Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.15
Liaison Paul Scanlon
Submission Date Feb. 29, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

Slippery Rock University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Paul Scanlon
Special Assistant to the President
President's Office/Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Does the institution coordinate one or more ongoing student, peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs that meet the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

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Number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
8,418

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Name of the student educators program (1st program):
Sustainability-focused FYRST Seminars
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (1st program):
2,379
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (1st program):
Program is offered to 2,379 incoming first year students. The graduate assistant and/or student interns of SRU's Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research teach first year (FYRST) seminars on energy conservation and sustainability principles to incoming students each year. When possible, these seminars are presented at the Macoskey Center so that the students can also receive a guided tour of the Harmony House and surrounding grounds that feature sustainability related demonstration projects. Graduate Assistants and interns/student workers/volunteers interested in sustainable topics are typically selected based on faculty recommendations of students taking sustainability-related classes. Graduate assistants and student interns/workers/volunteers receive hands-on education from the Director of the Macoskey Center (an environmental educator), various faculty members, and the head of the Office of Sustainability. The Macoskey Center operations are directly supported financially by the University. Individual demonstration projects are sometimes financed by SRU Green Fund Grants, and some (like the current aquaponics demonstration project) are funded through external grants. Generally faculty members and/or the head of the Office of Sustainability donate their time to mentor the student volunteers and internships working on such projects, that then become part of the Macoskey Center tours.
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):
Graduate Assistants and interns/student workers/volunteers interested in sustainable topics are typically selected based on faculty recommendations of students taking sustainability-related classes.
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):
Graduate assistants and student interns/workers/volunteers receive hands-on education from the Director of the Macoskey Center (an environmental educator), various faculty members, and the head of the Office of Sustainability.
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (1st program):
The Macoskey Center operations are directly supported financially by the University. Individual demonstration projects are sometimes financed by SRU Green Fund Grants, and some (like the current aquaponics demonstration project) are funded through external grants. Generally faculty members and/or the head of the Office of Sustainability donate their time to mentor the student volunteers and internships working on such projects, that then become part of the Macoskey Center tours.
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

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Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research Tours

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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
8,418

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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
The Macoskey Center is SRU's flagship for teaching and demonstrating sustainability concepts, and is staffed by a graduate assistant and student workers who offer tours of the LEED Silver-certified Harmony House and surrounding 71 acre site. The G.A. and student workers provide peer-to-peer education on various topics (energy and water conservation, alternative energy, organic gardening, grey water systems, rainwater harvesting systems, composting, preservation, etc.) to any class or group of students interested, using the on-site infrastructure to demonstrate the practical application of these concepts. For more details, see http://www.sru.edu/offices/macoskey-center.

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
Graduate Assistants and student workers interested in sustainable topics are typically selected based on faculty recommendations of students taking sustainability-related classes.

None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):
Graduate assistants and student interns/workers/volunteers receive hands-on education and training on how to lead the tours from the Director of the Macoskey Center (an environmental educator), various faculty members, and the head of the Office of Sustainability.

None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
The Macoskey Center operations are directly supported financially by the University. Individual demonstration projects are sometimes financed by SRU Green Fund Grants, and some (like the current aquaponics demonstration project) are funded through external grants. Generally faculty members and/or the head of the Office of Sustainability donate their time to mentor the student volunteers and interns working on such projects, that then become part of the Macoskey Center tours.

None
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
n/a
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
0
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
n/a
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
n/a
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (3rd program):
n/a
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
n/a
+ Date Revised: July 7, 2016

None
Name(s) of the student educator program(s) (all other programs):
"Green Leaves" Departmental Sustainability Certification program, "Macoskey's ALTER Missionaries of Sustainability" video production

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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by all other student educator programs:
8,418

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A brief description of the program(s), including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (all other programs):
The Green Leaves program is a sustainable departments certification program being developed and piloted by student interns of the Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator. The program is modeled after Harvard University's "Green Office Program" and is intended to help change the culture of the campus by interacting directly with faculty, staff, and students connected with each Academic Department. The ALTER video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOU1kTkvKiI) is a documentary of how SRU's Macoskey Center for Sustainable Systems Education and Research was founded, and was produced by student interns of the Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator to teach their peers (as well as the general public) the history and guiding principles of the Center.

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (all other programs):
Students submit applications to the Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator (SEA) expressing their interest in a student internship, and are selected by SRU faculty members who manage the SEA.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (all other programs):
While some formal classroom instruction is provided on sustainability topics and the Triple Bottom Line principles of sustainability, much of the training is on-the-job and includes mentoring by knowledgeable business owners, faculty, and/or Office of Sustainability staff.

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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (all other programs):
The SEA was originally funded by a grant and receives financial support through additional grants. It is also supported by SRU faculty and staff who donate their time to mentor student interns.

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Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
370

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The website URL for the peer-to-peer student outreach and education program(s):
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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