Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 72.81
Liaison Ian Johnson
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Colorado College
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Ian Johnson
Sustainability Director
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit:
2,239

Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
2,239

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
100

Name of the student educators program (1st program):
Office of Sustainability volunteer program

A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
Each intern at the Office of Sustainability has chosen a group of student volunteers that helps them to complete sustainability projects. This mentoring program is intended to get students involved with promoting sustainability on campus and introduce students to the Office of Sustainability early on in their CC careers.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The target audience are the volunteers working with the student interns.

Number of trained student educators (1st program):
11

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
38

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
3

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
1,254

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Sense of Place - New Student Orientation Program

A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
New Student Orientation occured during the 2020-2021 school year, but fewer trips occured. The topics of sustainability were still included during the online orientation and there were 114 New Student Orientation leaders this year.

The program was built to familiarize new students to the unique ecology and community of Colorado Springs while fostering the spirit of sustainability that Colorado College aims to embody. The presentation introduced students to plant, bird, and animal species within the area as well as the energy and waste disposal systems that support Colorado Springs and Colorado College.

In terms of the student educators who work on New Student Orientation, upperclassmen can apply to be New Student Orientation Interns and New Student Orientation Priddy Trip Leaders. Both job positions require a general training so those students are equipped to teach their knowledge to incoming students. More specifically, New Student Orientation Intern training includes teaching students about waste disposal, energy, local ecology, and more. The peer-educators also help build a sense of responsibility for fostering sustainability on campus among the incoming students.

Students are additionally taken on four day outdoor community service trips where they become familiarized with the nature and culture of the place they visit. Student leaders are choosen to lead trips and their training focuses on the importance of community and the importance of respecting the land that you occupy. The student leaders of these trips encourage new students to develop a sense of social responsibility and respect for their new home which in turn promotes sustainable practices. Before and during the trip, the leaders work hard to build a sense of community with all of the students on the trip and build a sense of respect for the environment. They make sure that the students understand "Leave No Trace Principles", how to camp without changing the landscape, and more general sustainability principles used when spending time outside.

The 5 hours a week worked per trainiend student educators includes just the alocated time leaders/NSO Interns are required to spend teaching students about sustainability.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
The target audience for New Student Orientation is all incoming first year students and transfers.

Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
114

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
1

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
5

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
570

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Green Rooms/Green Homes

A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
The Green Room Certification (GRC) program was created by CC students and is currently coordinated through the Office of Sustainability Green Programs Interns. GRC promotes peer-to-peer education to foster sustainable living practices on campus in residence halls, houses, and apartments on campus. To participate, students have to fill out a checklist that covers a wide range of topics from being an engaged citizen to energy and water conservation to waste reduction.
The CC Green Home Certification (GHC) program, supported by the Office of Sustainability, promotes peer-to-peer education to foster sustainable living practices off-campus. All residential areas (homes, apartments, etc) located off-campus are eligible to participate in this program. The criteria listed in the GHC Checklist serve as guidance for both household and individual changes one can make every day to live with less impact on the planet. Points are based on environmental importance, the difficulty of implementation, and cost.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
The target audience for these two programs amounts to all students at CC, both those living on campus (Green Rooms) and off campus (Green Homes).

Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
3

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
38

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
5

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
570

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):
A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
Launched in spring 2021, the Green Athletics program aims to 'green' our campus sports, teams, and foster sustainability awareness within the Athletics department. The Green Athletics program includes Green Team Certification, a Sustainability Committee, Sustainability in 15 Presentations, and the Tiger Sustainability Instagram.

The Green Event initiative encourages students, faculty, and staff to implement green practices at the hundreds of annual events happening on the Colorado College campus. In collaboration with Colorado College Student Government Association (CCSGA), the Office of Sustainability has created the Green Event Guide to get you started. By working with our campus partners to steadily increase sustainability at events, the green events produce financial and resource savings that directly impact and contribute to Colorado College's larger goals.

Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
3

Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
38

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
5

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
570

Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
2,964

Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
1.32

Website URL where information about the student sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
---

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.