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
Learn & Grow - Educational and Community Garden
- Mississippi State University (MS)
The intent of this project is to work with the Boys & Girls Club to create a project that can be developed and maintained as a way to engage young ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Offset: The Card Game
- Duke University (NC)
The Duke Carbon Offsets Initiative (DCOI) educates students, staff, and faculty at Duke University about a variety of topics relating to carbon offsets. However, these topics can be difficult to ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Go Beyond Offsetting by Onsetting Carbon Consciousness
- Living Routes, Inc. (MA)
This poster will describe the pros and cons of Carbon Onsetting and explain onsetting as an alternative system that allows greater student engagement and can support meaningful sustainability projects. It ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Sustainability in Pedagogy: Bridging the Gap Between Influence and Impact
- Aquinas College (MI)
There is an issue at the heart of sustainability education which has proven a formidable barrier to more rapid change in our communities and the policies which shape our future ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Increasing diversion rates in outdoor campus spaces: A case study from Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges (NY)
This poster will highlight findings from a student-led campus sustainability intervention project completed during the year-long Sustainable Living and Learning Community (SLLC) Program for first-year students at HWS. Using a ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Team Up With Your Campus Library for Sustainability Education and Outreach
- Colorado Mountain College (CO)
- University of Arizona (AZ)
For a winning 'season', add your library to the team to enhance the implementation of sustainability solutions on campus and beyond! In this poster, we will highlight some of the ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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How to Visually Share your Story in the Age of Social Media
- Texas A&M University (TX)
Do you ever find it challenging to cut through the noise and share your sustainability message? Making outreach visual and branding your material is key to staying relevant in a ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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To Bee or Not to Bee: A Beekeeping Community
- Central Community College (NE)
This poster will describe the process Central Community College used to engage its service area in the responsible management of honeybee populations. Starting with a beginner beekeeping course, the college ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The Sustainable Bookstore: Giving New Life to Discarded University Library Books
- Appalachian State University (NC)
When the Appalachian State University library culled its stacks, close to 80,000 books were slated to be recycled. Many of these books, some dating back to the late 1800s ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The College of Charleston - Zero Waste Initiative
- College of Charleston (SC)
In 2012 the College of Charleston adopted the goal to dramatically reduce waste from processes on campus, and become a certified Zero Waste Institution by 2025. To achieve this goal ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Sustainable Greek Initiative: Making the Campus Community Sustainable One Sorority and Fraternity at a Time
- College of Charleston (SC)
In the Fall of 2012, the Sustainable Greek Initiative was started at the College of Charleston's Office of Sustainability. The initiative works with all three Greek councils at the ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Conversations That Matter: A Discussion on Connecting Sustainability and Diversity in Higher Education
- California State University, East Bay (CA)
- Princeton University (NJ)
- University of Missouri (MO)
- AASHE (PA)
Are you facing challenges on your campus related to connecting diversity and sustainability? AASHE's Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee is a group of directors, managers and coordinators that are helping ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Consolidating the foundation of sustainable solutions: Rice University's Environmental Science program
- Rice University (TX)
To address environmental challenges new generations are required not only to have a solid scientific or technological basis, but to propose sustainable solutions. We often look at sustainable solutions as ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Bee Nice: Creating a Community of Beekeepers
- Central Community College (NE)
Community education departments provide a variety of programs that work to educate the population that a college serves. As concerns related to Colony Collapse Disorder increase awareness of the dangers ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Greek Sustainability Leadership Network
- GreeniPhi (VA)
This networking meeting invites Greek alumni and conference attendees from institutions sustaining Greek life to convene for structured and unstructured conversations about our capacity to accelerate the advancement of sustainability ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Launching your Student Outreach Team
- Johns Hopkins University (MD)
- University of Denver (CO)
- University of Maryland, College Park (MD)
Students have been involved with sustainability offices since the beginning, working as interns, lobbying for operational and administrative change and supporting our events and outreach. Increasingly, students are providing the ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Rethinking Service Immersion: Engaging Students for Systemic Change on Campus and in the Community
- Gonzaga University (WA)
An experiential service-learning program inspired three students at Gonzaga University to make measurable change on their campus. After a week of sustainability volunteerism, students returned to school with ideas for ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The Living Building at Georgia Tech - A Campus-Wide Engagement Approach
- Georgia Institute of Technology (GA)
In partnership with The Kendeda Fund, Georgia Tech will build a fully certified Living Building Challenge 3.0 building to support instruction, research, campus engagement, and community outreach on its ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Interactive Freshman Orientation - 'Living Sustainably'
- University of Mount Union (OH)
In 2015 the Sustainability Assistants at the University of Mount Union, called Green Raiders, conducted a 45-minute interactive session called 'Living Sustainably' during Freshman Orientation. This was the first time ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Quadrupling Student Employment Without Increased Supervision--Too Good to be True?
