforming the curriculum ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Measure, Message, Motivate: building an inclusive and empowered campus sustainability culture
- Yale University (CT)
Campuses around the world are tracing sustainability metrics, but how do we communicate those measurements in a way that engages and empowers students, staff, and faculty?
Our university has developed ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Addressing Behavior
- Boston University (MA)
To bring about campus sustainability we must provide an infrastructure, modify operations and change the expectations and behavior of our campus communities. To raise awareness, education our faculty and staff ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Developing an effective sustainability communications program without breaking your budget.
- University of Minnesota, Duluth (MN)
Communication is a critical tool for a campus sustainability program, especially when newly established. This session will cover lessons learned and tips that we've found valuable in making the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Grounding Sustainability in Faith-Based Mission and Identity
- CHA (NY)
There is much to celebrate on faith-based college and university campuses as environmental sustainability is increasingly seen as a core value. Yet while many faith-based schools have successfully taken steps ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Education: Opportunities to Embrace Leadership Development and Cross Cultural Team Building
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FL)
While higher education has played an influential role in various issues within American society, the depth of its persuasion must permeate the nation's path to sustainability. Incorporating sustainability into ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Designing Sustainability Into Products: The Effectiveness of Eco-messages integrated into user interfaces
- New York University (NY)
Sustainability messages were added to the control panels of washing machines in university laundry facilities, and data was gathered to compare users' cycle choices (hot, warm, or cold) with cycle ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Designing and implementing a robust and sustainable student green fund: Recommendations from Sustainability Officers
- University of Vermont (VT)
College campuses across the U.S. and abroad have seen a growth of student campaigns to take institutional action on climate change. One of the barriers to implementing sustainability initiatives ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Living and Learning in a Passive House Residence Hall
- Unity Environmental University (ME)
In the fall of 2011, ten students will move into a unique campus residence, TerraHaus, the first American college residence designed to meet the Passive House standard, the highest international ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating Partnerships for More Effective Energy-Saving Competitions
- New York University (NY)
Campus residential energy saving competitions have become critical elements of many universities' sustainability engagement and environmental performance efforts. One such method for reductions is campus competitions. Residents are encouraged to ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How Green is Your Move-In? Maximizing Your Opportunities During Student Move-In Operations
- Baylor University (TX)
Move-In operations for colleges and universities offer a unique opportunity to immediately engage the student, faculty, and staff communities in sustainable practices. Uniting a diverse set of on-campus groups with ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Communicating Sustainability: Princeton University Programmatic and Academic Initiatives
- Princeton University (NJ)
Both programmatic and academic initiatives in communicating sustainability are becoming part of the landscape of sustainability programs at many institutions of higher education. In this session we will explore an ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Getting Closer: The Librarian, the Curriculum and the Office of Sustainability
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (MA)
As teachers of critical thinking and sound reasoning, academic librarians play a vital role in supporting sustainability across the curriculum. Seasoned consolidators and distributors of information, librarians also bring a ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Ecochallenge: Tips for creating and implementing cost effective behavior change programs for your campus
- University of Oregon (OR)
Ecochallenges encourage people to experiment with simple environmentally friendly changes in their daily routines. These highly participatory events help build an environmentally and socially responsible campus culture, an important pre-condition ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Business Case for Behavior-Based Conservation Programs at Stanford
- Stanford University (CA)
Behavior-based conservation programs yield lower energy and cost savings than those achieved via major building system retrofits, but such programs engage individuals and make sustainability more tangible. When purposefully constructed ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Learning from the Solar Decathlon: abrasion, collaboration, and transformation
- University of Florida (FL)
The Solar Decathlon, a biannual international collegiate competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy (DOE), challenges 20 interdisciplinary student teams from around the world to design, build and operate ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Meatless Monday at Johns Hopkins University
- Aramark (PA)
Meatless Monday is a program that JHU Dining launched in November 2010. The national Meatless Monday campaign was launched in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Creating a Sustainable University and Community through a Common Experience
- Texas State University, San Marcos (TX)
In a large university, it would seem impossible to engage thousands of people on a single theme for an entire academic year-but one institution in central Texas is doing so ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student Engagement around Sustainability through Visual Art
- Columbia College Chicago (IL)
Students play an important roll in how the message of sustainability will addressed in the near future. As a way to engage fellow students in conversation, we want to display ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Graduate student workshop on sustainability across the curriculum
- University of Florida (FL)
Based on the Ponderosa and Piedmont Projects the first Prairie Project workshop was held in the summer of 2010. This two-day workshop drew together thirty faculty members from diverse fields ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Engaging Students to Generate a Zero Plus Campus
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
The Zero Plus Campus Project (Z+ Project) is developing an innovative interdisciplinary curriculum focused on modeling the integrated performance of buildings in the landscape to regenerate the campus environment with ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Advancing Sustainability in Student Activities
- Green Mountain College (VT)
The National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) advances campus activities in higher education through a business and learning partnership, creating educational and business opportunities for its school and professional members ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Top Down, Bottom Up, Institution Wide: Coordinating & Growing Education for Sustainability Across a University
- Victoria University (Victoria)
How does Education for Sustainability (EfS) become embedded in the courses and programs of a University? Victoria University is a multi-campus, dual sector tertiary institution based in the West of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Integrating Education for Sustainability into Sport and Recreation Management
- Victoria University (Victoria)
The baseline of successful Education for Sustainability (EfS) in Higher Education is the integration into subjects and courses learning and teaching that will provide students with the knowledge, skills and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Generating Success in Conservative Environments
