Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 60.78
Liaison Jessica Bowen
Submission Date March 4, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Aquinas College
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.13 / 4.00 Jessica Eimer Bowen
Director of Sustainability
Center for Sustainability
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Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
1,716

Total number of students enrolled for credit that are served (i.e. directly targeted) by a student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting to the extent feasible):
915

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
53.32

Name of the student educators program:
Sustainability Initiative Interns

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
300

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
Our office has 3 student interns during the fall and spring semesters. The interns focus on education and marketing, metrics, improving and measuring our carbon footprint, updating the website and social media, and compiling information for external sustainability reports. Education, training, and coordinating competitions for the zero waste initiative are also important tasks. Not only do the students receive real world experience implementing sustainability at Aquinas, but they also are the main "face" of sustainability within the student population. They often give presentations for student houses on campus and other student groups, and provide a vital role in our new student orientation sessions. The interns also run frequent training sessions for all of our regular student waste sorting volunteers, zero waste game volunteers, and other similar groups.

A brief description of how the student educators are selected:
There is an application and interview process with college's Director of Sustainability.

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
Interns receive one-on-one training with the Director of Sustainability on several occasions.

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination):
The interns are paid minimum wage for their time.

Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Zero Waste Advocates

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
615

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
Zero Waste Advocates assists in educational programs concerning Aquinas’ waste streams. A "Zero Waste Advocate" is the zero waste point person in a respective area on campus. This volunteer is the campus community's one stop resource for recycling and composting questions, recommendations, ideas, and challenges related to zero waste. They also attend meetings once a quad

A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
Self-Selection/Volunteer.

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
The students are trained on how to properly sort waste. We also provide them with a wide array of resources to change behavior when they begin their position.

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):
The Director of Sustainability coordinates the all zero waste advocates, including students. Funding is available as needed.

Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
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A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (3rd program):
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A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of students served and how student educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
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Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually (all programs):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.