| Overall Rating | Bronze - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40.97 |
| Liaison | Sherri Mason |
| Submission Date | June 30, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
OP-18: Support for Sustainable Transportation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.20 / 2.00 |
Sherri
Mason Director of Sustainability School of Science |
Does the institution provide secure bicycle storage (not including office space), shower facilities, and lockers for bicycle commuters?:
A brief description of the facilities for bicycle commuters:
There are many bicycle storage facilities on campus. There are showers and lockers within the Junker Center, as well as lockers within the Reed Student Union.
Does the institution provide short-term bicycle parking for all occupied buildings and makes long-term bicycle storage available for students who live on-site (if applicable)?:
A brief description of the bicycle parking and storage facilities:
There are bicycle racks for all buildings on-campus, as well as for all residence halls.
Does the institution have a bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy (or adhere to a local community plan/policy) that sets standards and practices for campus streets to enable safe access for all users?:
A brief description of the bicycle and pedestrian plan or policy:
There is a continuous network of shared roadway, shared pathway and dedicated bicycle paths on Campus. There are pedestrian sidewalks connecting all major buildings. Penn State bicycle paths connect to community bicycle paths. The campus bicycle policy can be found: https://behrend.psu.edu/general-services/police/regulations
Does the institution have a bicycle-sharing program or participate in a local bicycle-sharing program?:
A brief description of the bicycle sharing program:
Does the institution offer free or reduced price transit passes and/or operate a free campus shuttle for commuters?:
A brief description of the mass transit programs:
Through a partnership between Penn State Behrend and the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority—otherwise known as the "e"—all students, faculty, and staff may ride the bus for free. We also offer a shuttle that loops around campus (Route 18) running from 7:40 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Just show your Penn State ID to the driver and you're on your way! All community routes and the campus loop are included.
Does the institution offer a guaranteed return trip program to regular users of alternative modes of transportation?:
A brief description of the guaranteed return trip program:
Does the institution participate in a car/vanpool or ride sharing program and/or offer reduced parking fees or preferential parking for car/vanpoolers?:
A brief description of the carpool/vanpool program:
Does the institution participate in a car sharing program, such as a commercial car-sharing program, one administered by the institution, or one administered by a regional organization?:
A brief description of the car sharing program:
Does the institution have one or more Level 2 or Level 3 electric vehicle recharging stations that are accessible to student and employee commuters?:
A brief description of the electric vehicle recharging stations:
Does the institution offer a telecommuting program for employees as a matter of policy or as standard practice?:
A brief description of the telecommuting program:
Telecommuting is administered on a case-by-case basis by the unit with coordination through Human Resources.
See Policy: http://guru.psu.edu/policies/OHR/hrg02.html
The University’s establishment of a telecommuting program assists in meeting the needs of a workforce that has diverse work and personal demands. Telecommuting can provide flexible work schedules to accommodate temporary situations such as a leave due to a contagious illness or a temporary disability (such as a cold or a broken leg), an unexpected school closing, etc. In addition, telecommuting can provide flexibility on a long-term basis.
A telecommuting program also allows the University to address emerging environmental compliance issues, such as the Clean Air Act and to comply with legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, telecommuting provides alternate methods of addressing budget issues. Finally, a telecommuting program can strengthen management and employee relations.
Penn State has a Telecommuting Consulting Team (Office of Human Resources, Academic Services and Emerging Technologies, Telecommunications and Networking Services, and Environmental Health and Safety) for questions in developing telecommuting opportunities.
Does the institution offer a condensed work week option that reduces employee commuting (as a matter of policy or standard practice)?:
A brief description of the condensed work week option:
Penn State allows its employees to practice "flexible scheduling". The term "flexible scheduling" encompasses many variations from the standard work schedule. The more complicated the arrangements, the more record keeping and supervision of the program is required. In its simplest form, a flexible schedule involves allowing an employee to vary the span of the workday.
Flexible scheduling can be as simple as changing the work hours from an 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. workday to a 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. workday, changing the lunch break from one hour to one-half hour, or working an extra hour on Monday in order to leave an hour earlier on Tuesday. Flexible scheduling can be more complicated, allowing an employee to establish her/his own start/end times and/or lunch break, within predetermined guidelines.
Even if a supervisor has not instituted a formal flexible scheduling program, employee requests for temporary changes in the workday such as to take a class, or to go to a doctor's appointment without charging sick leave, may be granted by the supervisor, provided such requests are in accordance with the provisions of this guideline.
Although it is permissible, with the supervisor's approval, for a nonexempt staff employee to alter when the 40 hours are worked during the workweek, such employee cannot "bank" overtime hours worked in one workweek for use as time off in a future workweek. Further, the employee must understand that altered schedules cannot cause overtime to occur. While it is possible for an employee to agree to waive University overtime policies on work schedules to accommodate personal schedule preferences, Federal and State Wage and Hour laws cannot be waived.
Does the institution have incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus?:
A brief description of the incentives or programs to encourage employees to live close to campus:
Does the institution employ other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting (e.g. preferred parking for fuel-efficient vehicles, cash-out of parking programs)?:
A brief description of other strategies to reduce the impact of commuting:
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.