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
Recycling During Student Move In and Move Out
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
Student Move In and Move Out are both times of heavy waste generation on most college campuses. The University of Colorado at Boulder has developed a means to divert tons ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Linking Difference, Defining Action: Sustainable Living on Campus
- University of Florida (FL)
The signing of institutional commitments by American colleges and universities to advance sustainability and become carbon-neutral parallels the trend seen in the last decade toward creating sustainable campus housing. Similar ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Living Green, Learning Green: Applying Green Values to Housing and Across the University
- University of South Carolina (SC)
At the University of South Carolina, applying green values across the campus is part of an attempt to transform not only the curriculum but also the daily lives of students ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Generating Campus-Wide Sustainability Innovation through Multiple Course Collaboration
- Western Illinois University (IL)
While campus sustainability initiatives are often motivated by students, these efforts can also begin as top-down strategic plans. In the latter case, how do post-secondary institutions engage their communities including ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Launching Web-Enabled, Real-Time, Energy Management Software in Campus Buildings at UBC
- AquaHealth, Inc.
This presentation will discuss the lessons learned in deploying an energy management software tool at the University of British Columbia. The University of British Columbia Sustainability Office partnered in the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Sustainability Coalition Growth Model
- Arizona State University (AZ)
Students Act Now for Sustainability (SANS) is Arizona State University's new sustainability coalition whose goal is to build a base of sustainability in Arizona through action, outreach and education ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Flying Under the Radar: Quietly Transforming a Conservative Campus
- Auburn University (AL)
In 2004 Auburn University's sustainability task force received one-time funding for a demonstration sustainability initiative. Since then we have received year-to-year support for a "temporary" office. This presentation will ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Designing Green
- Auburn University (AL)
An annual competition of design students from Industrial Design that collaborate on designing a more sustainable world of products. By looking at past competitions and using methods of design, This ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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One College's Grassroots Path to Sustainability
- Central Piedmont Community College (NC)
CPCC's Center for Sustainability will present a discussion on how the college developed its current program from a grassroots process into a major "go-to" center for environmental education. Our ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Solutions Beyond Green: Feng Shui and Human Sustainability in Residence Halls
- College and University Feng Shui Initiative (MA)
Which bed position supports restful sleep? Which desk position promotes expansive thinking? In which room would you prefer to sleep and study? In which room shape would you prefer to ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Dialogs in Green: Creating a Climate of Sustainability, Community, and Diversity at Colorado State University.
- Colorado State University (CO)
What is a climate of sustainability for a land grant institution's campus? Colorado State University is a land grant institution of 24,000 students located in the foothills of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Talking the Talk: The Role of University Communications in Creating an Institutional Identity of Sustainability at Drury University
- Drury University (MO)
Drury University has vigorously embraced a commitment to sustainability and emerged as an institutional leader in southwest Missouri, the Midwest and the nation for modeling sustainable operations, academic programs, and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Show Me the Money: Resources for Campus Sustainability Programs
- Ithaca College (NY)
How do you create a shared institutional understanding of and support for campus sustainability? How can you create "coalitions of the willing" to support curriculum development, campus operational modifications, and ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Focusing Again: The National Teach-in on Global Warming Solutions
- Lewis & Clark College (OR)
February 2009 will be a watershed for the United States, and indeed, the planet. Decisions made in the first hundred days of the new congress will determine whether serious action ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Lynchburg College's Year of the Environment
- University of Lynchburg (VA)
The 2007-8 school year served as Lynchburg College's Year of the Environment, with a theme of "A Greener Tomorrow Today." This was the first time that an attempt had ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Empowering Students to Create a Sustainable Future: The Role of Higher Education.
