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
The Resource Recovery Pilot: A Recycling Rehab
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
Although the recycling rates have been slowly increasing over the past few years, we are not satisfied with the current rate and began to look for new ways to jump-start ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Community organizing for energy conservation: The Power Police
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (MN)
The Power Police is a project of the Energy Efficiency Student Alliance (EESA) and Energy Management. The Power Police install powerstrips, timers, and light switch stickers in consenting offices during ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sustainability Education: The Importance of Spirituality and Values
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
The ongoing global ecological crisis is truly a spiritual crisis, a crisis of our morality and ethics. Due to the anthropocentric perspective that has long been prevalent in human societies ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Communicating Sustainability to On-Campus Stakeholders at the University of New Hampshire
- University of New Hampshire (NH)
Since 2005 the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and its endowed sustainability program have revamped and expanded efforts to communicate about the university's sustainability leadership and initiatives. In 2009-2010 ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Campus Sustainability and Institutional Change: The Role of Public Interest Research Groups in Canada
- University of Northern British Columbia (BC)
In the forty years that sustainability has become part of the environmental literature, the role of education has been an important issue. Numerous international declarations have identified institutions of higher ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Green Funds: Expanding the Students' Role in Shaping More Sustainable Universities
- University of Pittsburgh (PA)
Universities must consider all facets of the institution in their quest to promote and incorporate sustainability. Co-curricular programs, such as Green Funds, can complement sustainability education in the academic curriculum ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Passion vs. Reality: Productive Student Engagement in Campus Sustainability
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
While students are generally recognized as critical to the success of campus sustainability endeavors - many student groups are prime movers, in fact - their rapid turnover and apparent distractability can be ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Communicating and Collaborating: The Sustainability Directory
- University of Texas at Austin (TX)
As envisioned by The University of Texas at Austin's Campus Sustainability Policy, the university endeavors to further link together and leverage its sustainability efforts for greater success and innovation ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Green Roofs: Environmental, Academic, and Engaging
- University of the District of Columbia (DC)
Besides green roofs' many environmental benefits - stormwater management, reduced urban heat island effect, habitat creation, building insulation - the academic and learning value that green roofs can have is an often ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
UVA's Sustainability Advocacy Program
- University of Virginia (VA)
The Sustainability Advocacy program's purpose is to reach all incoming students about sustainability during their first year. By reaching them early we hope that they can learn how to ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Allocating a Student Green Fund - First year experience
- University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (WI)
This informational presentation will provide an overview and go into detail about our first year of experience with our University's student green fund. The presentation will cover the structure ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
De-Polarizing the Politics: Framing Sustainability in Traditional American Values
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls (WI)
"Sustainability"" is an emotionally charged trigger word and concept for many people, especially in such strained socio-economic and politically polarized times. It is often assumed to be a smoke screen ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Can UCompost?: Research and development of a residential composting program for college campuses
- Ursinus College (PA)
Food waste can be a significant component of the waste stream at colleges and universities and could entirely avoid disposal in landfills with proper composting systems in place. Several colleges ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Move Out: Creation of a campus-wide infrastructure designed to curb waste through reuse and responsible processing
- Ursinus College (PA)
Effective waste reduction and management are primary challenges towards achieving sustainability. Colleges and universities across the country grapple with such issues at the end of each academic year, as large ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Power of Networking, The Importance of Advocacy
- Utah State University (UT)
Sustainability is a concept that needs more awareness through advocacy and networking. Sustainability is not a passing fancy, but a powerful movement that is progressive and growing bolder every day ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Student Recreation Center Facility Sustainability- A look at marketing messages
- Washington State University, Pullman (WA)
The Washington State University Student Recreation Center (SRC) is committed to sustainability. They created a sustainability statement, sustainable benchmarks, and changed habits but they have not stopped there. The SRC ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Grappling with the Fallacy of Sustainability Education
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Sustainability education is rapidly becoming mainstream in higher education, yet this "success" is undercut by a fallacy -- that sustainability is a normal challenge that can be addressed using familiar tools ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Campus Beet: A Student-Led Sustainable Café Initiative
- Western Michigan University (MI)
Riding a surge of support for fresh, delicious, sustainable food on campus, The Campus Beet is an example of true cross-campus collaboration. Starting as the vision of a single student ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Bridging the divide: empowering student leaders to promote sustainability through academics and student life
- Western Colorado University (CO)
In Spring 2011, Western created student Sustainability Coordinator positions on campus. The Western student sustainability coordinator program is designed to increase sustainability awareness and inspire behavior change through peer-to-peer leadership ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Pyramid Scheme for Student Sustainability Leadership
