Overall Rating	Silver - expired
Overall Score	48.46
Liaison	Gabrielle Lommel
Submission Date	Dec. 16, 2020

STARS v2.2

Concordia College - Moorhead
EN-3: Student Life

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	1.75 / 2.00	Jackie Maahs Sustainability Coordinator Student Engagement

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Student groups

Does the institution have an active student group focused on sustainability?:

Yes

Name and a brief description of the active student groups focused on sustainability:

The Student Environmental Alliance (SEA) is a group that strives to learn more about sustainability issues on campus and throughout the entire world, while also aiming to tackle some of these issues through campus-wide events and projects. Students are able to connect with others who share similar interests and passions about the environment. The group meets once every week in the evening.

The Student Government Association (SGA), Campus Service Commission (CSC), Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission (DEIC), and others also frequently work with sustainability issues, such as CSC hosting Civic Engagement Week and DEIC partnering with the Sustainability Office to host a clothing swap on campus.

Gardens and farms

Does the institution have a garden, farm, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery program, or an urban agriculture project 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:

Concordia has an on campus garden called the Cornucopia Garden. The garden consists of a large outdoor garden plot as well as a high tunnel garden. The garden is overseen by a garden manager and cared for by two student interns each academic year and summer. Each year the garden produces hundreds of pounds of food that are either harvested and used by the campus community, or donated to a local food shelf.

Student-run enterprises

Does the institution have a student-run enterprise that includes sustainability as part of its mission statement or stated purpose?:

A brief description of the student-run enterprises:

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Sustainable investment and finance

Does the institution have a sustainable investment fund, green revolving fund, or sustainable microfinance initiative 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 college recently initiated a green revolving fund for the college. To get the fund off the ground, current students and alumni spearheaded a fundraising effort that provided about $6,000 for the fund. Now we are in a phase of growth and development of the fund. Just this past year, the President's Sustainability Coucil approved the funds first project, and LED lighting project in the college's athletics facilities.

Events

Has the institution hosted a conference, speaker series, symposium, or similar event focused on sustainability during the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:

Yes

A brief description of the conferences, speaker series, symposia, or similar events focused on sustainability:

The topic of the 2020 Symposium was "Food For Good." Many of the speakers at the event spoke about food from a sustainability lens, speaking about GMOs, food waste, the role of food in culture, the importance of local food systems, and other sustainability related topics.

Cultural arts

Has the institution hosted a cultural arts event, installation, or performance focused on sustainability with the previous three years that had students as the intended audience?:

A brief description of the cultural arts events, installations, or performances focused on sustainability:

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Wilderness and outdoors programs

Does the institution have a wilderness or outdoors program that follow Leave No Trace principles?:

Yes

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

The Concordia Outdoor Recreation Club is a new student organization that started in 2020 and focuses on getting students outside and enjoying nature. The club operates using Leave No Trace priciples.

Sustainability-focused themes

Has the institution had a sustainability-focused theme chosen for a themed semester, year, or first-year experience during the previous three years?:

A brief description of the sustainability-focused themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences:

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Sustainable life skills

Does the institution have a program through which students can learn sustainable life skills?:

Yes

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

Concordia has a Residential Living Learning Community called the EcoHouse. Each year four students are chosen to live in the house based on their interest and desire to learn about and engage in sustainable living. Each years students are required to study and work on a project that will increase their ability to live sustainably while living in the EcoHouse. They also pay and manage their own utilities to learn how their lifestyle impacts energy use and water use.

Student employment opportunities

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 Office of Sustainability has several paid internship positions available for students in a variety of areas in regards to sustainability. These positions include: Communications and Social Media, Sustainability Programs, Food Waste, COBBikes, and several garden interns. Also, Residence Life offers 6-10 paid Eco-representatives positions. Facilities Management offers two Recycling Specialists positions.

Graduation pledge

Does the institution have a graduation pledge through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions?:

A brief description of the graduation pledge(s):

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Optional Fields

A brief description of other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives that do not fall into one of the above categories:

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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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