Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 45.14
Liaison Kristina Hope
Submission Date Feb. 2, 2024

STARS v2.2

Knox College
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.70 / 4.00 Kristina Hope
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer, sustainability educators program

Number of students enrolled for credit:
1,058

Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
900

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
85.07

1st program

Name of the student educators program (1st program):
Residential Assistants

A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
Residential Assistants (RAs) serve as peer counselors for students in their residential suite. Among their duties, these student educators are tasked with disseminating and maintaining awareness of campus sustainability practices and providing updates when new information is available, or reminders are deemed necessary. They also assist the Office of Sustainability each year with new student orientation. RAs attend a week-long training before the academic year begins, of which there is a special sustainability session. They have weekly meetings throughout the academic year, and if necessary, a meeting can be dedicated to sustainability updates. One example of an outreach activity was a dorm decoration contest where the theme was sustainability. Residents were encouraged to use reused and repurposed items as decorations. RAs used this contest to discuss zero waste.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
All campus residents (~80% of students) are served by a RA.

Number of trained student educators (1st program):
45

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
30

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
5

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
150

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):

If reporting students served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:

2nd program

Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Sustainability and Resiliency Project Leaders

A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
Sustainability and Resiliency Project Leaders provide support for initiatives that the Office of Sustainability is currently working on and/or identifies as necessary for the college to engage. SRPL’s work together on pilot projects that serve to explore, educate, and offer participatory engagement around environmental and social responsibility in our working systems on campus. They serve as peer educators in hosting events and meeting with their colleagues if needed. Some examples of topics they enage in events are:regenerative agriculture, organic recycling, composting, waste reduction and resource management, food systems, renewable energy, and other low carbon initiatives that improve resiliency practices on campus. Beginning with New Student Orientation and continuing with ongoing programming throughout the year, SRPL’s work with the Director of Sustainability and in collaboration with other campus partners on events, projects, and volunteer opportunities, to promote ongoing education and inspiration regarding advocacy, equity, and mutual responsibility. The group is open to all students and strives to be representative of the diverse and inclusive Knox community.

The Importance of Student Leaders at Knox

Student leaders play a vital role in shaping the Knox College experience. While our leadership opportunities are diverse, each has the common goal of enhancing campus life, complementing the academic experience, and upholding the College’s values of critical thinking, inclusivity, respect and support. Student leaders are able to effect change on campus through mentoring, advocacy, peer education and program development. They experience the fulfillment of service as well as the added benefit of marketable skills such as communication, conflict resolution, and time management.

Responsibilities:
Student and Community Responsibilities
Attend all aspects of designated training, including the two days prior to New Student Orientation (NSO) and ongoing sessions as scheduled.
Create and present a collaborative skit for NSO’s “Blaze a Trail” First Year orientation about the available resources on campus that are coordinated by the Office of Sustainability.
Work collaboratively with the Director of Sustainability to develop, plan, and coordinate Sustainability events, programs, and pilot projects throughout the year.
Serve throughout the year as leaders and role models in co-curricular presentations, programs, and interactive campus workshops designed to help promote a culture of social and ecological responsibility
Support the Office of Sustainability in their presence on various social media platforms and help to create, share and publish content in a relevant, respectful, and professional manner.

Duration of appointment:
This position is for the duration of the 2024-2025 academic year and will begin with orientation/training, one week prior to the start of school in order to help with New Student Orientation.

Qualifications:
Membership is open to all student members of the Knox College community.
Successfully complete IDIS 130: Introduction to Leadership course (.5 credit)
Knowledge of and a strong commitment to the college’s Sustainability Initiatives, missions, and values.
Ability to thoughtfully and professionally communicate verbally and in writing about our sustainability initiatives on campus.
Committed to serve the entire 2024-2025 academic year on campus.
Strong collaboration and communication skills.
Volunteer experience or participation in some of the ongoing Sustainability programs and activities at the Knox Farm, Share Shop, Bike Shop, Move Out, and/or Reduce the Waste Campaign is helpful.
Maintain good social and academic standing at Knox College for the entire academic year. Project leaders must abide by professional and ethical standards of conduct, including all Knox College policies.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
Student leaders play a vital role in shaping the Knox College experience. While our leadership opportunities are diverse, each has the common goal of enhancing campus life for all students and especially new students during NSO, complementing the academic experience, and upholding the College’s values of critical thinking, inclusivity, respect and support. Student leaders are able to effect change on campus through mentoring, advocacy, peer education and program development. They experience the fulfillment of service as well as the added benefit of marketable skills such as communication, conflict resolution, and time management.

Responsibilities:
Student and Community Responsibilities
Attend all aspects of designated training, including the two days prior to New Student Orientation (NSO) and ongoing sessions as scheduled.
Create and present a collaborative skit for NSO’s “Blaze a Trail” First Year orientation about the available resources on campus that are coordinated by the Office of Sustainability.
Work collaboratively with the Director of Sustainability to develop, plan, and coordinate Sustainability events, programs, and pilot projects throughout the year.
Serve throughout the year as leaders and role models in co-curricular presentations, programs, and interactive campus workshops designed to help promote a culture of social and ecological responsibility
Support the Office of Sustainability in their presence on various social media platforms and help to create, share and publish content in a relevant, respectful, and professional manner.

Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
4

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
30

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
2.50

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
300

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):

If reporting students served by three or more peer-to-peer programs, provide:

3rd program 

Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Community Scale Compost Crew

A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
Compost crew helps manage the Community Scale Compost (CSC) Program at the Knox farm. They help to host educational workshops, trainings, and help with weekly management of our composting systems.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
The target audience is anyone/everyone interested in participating in the CSC program at the Knox farm and diverting these materials from the landfill.

Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
6

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
30

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
2.50

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
460

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):

Additional programs 

A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
KNox farm crew manages the student run Knox farm and hosts 1-2 volunteer sessions weekly during the spring, summer and Fall. The Farm crew leads and instructs the volunteers in the different tasks at the farm.

Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
6

Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
35

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
3

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
630

Part 2. Educator hours per student served by a peer-to-peer educator program

Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
1,540

Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
1.71

Optional Fields 

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