Arizona State University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Student Program Assistants of University Sustainability Practices (USP) are responsible for creating, researching, and implementing sustainability projects on Arizona State University campuses in support of ASU’s sustainability goals. Program Assistants go through an orientation process and are trained throughout their experience by the USP staff and are occasionally mentored and supported by ASU faculty on specific sustainability topics. As part of their orientation, student program assistants complete training that teaches them: behavior change, how to engage different audiences (for example, by sharing Yale University research on "Global Warming's Six Americas" and applying that to their communication with peers in a campus context), professional office practices, systems thinking, and about ASU's sustainability programs. Funding support is provided by the USP budget as well as the Sustainability Initiatives Revolving Fund. Students lead education and outreach efforts that target the entire ASU student population. Program assistants engage fellow students on a one-on-one basis through in-person learning at the events and tabling they host, as well as group education, and broad student body-wide outreach (examples below).
After training on the psychology of peer to peer outreach and training on sustainability at ASU, the Program Assistants hold a variety of events and activities in a variety of locations on all ASU campuses to ensure they reach all parts of ASU (including off-campus residents and non-traditional students). These events include:
- Caught Green Handed: Students ride green sustainability bikes around campus and reward fellow students that they catch doing sustainability actions - providing positive reinforcement from peers for sustainability actions.
- Walk the Green Carpet: Students engage fellow students to “walk the green carpet” for an immersive learning opportunity where students have the opportunity to publicly share specific commitments to sustainability action.
- Community Gardening: Students educate fellow students about the specific aspects of gardening and its sustainability impact. ASU has gardens on two of our campuses, and program assistants perform garden-specific training.
- Residential engagement: Program Assistants set up peer to peer educational events and activities in the residence hall communities to share sustainability tips and awareness about sustainability opportunities in the residence halls and across campus. Program Assistants also provide CA’s (University Housing community assistants) with our “Residence life guidebook for Sustainability Ambassadors” and coach students on pursuing the Sustainability Certification program for students in on-campus housing, both of which lead to specific sustainability education for other students. Additionally, the Program Assistants are part of the Aramark’s Weigh the Waste program, targeting all dine-in students in all the ASU dining halls, engaging fellow students around the amount of food that goes to waste and its sustainability impact.

USP Student Program Assistants support ASU's sustainability goals, which overlap with several UN SDG targets.
ASU Sustainability Goal: Food Reconnection
SDG Targets:
2.1 By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2.4 By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality

ASU Sustainability Goal: Climate positive
SDG Target:
13.3 Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

While USP's 10-15 (varies year to year) program assistants support a wide variety of projects, the hours reported here are only those focused primarily on peer to peer outreach (see above activities).

Outreach is targeted to all ASU students

ASU's Zero Waste department has several peer-to-peer student educator programs:

Zero Waste Student Ambassador Program:
The Zero Waste Student Ambassador Program engages a broad range of student organizations as peer educators. Student organizations register to participate in pre-determined ZW Ambassador opportunities and, in exchange for their completed service, are awarded funding for use within their organization. By working with different student organizations, ASU’s Zero Waste department is able to reach beyond traditionally environmentally-minded students and nurture sustainability leadership in students that might not otherwise identify with sustainability. Prior to each event, all zero waste student ambassadors are trained by Zero Waste professional staff on outreach to engage and educate their peers. At each event, ambassadors directly engage other students to teach them how to sort and why each material is composted, recycled, or landfilled.
Estimated at 205 hours in the past year.

Zero Waste Student Workers
ASU’s Zero Waste department hires several student workers for peer to peer outreach every year. During onboarding and at monthly training events, these students are trained on general zero waste concepts, on zero waste at ASU, and peer education concepts. They conduct regular outreach to their fellow students, educating them about waste issues and solutions through tabling and clothing swaps.
Estimated at 3360 hours in the past year.

Zero Waste Trained Volunteers - Athletic Events
Student volunteers from student groups are trained by Zero Waste student workers on engaging fellow fans at ASU athletic events and educating them on zero waste practices. These student volunteers come from a wide range of the student body: including Phi Sigma Pi, Sun Devil Mock Trial, and ASU Women's Gymnastics Club - resulting in stronger peer connections than relying on traditionally environmentally-minded students.
Reported at 76 hours in the past year.

Note: the total hours were calculated based on the three programs combined.