- Beloit College (WI)
As the Sustainability Coordinator at Beloit College, a liberal arts college of 1300 undergraduates, I have historically hired 2-3 students each year due to limited supervision bandwidth, despite greater student ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Cedar Valley College a Center of Excellence of Sustainability: How we embedded sustainability into our college
- Dallas College (TX)
Come to this session if you want to know how Cedar Valley College became a Center of Excellence of Sustainability in southern Dallas, TX. We will share: How we utilized ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Transitioning from 'Greeks Going Green' to 'Greek is Green'
- GreeniPhi (VA)
Greek life has a legacy of producing the change makers, leaders, and power brokers of the future. Consequently, educating Greeks about sustainability, and leading them to adopt sustainability measures as ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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What's a Bioneer and how can it Help my College Connect with Community on a Local, Regional and National Level?
- McHenry County College (IL)
McHenry County College has found success in bringing people from the community to the college for an annual speaker series through our partnership with the Bioneers (now called the Bioneers ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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Achieving the Impossible: How the Millennial Generation is Winning a Just & Sustainable Future in the Age of Climate Change
- Elected Officials to Protect America (SC)
Outspoken advocate and internationally-recognized former elected official Dominic Frongillo will share his perspective as the youngest-ever councilmember in Caroline, NY, and delegate to UN climate talks on how young people ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Reaching Beyond Green: Adding Social Justice Peer Educators on Your Campus
- University of Arizona (AZ)
Peer education can be an effective way to reach students. In sustainability, we're used to hearing about Eco-Rep programs achieving this goal. Often, though, these programs have a significantly ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Enhancing sustainability awareness among university students: Effects of facilitated discussion groups and peer-to-peer learning
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (WI)
This presentation will describe and analyze the Climate Knowledge Project, an effort at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to link together climate research, sustainability education, and student engagement programs. Beginning in ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Organizational Effectiveness of Sustainability Offices
- Eckerd College (FL)
Campus sustainability has risen in prominence at colleges and universities of all sizes. Several indicators of the increasing commitment to environmental stewardship by higher education institutions include the Talloires Declaration ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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University of Michigan Building Consumption and Waste Assessment
- Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) (MI)
This poster will explore how new and existing sustainability projects at the University of Michigan are being integrated into a pathway for student sustainability engagement and leadership as we aim ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The Seven Secrets of How Nature Designs: how to apply the lessons of biomimicry to your business
- EcoDistricts (OR)
Twenty years ago, no one would have believed that any company without a website would not be in business in the future. Today, you may not believe that any company ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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#Cleanenergyu: Engaging College students through Social Media to help create positive Climate Change
- University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (WI)
In this workshop Dave and Robby will briefly Recap the History of the #cleanenergyu Dialogue as well as discuss its next incarnation happening at the end of October as a ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Year 1: Building a Sustainability Program and Culture
- Saint Mary's College (IN)
Is your school starting or contemplating a sustainability program? Have challenges such as budget, staffing, capacity, or leadership stifled your initial progress? Managing change often involves navigating inertia and building ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
- Conference Presentations
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Models of engagement, integration and transparency at the University of Washington
- University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
Change and transformation at an institutional level cannot happen overnight and requires active management. Universities are increasingly responding to pressures for efficiency, increasing enrollment, recruiting the best faculty and students ...
- Posted Nov. 18, 2016
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The INDICARE-model – measuring and caring about participation in higher education's sustainability assessment
The implementation of sustainability in higher education has been advanced over at least the last two decades and brought sustainability assessment on the research agenda of Education for Sustainable Development ...
