Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 85.66
Liaison Mark Lichtenstein
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
EN-13: Community Service

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.40 / 5.00 Sarah Houck
Coordinator, Student Involvement and Leadership
Student Affairs
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Percentage of students participating in community service 

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 1 of this credit (student participation in community service)?:
Yes

Total number of students:
1,918

Number of students engaged in community service:
1,775

Percentage of students engaged in community service:
92.54

Part 2. Community service hours per student

Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (community service hours)?:
Yes

Total number of student community service hours contributed annually:
30,996

Number of annual community service hours contributed per student:
16.16

Part 3. Employee community service program

Does the institution have a formal program to support employee volunteering during regular work hours?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s program to support employee volunteering:
ESF recognizes employees in the spring through the President's Award for Community Service and the Quality of Work-Life Award for Excellence in Public Service. These awards are given to faculty and staff who exhibit a deep connection to serve the public good, and serves in a capacity that is beyond the scope of their position. They also must exemplify the desire to lead change and inspire others through their service. The nomination process is community driven and a selection committee chooses the top applicants and the President makes the final decision on who to honor for the award.

During this stage of the pandemic, the College President has authorized all employees who are willing to volunteer at COVID vaccination locations during their work day without penalty.

Does the institution track the number of employee community service hours contributed through programs it sponsors?:
Yes

Total number of employee community service hours contributed annually through programs sponsored by the institution:
4,500

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s community service programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Some examples of our community service programming:

COVID Vaccination Location Volunteering:

This program just started in 2021 has a number of employees offering their assistance at local vaccination locations.

Alternative Spring Break Program:

For the last seven years, 10-12 students and three staff members dedicate their spring break to volunteering in the Syracuse community. Work starts as early at 6am and goes into the late evening. During the week long service project, ESF students and staff build tiny homes for the homeless population in Syracuse. Each day they take time to serve at local soup kitchens.

Saturday of Service:

In 2019, the sixteenth year of the program, approximately 346 students, 12 staff members, and 52 OLs, were placed at 15 park and/or community sites. The program occurs on the Saturday of first-year student orientation. First-year students, assigned by their small groups, are placed at a local parks. Some parks have more work and would like larger groups of students but the maximum number of small groups sent to any one park is 12 (~50 students), as more cannot fit onto a bus.

The Saturday of Service:

- Introduces incoming first-year students to ESF and the culture of service
- Provides new students with opportunities to connect with their peers
- Demonstrates the importance of parks and service to the community
- Increases the level of engagement in service projects during students’ time at ESF

2019 Site Details: 15 sites in total

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.