Zero Waste's work aligns with several SDG targets found under Goal 12, Responsible Consumption and Production, such as 12.8: "By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature"

Outreach is targeted to all ASU students

As a student-led, staff-supported initiative, Sun Devil Civility provides students, faculty, and staff with the tools to build an inclusive campus culture rooted in civil dialogue and action. Through workshops, programs, and social media initiatives, Sun Devil Civility’s Student Facilitators develop peer-to-peer learning opportunities that emphasize cultural intelligence, problem-solving and conflict management from a student perspective. Rooted in NACE career competencies, these student-lead trainings provide other students with skills to thrive in their professional endeavors.
10 students are hired and trained directly by Student and Cultural Engagement professional staff; additional students are hired by academic colleges.

Sun Devil Civility's work aligns with SDG target 10.2:
By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status

Outreach is targeted to all ASU students and an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 participate each semester.

The attached spreadsheet (under "Additional documentation to support the submission") includes information on how total hours were calculated for the following programs:

Sexual Violence Prevention Leadership Program
Target audience: Sorority members
This program trains emerging student leaders within sororities to create change in their community by applying knowledge and skills for peer to peer engagement and education with their fellow students in their sororities. The student leaders participate in a 90-minute training session for six weeks, led by the Associate Director of Sexual and Relationship Violence Prevention. After training, these sorority members provide education within their individual Greek chapters on how to be active bystanders. The student leaders also give talks on sexual violence prevention and provide opportunities for peer students to talk about issues related to relationship red flags.

Sexual and Relationship Violence Prevention Peer Education Program
Target audience: Outreach is targeted to all ASU students
The Sexual and Relationship Violence Prevention Peer Education Program is composed of peer educators, whose core mission is to provide sexual and relationship violence prevention education and engage the ASU student community in involvement opportunities. Peer educators receive training from ASU staff on healthy relationships and how to prevent sexual and relationship violence. Training is conducted during a six-week program for students who are currently serving in a leadership role on campus or looking to develop leadership skills. Participants will meet once a week for facilitated discussion and education topics pertaining to sexual violence prevention including, but not limited to: the continuum of sexual violence, bystander intervention, healthy relationships, rape culture, consent, healthy sexuality, survivor support, and community resources. The purpose of this program is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to identify and address rape-supportive norms, attitudes, and behaviors and mobilize social change among their peers around sexual violence. The last session will end in action planning designed to impact their individual communities.
https://sexualviolenceprevention.asu.edu/content/sexual-violence-prevention-leadership-program-registration

Sun Devil Support Network
Target audience: Outreach is targeted to all ASU students
The Sun Devil Support Network is a peer advocacy training program (6 hours in person, 4 hours online) where professional staff prepare students to support their peers who experience sexual and relationship violence. Peer advocates provide a supporting ear to fellow students and share legal, medical, and psychological resources available on and off-campus. More information: https://eoss.asu.edu/sdsn

Devils 4 Devils
Target audience: Outreach is targeted to all ASU students
Devils 4 Devils is a university-wide wellness initiative for shaping the culture of a safe and caring community. ASU Counseling Services combines education and training with student-led solutions to generate a greater understanding of empathy and opportunities for peer to peer support. We believe that if enough students gain an enhanced understanding of key points about wellbeing and our fundamental responsibilities within our community, we impact the whole. Participants in Devils 4 Devils training sessions will learn the fundamentals of empathy, common symptoms of distress that people show, enhanced pathways to offer help, and resources focused on support across ASU. The peers also learn practical skills such as active listening.

Changemaker Central @ ASU
Target audience: Outreach is targeted to all ASU students
Changemaker Central @ ASU exists to create a university-wide culture that empowers students to apply their passion, knowledge, and expertise to create innovative solutions to local, national and global challenges. Changemaker Central is led by a trained Student Leadership Team and staffed by student “Change Agents”. These students serve their peers by meeting with any student that walks into a Changemaker Central space and coaching them on how, where, and when they can make change by getting involved in innovative solutions to local, national and global challenges.
https://changemaker.asu.edu/become-changemaker/students


The above programs align with the following SDG targets:
2.2 By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
3.4 By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
3.7 By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences

Note about the discrepancy in # of students: the number for this credit excludes online students. Student headcount reported here aligns with EN-13 and includes the Tempe, Downtown Phoenix, Polytechnic, West, and Lake Havasu City campuses. Online headcount is 37,384 (PRE 5 gathers information on full-time equivalent of students enrolled exclusively in distance education).

As part of a large public institution, ASU's University Sustainability Practices, Zero Waste, and wellness offices coordinate programs that are targeted at all students.