- Westminster University - Utah (UT)
Which students are the champions of sustainability your campus? When they graduate, will there be a new crop of eager leaders in line? Quality student leadership isn't just luck ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Students Leading STARS
- Westminster University - Utah (UT)
Westminster College has taken a unique approach to completing the STARS program. Instead taking the usual method to STARS through professional or administrative initiatives, Westminster has utilized students as the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Taste Education: Sustainability through the Senses
- Williams College (MA)
Food sustainability is only possible with knowledge: the knowledge of those who bring food to the table and the knowledge of those who eat it and how. Understanding more about ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Student Green Fee Management and Project Implementation
- Carnegie Mellon University (PA)
- Green Mountain College (VT)
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (IL)
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC)
- University of Vermont (VT)
Carnegie Mellon University has instituted environmental education across its curriculum over the past five years. The latest course addition, "The Environment Today," was spearheaded by student organizations at Carnegie Mellon ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
User Participation Saves Cost in Green Building Operations
- Western Washington University (WA)
This session explores how users have become participants in reducing energy/operational costs at Western Washington University's new state-of-the-art 120,000gsf Academic Instructional Center (AIC), one of the largest ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Commitment and Action through Staff Engagement
- Macquarie University (NSW)
Abstract: To achieve cultural change towards sustainability requires more than implementing resource efficiency initiatives. It requires the engagement of those who interact with the campus on a regular basis. This ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Institutionalizing sustianability within Student Government
- University of Florida (FL)
Institutionalizing Sustainability and infiltrating into your universities Student Government can open up many doors and opportunities for campus, local, and national sustainability campaigns. In 2009, the University of Florida founded ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Greening Events- Beyond the Basics
- University of Florida (FL)
- Earth Givers (FL)
Working with offices and organizations throughout campus and the community for planning, publicity, and hosting events has enriched a number of sustainability programs at the University of Florida. Unique partnerships ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Cutting Carbon through Energy Efficiency, Technology, and Behavior Change
- University of Florida (FL)
A review of programs at the University of Florida addressing structural and behavioral energy savings.
Buildings account for ~70% of the UF's GHG emissions, and energy efficiency is a ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Enterprising Students Lead Campus Sustainability Initiatives at Michigan Tech
- Michigan Technological University (MI)
Michigan Technological University's innovative, student-centered educational initiative, the Enterprise Program, now has a team focused on advancing campus sustainability. Students enrolled in a variety of Enterprises form interdisciplinary teams ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
No Money, No Travel, No Problem! UNC Focus Forward 2010
- University of North Carolina, Greensboro (NC)
Summer 2008. The Sustainability Committee of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, decided to host a traditional one-day, drive-in conference focusing on some of the best sustainable practices being ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Promoting Bicycle Commuting on Campus
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
This will be a presentation at the introductory level detailing possible steps that campuses can take in order to increase their population of students, faculty, and staff who use a ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The Environmental Caucus: Breaking Down Silos to Create a Culture of Sustainability
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
In 2008, the Environmental Caucus formed to facilitate creative and strategic communication across campus. The caucus is a voluntary association of faculty, staff, students and administrators, not an appointed body ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Mobilizing the Mission: Sustainability on Faith-Based Campuses
- Santa Clara University (CA)
- University of Notre Dame (IN)
For faith-based colleges and universities of all denominations, the institutional mission is a powerful but often untapped resource for building a widespread sustainability movement on campus. Most religious denominations place ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Installing an Organic Garden on Campus
- LaGrange College (GA)
Beginning an organic garden on a college campus poses more challenges than one initially assumes, as the community of LaGrange College quickly learned; issues that arose included administration buy-in, construction ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
ZotWheels - UC Irvine's Automated Bikeshare Program
- University of California, Irvine (CA)
ZotWheels bikeshare is the first automated bikeshare program in California and only the second at a university in the United States. ZotWheels was designed and implemented by Parking and Transportation ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Engaging Staff and Faculty through Green Office Certification Programs
- Pomona College (CA)
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
Pomona College, University of Southern California, and University of California - Berkeley have launched Green Office Programs, which certify campus departments/offices/groups as "green" for various behaviors and programs. These ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Advancing Collaboration and Student Engagement in the Sustainability Curriculum
- University of Texas at San Antonio (TX)
This paper is based on the premise that integrating sustainability issues into educational curricula is best achieved through activities that encourage students to take an active role in addressing real ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sustainability Leadership In Action at the University of Washington
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
Sustainability leadership at the University of Washington is demonstrated through institutional collaboration, leadership excellence and a long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship.