- Posted Nov. 14, 2016
- Publications
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‘The Biophilic University’: a de-familiarizing organizational metaphor for ecological sustainability?
- Oberlin College (OH)
- Universiti Sains Malaysia
A new primary, root metaphor the ‘Biophilic University’, is introduced here, underpinning a potential de-familiarizing human-nature narrative and heuristic to contest and break free of what is conceptualised as the ...
- Posted Nov. 14, 2016
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Student Affairs Leadership in Sustainable Purchasing and Event Coordination Webinar
- University of Arizona (AZ)
- NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (OR)
- Association of College and University Housing Officers - International (OH)
- Portland State University (OR)
- Colorado State University (CO)
- Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council (MA)
- ACPA - College Student Educators International (DC)
- Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)
This webinar features ideas and examples of how Student Affairs units have implemented green practices in purchasing and event coordination. It includes presentations from the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council and ...
- Posted Nov. 10, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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Webinar on Civil Discourse and Civic Engagement in Student and Academic Affairs with Planet Education
- Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)
- Stockton University (NJ)
- Association of College and University Housing Officers - International (OH)
- NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (OR)
- ACPA - College Student Educators International (DC)
- University of San Diego (CA)
This webinar focuses on empowering students, staff, faculty, and communities through planet education. Speakers will describe national initiatives to engage students and the community in clean energy options, climate destabilization ...
- Posted Nov. 10, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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Student Affairs Stories of Sustainability: Resources to Engage Students and Remove Silos Webinar
- AASHE (PA)
- Santa Clara University (CA)
- NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation (OR)
- DePaul University (IL)
- Colorado State University (CO)
- University of Delaware (DE)
- ACPA - College Student Educators International (DC)
- Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)
This webinar provides tips and tools for student affairs professionals to engage students around sustainability and remove silos.
- Posted Nov. 10, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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The Piedmont Project: Fostering Faculty Development Toward Sustainability
- Emory University (GA)
Many universities recognize urgent environmental dilemmas and embrace efforts to move campus operations and university culture toward sustainability. However, the broader academic mission across departments and programs is often slower ...
- Posted Nov. 9, 2016
- Publications
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Long-Term Impacts of Faculty Development Programs: The Experience of Teli and Piedmont
- Emory University (GA)
- Tufts University (MA)
A long-term study of two faculty development programs on sustainability and the environment reveals enduring changes in teaching, research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and engaged action. Participants in cohorts of Tufts University ...
- Posted Nov. 9, 2016
- Publications
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Sustainability Internships Webinar
- Connecticut College (CT)
- Edmonds Community College (WA)
- Texas A&M University (TX)
- Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) (PA)
Want to learn about best practices in sustainability internships? Need resources and guidelines for managing internship programs? Interested in finding out what others are doing delivering internship experiences? This webinar ...
- Posted Nov. 7, 2016
- Videos & Webinars
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Assessment matters: What are students learning about sustainability?
- Columbia University (NY)
- New York University (NY)
This article provides a model to integrate sustainability efforts, student learning, and assessment into one coherent process.
- Posted Nov. 4, 2016
- Publications
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Enhancing Sustainability Campuswide: New Directions for Student Services
This sourcebook provides a primer on how to best organize specific programs and services as well as overall campus operations to address the critical challenge of sustainability. Presenting research, operational ...
- Posted Nov. 4, 2016
- Publications
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Sustainability behaviors among college students: an application of the VBN theory
- Michigan State University (MI)
While Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory has been widely applied to various populations, it has seldom been tested on college students. This study extends VBN theory to examine what socio-psychological factors influence ...
- Posted Nov. 3, 2016
- Publications
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When the informal is the formal, the implicit is the explicit: Holistic sustainability education at Green Mountain College
- Green Mountain College (VT)
Purpose - The purpose of this project is to provide an account of the student experience at a higher education institution known for its holistic approach to sustainability education.
Design/methodology ...
- Posted Nov. 1, 2016
- Publications
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Lehigh University Conducts Residential Hall Waste Audit on Campus Sustainability Day
- Lehigh University (PA)
On October 26, Lehigh University conducted a waste audit of the largest residential hall on campus, M&M. Twelve students participated in the waste audit. The students will use the data ...
