Stevens Institute of Technology
AC-8: Campus as a Living Laboratory

Student interns created and published a Sustainability Literacy Assessment and Sustainability Culture Assessment that were distributed to the campus community. They also created reports that summarized the results.

The Sustainability Literacy Assessment is a survey that is sent out to the student body to evaluate their sustainability knowledge. The assessment results show knowledge on sustainability of the students and also help to promote and encourage improving sustainability literacy at Stevens. The same survey is sent out during both semesters to evaluate the advancement of sustainability knowledge for the students from the fall semester to the spring.

The Sustainability Culture Assessment is a survey that is also sent out to the students via email, and is conducted each semester focusing on sustainability values, beliefs, and behaviors of the Stevens students and employees. Results can cover what students do to promote their own sustainability practices, and what they can do to improve them on and off campus. The survey also covers what motivates students and faculty to engage in sustainable behavior, how much sustainability applies to their career or future career paths, and how important Steven’s sustainability reputation impacted their decision to work and attend the institution. Overall, the questions relate to improving sustainability efforts and awareness for students and staff based on how they are currently doing and what they could be doing to go even further.

In 2022, Sustainability Management students worked on a UN Sustainable Development Goals dashboard for the City of Hoboken.
They created a Sustainability Management Plan for West Orange, NJ in 2021 and Stafford, NJ in 2022. The new mayor of West Orange has made the implementation of the Sustainability Management Plan one of her top priorities. The students use all the resources available to them at Stevens to provide plans that guide how municipalities can function in more sustainable ways.

Student interns helped revamp the Personal Transportation Device Policy at Stevens, which addresses the topic of students utilizing personal transportation devices on campus and pathways, and covers the safety of where the devices can be used and parked. This policy helps to cover the needs of those who care about minimizing the use of devices that have a larger impact on pollution (motor vehicles) by using the PTDs on campus as alternative transportation options. It accounts for the focus of being a more sustainable campus with these devices, while also promoting safety with the regulations of device storage and reducing the chances of a fire hazard. By working on updating and promoting more sustainable traveling options, student interns can learn how to address campus operations with a more environmentally friendly view and work to improve sustainability practices at Stevens.

The Commute Habits Survey is a survey that is conducted each year and focuses on the commuter habits of Stevens students and employees, which will help guide and develop future transportation policies that are enforced at Stevens. The survey discusses how often students and staff need to travel to campus in a week, what devices or methods they use to travel to campus and within campus, and what primary modes of transportation are used on campus. The results from the survey can provide the transportation department with valuable information to improve their policies on campus safety and personal transportation devices and help to promote devices that are a more sustainable way to travel, leading Stevens with a more environmentally friendly campus.

Stevens has been awarded Honorable Mention recognition for the 2022 Bicycle Friendly University award. The award recognizes that Stevens is a bike-friendly campus where it encourages students to bike throughout campus. A student intern worked on the application.

Stevens Student Government Association has created a Sustainability Committee. The first goal of that committee is to bring on-campus composting to Stevens. The committee is working with a student in the Sustainability Management program and the Transportation and Sustainability Development Manager to put together a plan that will allow students to compost their personal food waste.

Stevens has participated and is currently participating in the STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) Report for AASHE (the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education), which involves reporting the sustainability performance and efforts of the institution and how improvements for a more sustainable campus are being made. Currently, 3 student interns are working with the Department of Transportation and Sustainability Development on the STARS report to develop and plan different and new methods to address how Stevens can improve their efforts and use its resources to create a more environmentally friendly campus and decrease its negative impact on the world.

A person's name is central to their identity. Stevens has a diverse community of students and employees from over 70 countries. Pronouncing names correctly is challenging and when people are unsure, they often completely sidestep calling someone by name, detracting from personal interaction. This initiative was proposed because it contributes to a sustainable community where members feel valued and are therefore more engaged in the enterprise.

NameCoach was contracted to embed audio clip name pronunciations in email signatures to easily learn and remember how to say someone’s name. This is a highly visible university-wide initiative to foster belonging and inclusion. Incentivizing the Stevens community to adopt this technology is critical to the success of the investment and effort.

The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion worked with a Stevens student to contribute to the development and implementation of a marketing strategy. A significant increase in community participation resulted from an innovative video and a contest that the student developed and posted to social media. To date, more than 2000 students and employees have recorded their names.