Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 73.16
Liaison Ryan Ihrke
Submission Date July 29, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.0

Green Mountain College
ER-1: Student Sustainability Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.00 / 5.00 Amber Garrard
Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Total number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
650

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Program name (1st program):
ENV 2005, Fall 2009: GMC Eco-Reps

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Number of students served by the program (1st program):
80

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):
Students enrolled in this Environmental Studies Elective Course after they had completed one semester of the GMC Environmental Liberal Arts Core Curriculum (course 1-Images of Nature). At this point, they had some familiarity with sustainability principles and were ready to communicate what they had learned from the course with the rest of the community.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):
In fall 2009, 7 students enrolled in this course. They learned about GMC's GHG emissions inventory, Climate Action Plan, and goals to achieve climate neutrality by 2011. Students discussed how campus sustainability was connected to environmental, social and economic issues at the local, state, national and global level. Issues related to waste, energy, transportation, food and water were researched and discussed in class. Outreach activities were coordinated and executed among the student body. These included activities in residence halls, the dining hall, and other public spaces. The Eco-Reps produced a Campus Sustainability Zine as their final project.

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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (1st program):
The Sustainability Coordinator was paid to teach this 1.5 hr/week course for one semester. Students completing the course received one academic credit.

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The website URL for 1st Program:
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Program name (2nd program):
RA Training in Sustainability for Sustainability Programming

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Number of students served by the program (2nd program):
562

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
RAs are selected by the Residence Life Department and all are members of the GMC Green Job Corps (See Innovation Point #2.) All RAs are required to conduct one session of sustainability programming for their floor per semester.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):
The Sustainability Coordinator conducts a training session on campus sustainability for all RAs. The RAs are required to hold at least one program on sustainability for the residents of their floor. Some examples from the 09-10 academic year include: Growing and Caring for Plants, Yogurt Making, Mending and Patching, Local Food Sampling, Sustainable Christmas, Floor-Wide Clothing Swap, Recycling, and Sustainable Living Efforts.

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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
During the 2009-2010 academic year, RAs were provided $740 to support their programs focused on sustainability.

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The website URL for 2nd program:
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Program name (3rd program):
Student Campus Greening Fund Eco-Rep Program: 2010-2011

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Number of students served by the program (3rd program):
562

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
Eco-Reps were selected by an application and interview process with the Eco-Rep managers and a screening by the Sustainability Coordinator and Director of Residence Life. Eco-Reps were chosen based on quality of application, interest in campus sustainability, and demonstrated leadership.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (3rd program):
Student Eco-Rep managers ran 1-hour weekly meeting with all Eco-Reps to provide training on topic areas, facilitate discussion, and assist Eco-Reps with goal setting.

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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
The student who designed the program used a Student Campus Greening Fund grant to support the program for one academic year. The Sustainability Coordinator (full-time staff member) advised the Eco-Rep student managers and provided limited financial support for special events.

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The website URL for 3rd program:
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Program name (All other programs):
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Number of students served by the program (All other programs):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (All other programs):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (All other programs):
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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (All other programs):
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The website URL for all other programs:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
*Number of students enrolled does not include online graduate programs which only offer distance learning courses.

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