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
If colleges and universities are serious about empowering students to tackle the greatest challenges of our time, we must promote environmental literacy and responsibility and provide frequent opportunities for students ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Green Demonstrations Transform Higher Education and Beyond
- Strategic Energy Innovations (CA)
Drawing on 5 years of experience designing and promoting college and university green residential demonstrations, session presenter from Strategic Energy innovations will illustrate how a modest project can facilitate a ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Students Teaching Students (STS) Courses: Supporting Peer Education on Emerging Environmental Themes
- University of Vermont (VT)
Courses designed and taught by students on emerging environmental themes have been offered at the University of Vermont since 1985 through Environmental Studies. Students Teaching Students (STS) is presented as ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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How a Large Institution of Higher Learning can Impact Regional Growth on Sustainability Practices: Commercial Composting in the Pacific Northwest
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
The University of Washington is a public, four-year institution with a 40,000 student enrollment. The campus population also includes more than 30,000 faculty and staff. The Department of ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Bridging the Gap Between Sustainability and Justice
- University of Colorado Boulder (CO)
- University of Vermont (VT)
- Hackman Consulting Group
CU Boulder's Environmental Center has been working to make the connections between sustainability and justice evermore clear while changing the campus conversation. With students, we spread awareness about eco-social ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Utilizing Community Based Social Marketing to Transform Sustainable Behavior
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
- Oberlin College (OH)
- Portland Community College (OR)
- University of California, Berkeley (CA)
Behavior change campaigns have the potential to be highly effective and quite inexpensive. But how do we know which behaviors to target and how to influence these behaviors? Four schools ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Campus Gardens & Farms: A discussion of best practices for student and faculty engagement
- Portland Community College (OR)
Sustainable agriculture on campuses in the form of farms or gardens have their own unique challenges for student and faculty engagement. During this moderated networking session we will facilitate the ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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A Learning Garden: Different Strategies for Student Engagement
- Portland Community College (OR)
This poster will visually guide you through Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus Learning Garden and the multiple ways we engage students in the garden. The Learning Garden functions ...
- Posted Feb. 26, 2016
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Natural Area Stewardship as Part of Campus Sustainability
Despite a growing body of evidence that spending time in nature through leisure, stewardship, and related activities is critical to the healthy development of humans and can lead to pro-environmental ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Preaching to the Choir
- Baylor University (TX)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: 97 percent of climate scientists agree that we are the main reason the planet is warming at an alarming rate and if ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Ten Tips for Students to be Sustainable on Earth Day and Beyond
- AASHE (MA)
Happy Earth Day to everyone! To commemorate this important day we are highlighting the impact students can have to advance sustainability efforts at their institution and reduce their individual carbon ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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University of Iowa and Balfour Beatty Partner to Deliver Unique Sustainability Programs
- University of Iowa (IA)
On-campus student housing project “Aspire at West Campus” opened its’ doors to students in August of 2014, a new housing partnership formed between AASHE Member University of Iowa (UI) and ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Guide to Creating & Managing Sustainability Internship Programs
- Connecticut College (CT)
- University of Richmond (VA)
- AASHE (MA)
This How-To Guide explores best practices for establishing and managing highly effective Sustainability Internship Programs (SIPs). It presents information for individuals seeking guidance on creating new SIPs (Chapter 2), or ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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AASHE Student Diary Series: Plucking High-Hanging Fruit
- Virginia Tech (VA)
As sustainability professionals, we all have the same mission: Managing today’s resources for a more sustainable future. What better place to start than at Virginia Tech (VT), while pursuing ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Evaluating Penn's Green Living Certification: Successes and Recommendations for Improvement
- University of Pennsylvania (PA)
As Penn's first environmental certification program aimed at rewarding students' personal behaviors, the Green Living Certification program has the potential to affect behavior change and promote a culture of ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Campus Sustainability and Natural Area Stewardship: Student Involvement in Adaptive Comanagement
University campus sustainability initiatives have proliferated over the last decade. We contend that such initiatives benefit from applying conceptual frameworks to help understand and guide their activities and from a ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Helpful Support Increases Impact: Clarkson University Focus the Nation Chapter
- Clarkson University (NY)
In my campus role as the Assoc. Director for Sustainability for Clarkson University (an AASHE & STARS Member Institution), I work with several different student groups every year to help ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Empowering Our Students to Lead the Revolution
- Wake Forest University (NC)
