Keene State College
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

KSC holds multiple training opportunities throughout the year related to sustainability, equity and justice, and other sustainability challenges. Examples include Founders Day, which occurs in May every year and is a fun and comprehensive training opportunity. Some of the topics usually covered are: organic gardening, using environmentally safe cleaners around the home, bicycle safety and maintenance, a campus tree ID tour and sustainability tour, and more. All campus Facilities staff participate in a Health and Safety training day, which includes modules on sustainability and recycling. The entire Dining Services staff is trained on food waste and composting. The Office of Diversity and Multiculturalism offers training throughout the year on topics like creating safe spaces for underrepresented populations, equity, and racial bias training. Throughout each semester, there are a myriad of on-campus programs offered, on topics ranging from indigenous history, sustainability both nationally and internationally, local sustainability initiatives, social justice topics, etc. Finally, many training opportunities are provided by Human Resources (https://www.keene.edu/office/hr/profdev/) and Continuing Education (https://www.keene.edu/academics/conted/). As of Fall 2020, the Climate Action Leaders, a new initiative out of the Office of Sustainability, have begun their work of providing peer-to-peer sustainability education for staff and faculty. The goal of Climate Action Leaders is to ensure that faculty and staff in all campus departments are provided routine (e.g., monthly) training on sustainability topics.

Staff and faculty are eligible for training funds, including for sustainability, through their departments. They need to contact their supervisors to determine availability and eligibility. In addition, as members of the University System of New Hampshire, faculty and staff are eligible for all the training opportunities and benefits of USNH. Tuition benefits can be used to pay for courses with a USNH course identifier at any USNH Campus. The basic measure of the tuition benefit is courses rather than credit hours. The total number of courses covered by the tuition benefit for an employee in a benefits eligible position that is 75% - 100% is five (5) courses in a fiscal year (July 1st – June 30th) that an employee can take for free. The plan combines credit and non-credit courses when determining the total number of courses in a fiscal year. The Summer term is considered the beginning of the fiscal year, regardless when the first day of class begins. The tuition benefit DOES NOT apply to “short courses,” institutes, or courses offered by other institutions held on the campuses of USNH. (See: https://www.usnh.edu/resource/tuition-benefits#fiscal%20year).
USNH Faculty & Staff (benefits eligible only ) have access to a FREE USNH organizational account with LinkedIn Learning - an on-demand, online learning solution designed to help employees gain new skills and advance their career; some of these contribute to sustainability education. This initiative supports professional development at no cost to eligible employees, and is available 24/7 using your UNH/USNH single sign-on. See: https://www.unh.edu/hr/linkedin-learning

All staff performance evaluations contain a section where staff are required to assess how much time, and what kind of actions, they have performed supporting sustainability on campus. The specific evaluation criteria are for:
Service
Sustainability (i.e. , Economic, Social, Environmental Performance Indicators)
Equity
Commitment to Diversity.
See more at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VxadsmeMw8n2l5QUDZqOoE4-MWvUf2iI/view

Information was compiled by the KSC Sustainability Engagement Coordinator who reviewed training opportunities on campus by connecting with Human Resources, Continuing Education, and relevant staff (e.g., Health and Safety Manager). The information was augmented by the Director of Campus Sustainability who research the extensive additional sustainability focused offerings available through the University System of New Hampshire.