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Sustainability can often be politicized along party lines; however, sustainability in its ultimate form cuts across all political spectrums. Many campuses openly embrace sustainable ideas and readily advance sustainability programs ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Mapping Sustainability: Visual Representation of Campus Sustainable Features
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
Initiatives to improve the sustainability of campus operations can vary widely in type, scope, and level of recognition among users. This diversity of sustainable features makes it difficult to access ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Teaching Ecological Citizenship within the Sustainability Curriculum
- Ohio University (OH)
Implicit in the discourse on sustainability is the need for ecological citizenship. Universities engaged in broad sustainability initiatives are well positioned to foster ecological citizenship norms through example and experiential ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Place-Based Sustainability Literacy: Using the Kanawha Model to Advance a University-wide Dialogue
- Ohio University (OH)
As universities implement comprehensive sustainability plans and work to build institutional cultures of sustainability a major challenge is developing a collective understanding of sustainability throughout the university community. Sustainability literacy ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Library as a Partner in Creating Curriculum for Sustainability
- University of Florida (FL)
Libraries play a central role in institutions of higher education and are dependent upon the educational objectives of these institutions. With the increasing focus on teaching sustainability across the curriculum ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Degrees Cooler - a behaviour change programme that resulted in institution-wide sustainability
- National Union of Students
The National Union of Students UK (NUS) was selected as part of the UK Government's Third Sector Strategy to promote greener living across England. Our two-year flagship programme, called ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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UCSB's Student Services Renewable Energy Initiative and the Net Zero Project
- University of California, Santa Barbara (CA)
The Student Services Renewable Energy Initiative is a major component of our University's Division of Student Affairs' goal to achieve Zero Net Energy and LEED EB Gold Status for ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Power and the Art of Weaving Sustainability into New Employee Orientation
- University of Louisville (KY)
Many of us are passionate about campus sustainability because we understand that important lessons are learned not only in classrooms, but in everyday surroundings and the broader campus culture. Students ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Student Designed Sustainability Curriculum Intended to Create Shift in Campus Culture
- Babson College (MA)
Creating a culture of sustainability is a challenge for all colleges. The Eco Reps here recognized this problem and strived to create a solution to generate a positive culture of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Hoosier to Hoosier: Reducing Student Move-out Waste with the City
- Indiana University Bloomington (IN)
Student move-out is one of the busiest times of year, and students at Indiana University find themselves pressed for time with an apartment full of items they no longer need ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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From Acid Rain to Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Drilling: Student Benefits of Community-based Learning
- Dickinson College (PA)
A co-curricular, service learning program (CCSLP), housed in the Environmental Studies Department at a small liberal arts college, promotes a national model for college-community partnerships by 1) building and enhancing ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Internships to Implement Institutional Change: Sustainability on a Shoestring
- Ohio Dominican University (OH)
While many institutions are developing sustainability offices or hiring sustainability coordinators, economic constraints may play a role in limiting this option for all universities. In order to begin institutional reporting ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Program Recognizing Offices Practicing Sustainability: A New Approach to Green Office Certification
- University of California, Santa Cruz (CA)
By applying research of community based social marketing techniques and utilizing funds from grants produced through student fees, students and staff housed under the campus sustainability office have developed Program ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Lights Off Cornell: Students Use Mobile Apps for Energy Conservation
- Cornell University (NY)
Launched in Spring 2010, Lights Off Cornell (LOC) is a student-led energy conservation program that organizes Cornell students, faculty, and staff to turn off lights after hours Monday through Friday ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Adopting and Promoting a Campus Bike Share Program Through Social Media
- North Georgia College & State University (GA)
One project recently undertaken by the North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) sustainability task force is a bicycle share program in which safe and durable bicycles are readily available ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Realizing sustainability across curricula and campuses, lessons from George Mason University in Northern Virginia
- George Mason University (VA)
In 2007, the university leaped into sustainability initiatives with a commitment to climate neutrality, hiring of full-time energy and sustainability managers, and creation of "sustainability across the curriculum" faculty workshops ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Barriers and Opportunities for Communicating Sustainability on Campus
- University of Nevada Las Vegas (NV)
Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) have progressively committed to become more sustainable in recent years. Despite this commitment, academic publications in the sustainability field describe that most IHEs have found ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Understanding, teaching, and influencing campus sustainability from a systems perspective
- University of Vermont (VT)
One of the first steps in developing a campus sustainability program is to assess the degree to which sustainability currently exists on campus and trends toward or away from this ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Reenergizing America: Bridging Generation And Culture Gaps & A Plan For A New Environmental Decade
- Clark Atlanta University (GA)
There is a fierce urgency to engage, educate, and embrace the next generation of environmental leaders throughout America, particularly on the campuses of our colleges and universities; but who is ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Strengthening student grassroots networks
- University of Virginia (VA)
This big-picture survey of different initiative types examines student engagement. Presenters will use two detailed diagrams to explain how they worked to strengthen all areas of student engagement. The first ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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CoFed: Student-Run Sustainable Food Centers
- CoFED (NM)
Everyday, every student has three opportunities to create an identity as a passive consumer or as a participant in a sustainable alternatives. Creating a student-managed food business focused on sustainability ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Learning Outside the Classroom: An Intentional, Integrated, Co-Curriculum
- Northland College (WI)
Programs, speakers, and workshops add value to the undergraduate experience, that's why many higher education organizations dedicate resources to bring them to campus. What value do they add? How ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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The Campus Re-use store: What's Old is New Again!
- Bowling Green State University (OH)
The campus re-use store opened in spring, 2011 to huge popular acclaim and participation by the student body. Conceived, organized and implemented by students with the support, guidance and advice ...
- 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
- 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.