Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 67.30
Liaison Dianne Anderson
Submission Date Feb. 7, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

New York University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Nicholas Liu-Sontag
Manager
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
57,014

Total number of students enrolled for credit that are served (i.e. directly targeted) by a student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting to the extent feasible):
57,014

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
100

Name of the student educators program:
Office of Sustainability, Sustainability Assistants Program

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
57,014

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:

The NYU Office of Sustainability hires students to be student educators as Sustainability Assistants. In this role, Assistants manage and execute peer-to-peer outreach programs while receiving administrative coordination with the Office of Sustainability staff. This is a paid position whose primary role is sustainability education and outreach.

The assistants aid in managing the sustainability outreach and education for the following events and programs:
- Welcome Week sustainability programming (green campus tour, Eco Fair, orientation performance including information on NYU Sustainability)
- NYU Earth Month (sustainability-related events, panels, lectures, and activities all month long)
- Weekend on the Square (NYU’s Admitted Students Weekend)
- Zero Waste Week (a week of programs devoted to waste in the urban environment)
- The Green Grad Pledge (an environmental commitment pledge for graduating students)
- EcoReps (peer-to-peer education program, with monthly meetings facilitated by Sustainability Assistants)


A brief description of how the student educators are selected:

Students are asked to submit a cover letter, resume, and faculty recommendation to apply for the Sustainability Assistant positions. After an application review process, select candidates are invited to interview with full-time employees of the Office of Sustainability. Sustainability Assistants are selected based on their level of interest, relevant experiences, and academic record.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:

Sustainability Assistants go through an orientation that includes sessions on the Office of Sustainability’s mission and programs, communications tactics, and personal goal setting.


A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination):

The Office of Sustainability has an annual budget for hiring Sustainability Assistants as well as a budget for the programs and events they work on.

Full-time staff are directly involved in training assistants. All Sustainability Assistants report to a full-time Office of Sustainability staff-members and represent the NYU Office of Sustainability in their functions.


Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
NYU EcoReps

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
11,833

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):

The NYU EcoReps are sustainability advocates in residence halls. Through peer-to-peer education, programming, and projects, they inspire their residential hall community to be more environmentally-conscious and live more sustainably.

Past and Potential Projects:
- Assist the Office of Sustainability in the implementation of awareness campaigns on campus such as Zero Waste Week and NYUnplugged.
- Promote the Green Room Pledge to encourage students in residence halls to commit to live more sustainably.
- Support the Green Apple Move Out (NYU’s residence hall move out collection program).
- Set up and/or design tabling events in their residence halls.
- Work jointly with other EcoReps and RAs to coordinate environmental events in the residence halls.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):

The EcoReps are asked to complete a brief online application. Each application is reviewed by a Sustainability Assistant and a full-time employee. EcoReps are selected on the following criteria: interest, leadership, diversity of experiences, level of commitment, and communications skills.

After serving as an EcoRep, participants can apply to be part of the ECommittee, a group of peer-mentors to the EcoReps.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):

The EcoReps go through an orientation training that includes sessions on the Office of Sustainability’s mission and programs and their “roles and goals” as EcoReps. Throughout the academic year, the EcoReps attend monthly meetings that include leadership training activities and interactive lessons on sustainability concepts. Through guest speakers, events, and outings, the EcoReps deepen their own understanding of their sustainable campus and become better advocates for environmental action.

The ECommittee members attend an overnight retreat with other students in residential leadership programs, where they participate in leadership training activities including a low ropes course and sessions on adaptive leadership skills and social justice and identity-based leadership.


A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):

Although the EcoRep and ECommittee positions are voluntary, one full-time employee of the Office of Sustainability serves as the EcoRep advisor and the monthly meetings are facilitated by Sustainability Assistants (paid student employees).


Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
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A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (3rd program):
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A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of students served and how student educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
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Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually (all programs):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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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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.