Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.58
Liaison Derek Nichols
Submission Date Dec. 14, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University at Buffalo
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.75 / 4.00 Ken Kern
Building Service Operations Manager
Campus Living
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
31,543

Total number of students enrolled for credit that are served (i.e. directly targeted) by a student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting to the extent feasible):
29,600

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
93.84

Name of the student educators program:
Eco-Reps

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
16,500

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:

The Eco-Rep leadership program is a volunteer program for students on-campus, which have an interest in practicing and promoting sustainable living. Promoted behaviors include recycling, energy and water conservation, and environmental issues. An Eco-Rep’s main purpose is to educate fellow students about the importance of living in a sustainable manner. Eco-reps are asked to further their awareness surrounding sustainability, and actively participate in leading other students to join them in this pursuit. The Eco-reps share ecological information and opinions with their peers and promote practice of behaviors which help create a more sustainable world. Eco-reps perform a variety of tasks, such as coordinating and hosting informative hall programs, designing and installing educational bulletin boards, or organizing competitions between residences on each floor to reduce waste. Eco-reps are expected to help with Floor/Hall presentations, RecycleMania, Zero Waste, and various promotional events to raise awareness such as Bike Tune Up Days and Move Out. Eco-reps are asked to educate peers on a variety of topics throughout the semester which will are discussed at organizational meetings.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected:

Interested students apply to become Eco-Reps, representatives from Campus Living and UB Sustainability review applications and interview candidates.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:

Eco-Reps are formally trained by the department with which they are housed within to carry out programming needs.


A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination):

Support for the Eco-Rep program is provided by Campus Living, UB Sustainability and Student Life in the form of promotional materials and in-kind donations which directly support programming initiatives.


Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Sustainability Coordinators

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
13,100

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):

Sustainability Coordinators are managed and trained through UB's Campus Dining & Shops department and offer programming focusing on food-related issues such as Weigh the Waste Events to encourage less-wasteful eating habits; the Pride of New York Showcase which highlights the local harvest season in Western New York and New York Maple Weekend in the spring which features maple products and tells the story of Sugar Shacks in the region.


A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):

Application and interview based hiring.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):

Students are formally trained through Campus Dining & Shops. Sustainability Coordinators also work with staff and students in UB Sustainability on collaborative efforts.


A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):

Students are paid through Campus Dining & Shops


Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
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A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (3rd program):
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A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of students served and how student educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
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Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually (all programs):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.