Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 59.95
Liaison Mari Acob-Nash
Submission Date Dec. 14, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

North Seattle College
EN-11: Inter-Campus Collaboration

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Tim Albertson
Sustainability Coordinator
Student Development Services
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Is the institution an active member of a national or international sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the national or international sustainability network(s):

North is the member of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), which empowers higher education faculty, administrators, staff and students to be effective change agents and drivers of sustainability innovation.
North is pursuing the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System™ (STARS) by AASHE, which is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance.


Is the institution an active member of a regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network?:
Yes

The name of the regional, state/provincial or local sustainability network(s):

North Seattle College, together with other Seattle Colleges attended the Washington Higher Education Sustainability Conference (WAHESC) 2017 at Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA to learn more about advance "sustainability in academics, operation and research". The Sustainability Coordinator and its students participate on WAHESC Committee conferences calls.


Has the institution presented at a sustainability conference during the previous year? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the conference(s) and presentation(s):

WAHESC conducted a Washington Higher Education Sustainability Hour in 2015. North Seattle College (Christian Rusby and Josh Meyers) presented on Native Lands Restoration. Scroll down for all a list of all presenters: http://wahesc.org/index.html


Has the institution submitted a case study during the previous year to a sustainability awards program that is inclusive of multiple campuses? :
Yes

A list or brief description of the awards program(s) and submission(s):

North is included as a case study in the AACC Report: A Guide to Climate Resiliency & The Community College, 2014, with the case study entitled Health: Resilient Workers, Resilient Systems. North had proposed a "sustainability in Health Care" Certificate as a means to more fully train workers in sustainable health care practices. http://theseedcenter.org/ClimateResiliencyGuide


Has the institution had staff, students or faculty serving on a board or committee of a sustainability network or conference during the previous three years? :
No

A list or brief description of the board or committee appointment(s):
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Does the institution have an ongoing mentoring relationship with another institution through which it assists the institution with its sustainability reporting and/or the development of its sustainability program?:
Yes

A brief description of the mentoring relationship and activities:

During AASHE's Officer's retreat (summer 2016), participants voluntarily formed pods of four people that would coach one another. North Seattle College's sustainability coordinator meets on monthly video chats with the other 3 sustainability coordinators/directors (Univ of Richmond, National Outdoor Leadership, and Eastern Washington U). Each person rotates with particular help they may need at their respective institution and the other 3 individuals provide direction. All discussions help advance various components of sustainability reporting and with their programs. Examples of support provided include forming a sustainability council and writing a carbon reduction plan.

Another way the NSC participates in an ongoing mentor relationship is with its 2 partner campuses. All campuses plan time to evaluate one another's STARS submission and develop each program. Many benchmarks (e.g., GHG) are set by either the State or at District, so all campuses work together to create consistent data. The primary forum for check-ins occurs at a district sustainability meeting every quarter.


Has the institution had staff, faculty, or students serving as peer reviewers of another institution’s sustainability data (e.g. GHG emissions or course inventory) and/or STARS submission during the previous three years?:
Yes

A brief description of the peer review activities:

North Seattle peer reviewed the other colleges within the district, which include South Seattle College and Central Seattle College for their 2014 & 2017 AASHE (STARS) submission.


Has the institution participated in other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year, e.g. joint planning or resource sharing with other institutions? :
Yes

A brief description of other collaborative efforts around sustainability during the previous year:

From begining of March 2015, a new 7.4-kW PV solar array sits atop North Seattle College’s Education Building, successfully installed after a two-year process of grant writing, vendor selection, and the shaping of an educational collaboration between North and Shoreline Community College.The array is a small, learning-oriented, and dynamic system; data collected by the experiments will be available to the public online in a read-only format. The intention of constructing this model is to create a center for High Performing Home Technology and Clean Energy Tech that involves both campuses in the future.

The inaugural Seattle College's Commencement 2017 ceremony at Safeco Field marks the first year that Seattle Colleges hold a pilot Cap & Gown Recycling program across all four campuses. Over one hundred gowns and caps set were collected and recycled. The Sustainability office will steam sanitize them in order to be used again by next cohort of students who can rent the gowns and caps and then return them.


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.