The University of Washington is a charter signatory of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Sustainability in Civil and Environmental Engineering Courses at CU-Boulder
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
Recent modifications have been made to two first-year courses for civil (CivE) and environmental (EnvE) engineering majors and the senior capstone design course in EnvE. A pre-survey was used to ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
The impact of "No Impact Week" in ENVS 101
- Denison University (OH)
The syllabus for ENVS 101 (People and the Environment) at Denison University typically involves the examination of issues like climate change, food security, impacts of agriculture, water quality and scarcity ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
goBEYOND: Student-led Initiatives to Bring Campuses Beyond Climate Neutral
- University of British Columbia (BC)
How can we do more to solve the problems of climate change than we do to cause them? This is the question that inspired a small group of students to ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Department Bike Share Program
- Arizona State University (AZ)
The Global Institute of Sustainability at ASU established a Department Bike Share Program in May of 2010 to serve as a model for other departments interested in promoting sustainability. The ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Getting Specific with Sustainability Policies
- Broward College (FL)
Broward College has recently completed a collaborative process to formulate sustainability policies specific to different divisions of the college. As a recommendation from the Collegewide Sustainability Committee and with strong ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Turing Your University From Conservative to Conservationist
- Southern Methodist University (TX)
SMU once had a mock Earth Day. You heard me. Big wigs from oil companies would come out to give speeches on how global warming isn't real. Students wore ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
A Quantitative Measure of the Culture of Sustainability at Santa Clara University
- Santa Clara University (CA)
As Santa Clara University (SCU) works to become a leader in sustainability, it is vital to understand the culture of sustainability in the community. A previous study found undergraduate students ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Student Sustainability Education Programs - Where do we go from here?
- Barnard College (NY)
- Brandeis University (MA)
- Elon University (NC)
- Ithaca College (NY)
- University of Vermont (VT)
With now over 50 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
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Growing GRASS and other sustainability initiatives at University of Louisville
- University of Louisville (KY)
This panel will focus on the sustainability challenges that face a large commuter-based urban university and discuss efforts to overcome these obstacles. Using a three-pronged model of Encouraging Involvement, Inclusion ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Civic Engagement: Drury University's Ozarks Center for Sustainable Solutions
- Drury University (MO)
Drury University developed a portal through which students connect directly with area businesses for internships and course-based civic engagement to promote sustainable practices and ethics throughout the region. The Ozarks ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Collaborating for success: Developing a Recycling Program in the Middle East
- Hamad bin Khalifa University (Ad Dawhah)
Qatar Foundation is an organization focused on building capacity for the State of Qatar and the Arabian Gulf region. It accomplishes this goal by supporting a higher education campus called ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
Portland Community College - Walking our Talk on Sustainability
- Portland Community College (OR)
This presentation will describe actions being taken to implement the Portland Community College (PCC) Climate Action Plan. The panel will describe the background and structure of the PCC Climate Energy ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
- Conference Presentations
- View more
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.