We recently hosted a panel event on campus that probed the realms of morality, justice, capitalism and sustainability. Titled Good for Me – Good for Us? Self Interest, Community Values, and ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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The No Impact Jack Sustainable Living Certificate: A Program Evaluation
- Northern Arizona University (AZ)
Given the threats of climate change along with limited natural resources, colleges and universities are in a position to role model sustainable practices and provide opportunities for students to learn ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Fostering Sustained Energy Behavior Change And Increasing Energy Literacy In A Student Housing Energy Challenge
- University of Hawaii at Manoa (HI)
We designed the Kukui Cup challenge to foster energy conservation and increase energy literacy. Based on a review of the literature, the challenge combined a variety of elements into an ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Talking Trash for America Recycles Day
- College & University Recycling Coalition (DC)
The purpose of America Recycles Day is to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and waste reduction in conserving natural resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The 34 percent ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Five Fabulous Ways Schools Celebrated Campus Sustainability Day 2012
- AASHE (MA)
I'm delighted to report that the 10th anniversary of Campus Sustainability Day Oct. 24 saw record participation from colleges. More than 150 institutions - triple the number from last year ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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STARS Blog: Sustainable Choices for Students in the Upcoming Academic Year
- AASHE (MA)
During the month of August, recent high school graduates across North America are completing final preparations for college and university life. New students face countless decisions, such as what to ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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AASHE Earth Week Project
- AASHE (MA)
AASHE's 1,132 members and 286 STARS Institutions are at the forefront of education, operations, planning and engagement initiatives toward a more sustainable campus, community and world. In observance ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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AASHE Student Diary Series: Seeing Like a Planet
- University of Michigan (MI)
On December 7, 1972 – at 5:39 a.m. EST to be exact – astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission took a photograph that transformed how we saw our home, Earth ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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AASHE Student Diary Series: The GREEN Life
- Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick Campus (NJ)
This is the story of three Rutgers University students with a simple idea born in the hopes of educating and showing their peers the ever-expanding world of renewable energy. Three ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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AASHE Student Diary Series: Abuzz with Rooftop Bees
- Harvard University (MA)
The novice beekeeping adventures of a group of Graduate School of Design (GSD) students at Harvard University are featured in this installment of the AASHE Bulletin Sustainability Student Diary series ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Student Sustainability Educators: A Guide to Creating and Maintaining an Eco-Rep Program
- National Wildlife Federation (VA)
- AASHE (MA)
Co-published by AASHE and National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program, this step-by-step guide takes readers through the design, implementation and evaluation stages of an Eco-Rep program. It includes case ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Where Meaning Lies: Student Attitudes and Behaviors related to Sustainability in College
- New York University (NY)
While sustainability is a national priority, an intriguing gap seems to exist between peoples' perceptions of sustainability as an issue and their levels of actual engagement. This study aimed to ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Student Green Fund Implementation in U.S. Colleges and Universities from 1973-2010
- Harvard University (MA)
- 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. The campus sustainability movement, an outgrowth of the ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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H204U: The Culture of Water Consumption at New York University
- New York University (NY)
While an abundance of information about the negative environmental impacts of bottled water exists, there are few, if any, bottom-up studies of why and how people choose and understand the ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Peer to Peer Sustainability Outreach Programs: The Interface of Education and Behavior Change
- University of Vermont (VT)
The current climate change crisis demands immediate and creative approaches for systemic shifts in our culture and actions. In the past several decades, education has played a role in bringing ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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The Human Dimension of Energy Conservation and Sustainability
- University of Michigan (MI)
The purpose of this paper is to determine the behaviors, attitudes, and levels of understanding among faculty, staff, and students in efforts to design programs aimed at reducing energy use ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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Environmentally Responsible Attitudes and Behavior among Elon University Students
- Elon University (NC)
In 2008, the Elon administration made a commitment towards becoming a carbon-neutral campus. However, most of the action plans are largely infrastructural and do not encourage active student engagement/participation ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 2016
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2009 Collegiate Athletic Department Sustainability Survey Report
- AASHE (MA)
Shows that while sustainability efforts appear to be growing within collegiate athletics, commitment to sustainability is lower among athletic departments than compared to their institutions as a whole and to ...
- Posted Feb. 24, 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.