| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73.17 |
| Liaison | Megan Litke |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
American University
EN-7: Employee Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.67 / 3.00 |
Hannah
Debelius Sustainability Manager Office of Sustainability |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Total number of employees (staff + faculty, headcount):
3,338
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting):
745
Percentage of employees served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
22.32
1st Program
Green Office
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
222
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The Green Office Program provides an opportunity for AU staff and faculty to contribute directly to achieving the university's sustainability goals by promoting the adoption of sustainable practices within offices. The action checklists provide concrete steps that offices can take to integrate sustainability into their daily work and office culture. The green team leader within each office engages the office team in choosing items to complete from each checklist, including changing printing habits, participating in staff wellness programs, considering purchasing changes and sustainable commuting options, and attending Office of Sustainability events.
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected:
Each office or department selects a Green Office Liaison who works directly with the Sustainability Manager, coordinates an intra-office green team, and distributes the sustainability newsletter. Liaisons serve for at least one year. Some self-nominate, while others are selected by department or office heads.
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
The green team leader from each office arranges a formal presentation with the Office of Sustainability Staff and their team to learn about AU's sustainability goals, sustainability topics across campus, and outreach techniques to facilitate behavior change in their offices. The green team then works directly with the Sustainability Manager to identify strategic checklist items that accomplish the goals of the program while fitting their unique office culture and expectations. This often includes one-on-one advice about selecting and executing specific changes within an office kitchen or shared space. All participating offices also get a toolkit of checklists and helpful resources online. Employees much re-certify their office and connect with the Sustainability Manager annually.
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination):
The Sustainability Manager oversees the Green Office program and acts as a trainer and consult to green team leaders. Incentives and awards are provided to participants, including recognition, reusable coffee mugs, and opportunities to present at on campus education events.
If reporting employees served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:
2nd Program
Green Teaching Program
Number of employees served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount) (2nd program):
523
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
Now in its 10th year, the Green Teaching program has certified more than 500 individual professors at AU as “Green Teachers,” by allowing them to collect points for a variety of environmental actions, intended to (1) reduce the use of paper by moving towards using course materials, assignments, and exams in an electronic format; (2) reduce the use of energy and reduce pollution by using energy efficient equipment, e.g. by making a habit of turning off equipment not in use; scheduling office hours on the day of class; or biking or carpooling to campus; and (3) commit to other measures, such as using reusable food and beverage containers; or talking to department staff about purchasing recycled materials and supplies. Certified faculty receive a Green Teaching Certificate Seal which they can include on Blackboard course pages and syllabi. The direct impact of the program on AU’s campus sustainability is substantial, both given the large number of faculty who participate in the program, and the number of students who take the faculty's courses. Faculty serve as sustainability liaisons in their department helping to pass along communications about campus sustainability initiatives and encourage other faculty to become certified.
A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (2nd program):
Faculty are encouraged to apply to register their courses for the program through advertisements at the Ann Ferren Teaching Conference and frequent postings on university mailing lists and newsletters. Faculty then complete an application and, if they meet the requirements for action and sustainability standards, are awarded the Green Teaching seal.
A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
Faculty are provided resources from the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning (CTRL) on how to green their course materials. The Office of Sustainability hosts a session at the annual Ann Ferren conference about how to incorporate sustainability into their academic classrooms and departments and CTRL provides ongoing resources for greening the classroom. They can earn between 1 and 4 "green apples," and upon completing a certain number of sustainability criteria, they can place a logo representing the number of apples they earned directly onto their course syllabus. They also receive a water bottle, lunchbox, or similar branded item that encourages sustainability and promotes the program.
A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or paid faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):
Staff and online resources from the Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning are dedicated to this program. A Green Teacher of the year is also recognized by a voting committee each year and publicly awarded a plaque at Campus Beautification Day.
Additional Programs
none
Optional Fields
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The Green Teaching program can be found at: http://edspace.american.edu/ctrl/greenteaching/?_ga=2.137705072.1798881377.1511123498-1247663870.1481571528
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.