Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 49.63
Liaison Yaffa Grossman
Submission Date May 19, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Beloit College
EN-3: Student Life

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Lindsay Chapman
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have one or more active student groups focused on sustainability?:
Yes

A brief description of active student groups focused on sustainability:

OEC - Outdoor Environmental Club. The OEC is open to anyone "with any interest in the environment to come share ideas and learn about others' interests. Whether you enjoy hiking and camping or environmental activism, the OEC is the place for you. Each week at our meeting, a club member or group of club members presents a topic or holds a workshop on something of interest to them. Throughout the semester we also have other events which may relate to on-campus activism, camping trips, or simply how to be a better steward to the earth."
Beloit Boating Club. The purpose of this club is to provide a fun and safe environment for the practice and appreciation of boating to all Beloit College students, regardless of experience.
BUG - Beloit Urban Garden Club's goal is to manage an on-campus, student-run garden at Beloit College by bringing together staff, students, food service, and other community stakeholders to grow vegetables and learn about the growing process and how gardening impacts communities.
Peace & Justice Club goal is to encourage not only dialogue regarding local and international issues but also to encourage critical evaluation of these issues in order to bring about thoughtful and effective change.


The website URL where information about the student groups is available (optional):
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Does the institution have gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems?:
Yes

A brief description of the gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and/or urban agriculture projects:

BUG - Beloit Urban Garden. Started by Beloit College students, the Beloit Urban Garden club's goal is to manage an on-campus, student-run garden at Beloit College by bringing together staff, students, food service, and other community stakeholders to grow vegetables and learn about the growing process and how gardening impacts communities.


The website URL where information about the gardens, farms or agriculture projects is available (optional):
Does the institution have student-run enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)?:
Yes

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

Dining Co-ops. Students started and maintained the growth of three food cooperatives which feed more than 30 people. Working with Bon Appetit, Beloit's dining services provider, and the pillars of the Real Food Challenge, students participate in dining co-ops by purchasing food and taking turns cooking for each other, enjoying a home cooked meal while also enjoying each others company. All three of the dining co-ops are geared towards vegetarian and vegan options.


The website URL where information about the student-run enterprises is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives:

The Beloit College Revolving Loan Fund, also called the Sustainability Project Fund, is a resource available to assist Beloit College in a campus-wide transformation to make our institution more sustainable and help the college more judiciously use the resources available to it. The Fund serves this purpose by providing the initial capital needed to install environmentally friendly projects that generate a savings once in place, and then allocates a portion of the savings generated back into the account until the original cost of the project is repaid plus some additional predetermined amount. The installation of this fund allows the Beloit College community to initiate and further projects previously prohibited for monetary reasons. Because of the parameters set by the fund it will grow over time, thus providing increased capacity to serve future projects. The Fund is student run and a majority of the members on the board are students.


The website URL where information about the sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives is available (optional):
Does the institution have conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
No

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability:
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The website URL where information about the conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability is available (optional):
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Does the institution have cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience?:
Yes

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability:

Each year the Beloit Sustainability Office plans and coordinates a week's worth of events around Earth Day. Often there are student art events and cultural discussions included within the week's events. For example, in April of 2016 The Office of Sustainability partnered with the Outdoor Environmental Club to host an off-campus hike at a nearby state park. The Office also partnered with the Beloit Urban Garden to host a garden work day, and partnered with academic departments to showcase environmental research and course/programmatic offerings consistent with the values of Earth Day.


The website URL where information about the cultural arts events, installations or performances is available (optional):
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Does the institution have wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students) that follow Leave No Trace principles?:
Yes

A brief description of the wilderness or outdoors programs that follow Leave No Trace principles:

"OEC - The Outdoor Environmental club is a place for anyone with any interest in the environment to come share ideas and learn about others' interests. Whether you enjoy hiking and camping or environmental activism, the OEC is the place for you. Each week at our meeting, a club member or group of club members presents a topic or holds a workshop on something of interest to them. Throughout the semester we also have other events which may relate to on campus activism, camping trips, or simply how to be a better steward to the earth.


The website URL where information about the wilderness or outdoors programs is available (optional):
Does the institution have sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)?:
No

A brief description of the sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:
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The website URL where information about the sustainability-related themes is available (optional):
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Does the institution have programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:
Yes

A brief description of the programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills:

The Office of Sustainability employs about 25 students who work on four topical teams: energy, waste, food, and communications. Each of these teams are responsible for putting on at least 3 engagement activities for the student population each semester. These activities, whether documentary screenings, energy audits, waste audits, recycling competitions, food waste awareness events, composting workshops, and more, are opportunities for students to learn sustainable life skills.


The website URL where information about the sustainable life skills programs is available (optional):
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Does the institution offer sustainability-focused student employment opportunities?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution:

The Sustainability Coordinator hires around 25 work-study students each year to be the residential side educators on topics like energy use, recycling, water use, and engagement with local, national, and global sustainability issues. Of the 25 work-study students, 4-5 are Sustainability Leaders, who manage a team of 3-5 students on a particular topic, such as energy, waste, water, or communications.


The website URL where information about the student employment opportunities is available:
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Does the institution have graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:
No

A brief description of the graduation pledges:
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The website URL where information about the graduation pledges is available (optional):
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Does the institution have other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives?:
No

A brief description of the other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives:
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The website URL where information about other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives is available (optional):
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Estimated percentage of students (full-time and part-time) that participate annually in sustainability-focused co-curricular education and outreach programs (0-100):
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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.