- Posted Oct. 27, 2016
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Cycling promotion schemes and long-term behavioural change: A case study from the University of Sheffield
- University of Leeds (West Yorkshire)
Cycling has a range of health, environmental and economic benefits compared with motorised forms of transport. There is a need to encourage more cycling, yet previous evaluations of cycling promotion ...
- Posted Oct. 26, 2016
- Publications
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The Roles of Social Media in Promoting Sustainability in Higher Education
- Duquesne University (PA)
- Michigan State University (MI)
University sustainability leaders can strategically employ social media tools to encourage the adoption of sustainability behaviors among students, faculty members, and staff. Their effectiveness and reach, however, are constrained by ...
- Posted Oct. 26, 2016
- Publications
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The Relationship of Social Justice Beliefs to Environmental Attitudes among Students at a Private University
- University of St. Thomas Houston (TX)
The goal of the present study was to examine the relationship of social justice beliefs, gender, religiousness, and ethnicity on environmental attitudes among college students at a private university. Participants ...
- Posted Oct. 17, 2016
- Publications
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A Guide for Applied Sustainability Learning Projects: Advancing sustainability outcomes on campus and in the community
- Arizona State University (AZ)
- Portland State University (OR)
- AASHE (PA)
This guide provides a step-by-step framework for how a new or existing applied learning for sustainability program can be systematically designed, built and scaled around two interconnected goals:
- Providing students ...
- Posted Oct. 8, 2016
- Publications
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This tab provides access to data collected through AASHE’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS). STARS is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. STARS enables meaningful comparisons over time and across institutions using a common set of measurements developed with broad participation from the campus sustainability community.
All responses reference content from reports under the latest version of STARS, version 2.2. AASHE membership and log-in is required.
EN 1: Student Educators Program
- Percent of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program
- Description of the student educators program (1st program)
- Description of the student educators program (2nd program)
- Brief description of the student educators program (3rd program)
- Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per students served
- Website URL - Student sustainability educators programs
EN 2: Student Orientation
- Percent of entering students that have an opportunity to participate in sustainability-inclusive orientation activities and programming
- Description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation
- Website URL - Information about sustainability in student orientation
EN 3: Student Life
- Description of the active student groups focused on sustainability
- Description of student gardens, farms, CSAs, fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects
- Description of the student-run enterprises
- Description of student sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives
- Description of sustainability-focused conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events for students
- Description of sustainability-focused cultural arts events, installations, or performances
- Description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles
- Description of sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences
- Description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills
- Description of sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution
- Description of graduation pledge(s)
- Description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives
EN 4: Student Life
- Website URL - Central sustainability website
- Description of sustainability newsletter or social media platform(s)
- Description of the signage that highlights campus sustainability features
- Description of the sustainability walking map or tour
- Description of the guide for green living and/or incorporating sustainability into the residential experience
- Description of other comprehensive sustainability outreach materials and publications
EN 5: Student Life
- Description of the first sustainability outreach campaign
- Description of the second sustainability outreach campaign
- Description of other sustainability-related outreach campaigns
EN 6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
- Description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted
- Copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture (upload)
- Copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture (description)
- Website URL - Assessment of sustainability culture
EN 7: Employee Educators Program
- Percent of employees served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program
- Description of the employee educators program (1st program)
- Description of the employee educators program (2nd program)
- Hours worked annually by trained employee sustainability educators per employees served
- Website URL - Employee sustainability educators programs
EN 8: Employee Orientation
- Percent of new employees that have an opportunity to participate in sustainability-inclusive orientation activities and programming
- Description of how sustainability is included prominently in new employee orientation
- Website URL - Information about sustainability in employee orientation
EN 9: Staff Professional Development & Training
- Estimated percentage of regular, non-academic staff that participates annually in sustainability professional development and training
- Description of any internal sustainability professional development and training opportunities
- Description of any external professional development and training opportunities in sustainability that are supported by the institution
- Estimated percentage of staff for which sustainability is included in performance reviews
- Description of how sustainability is included in staff performance reviews
- Website URL - Information about staff professional development and training in sustainability
Additional analysis on scores and quantitative fields can be conducted using the STARS Benchmarking Tool.