| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.22 |
| Liaison | Olivia Wiebe |
| Submission Date | Jan. 28, 2022 |
University of Idaho
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.36 / 4.00 |
Olivia
Wiebe Sustainability Manager Office of the President |
Number of students enrolled for credit:
Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Name of the student educators program (1st program):
A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
Four student leaders (peer-to-peer educators) work collaboratively to promote the Sustainability Center Grant program to the University of Idaho student body (directly targeting 100% of law, graduate and undergraduate students as well as remote or distance learning students). This program is led by a student project coordinator.
Each year the University of Idaho Sustainability Center (UISC) awards up to $10,000 in grants to fund student-led, campus sustainability projects. Grants are available to any UI undergraduate, graduate, or law student.
All project ideas are welcome; however, special consideration is given for projects that focus on climate change & carbon neutrality, campus food systems, campus waste reduction, and campus culture shift.
Examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities in support of the grants program include five steps:
Step 1: Development of student designed marketing materials such as webpages, electronic posters, and social media.
Step 2: The student project coordinator hosts a Grant Info Forum to educate student applicants about the grant application process.
Step 3: The student project coordinator hosts a Writing Workshop. UISC student educators review draft proposals and educate applicants on what it takes to write a compelling grant proposal, how to submit a well thought out budget, and how to secure permission from appropriate campus partners.
Step 4: A student-led advisory board selects projects and awards funding.
Step 5: And finally, the UISC student program coordinator mentors grant recipients for the life of their project, ensuring that timelines are met, and budgets are spent according to contract guidelines.
A student-led and student fee funded organization, the UI Sustainability Center (UISC) supports efforts to create an active culture of sustainability. We are committed to developing and maintaining healthful, educational living environments while fully integrating sustainable practices at the University of Idaho. Sustainability involves reorganizing our life support systems: climate, energy, biodiversity, food, water, waste, transportation, and built environment. We do this through projects that reduce our environmental footprint and increase collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and community members in addressing sustainability-related issues.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
Every undergraduate, graduate and law student is encouraged to apply for a grant, where they are taught valuable skills in grant writing, project management, professional relationship building and sustainable practices by our trained student staff.
Number of trained student educators (1st program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
SLP is a student-led program that explores the big questions of sustainability and engages active change makers to improve sustainability at the University of Idaho. The program is managed by the student staff at the Sustainability Center.
For the educational portion of this program, 5 student staff members create interactive lesson plans that each focus on an important aspect of sustainability and how they impact local systems. Student staff compile current journals, articles, videos, and other educational materials to present to the participants as well as a packet of discussion questions to complete before each meeting. The discussion questions are written and updated by the student staff each year to ensure scientific accuracy and local relevancy. Student staff members are educated to ensure they have a solid understanding of each topic area and how they relate to their community, as well as are trained in leadership skills and how to apply them to accomplish change.
Participants meet weekly for 12 weeks in the fall semester to discuss what they have learned in areas such as environmental justice, alternative transportation and food systems. A rotating schedule of student staff members lead each discussion session and collect feedback on questions. Student staff engage participants in discussion, make connections back to the educational material, develop a deeper understanding of the challenges we face locally and help identify potential solutions that students can participate in within their communities. Participants are also trained in how to be strong leaders and learn skills that enhance their ability to develop action-oriented solutions.
In the spring semester participants put those ideas into action through a semester-long campus project.
This program began in 2019, and was paused in Fall 2021 due to COVID-19 precautions and lack of participants. Budget cuts also reduced our staff from 5 to 4. We plan to offer the program in a modified format in Fall 2022 depending on the advice of local health officials.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
The target audience for SLP is students of all majors at every level that wish to become leaders in sustainability in their lives on campus and beyond. In 2020, the program included undergraduates and graduates from several different degree paths and remote campuses.
Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):
A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
The Sustainability Center utilizes peer-to-peer outreach for every event that is offered. Student staff plan, market, and run events that benefit our campus community and sustainability. Over the last three years, the Sustainability Center has hosted an average of 48 student-led events per year, serving an average of 1, 805 student participants per year. These events all centered around sustainability outreach and education, provided entirely or in part by the student staff member leading the event.
Event data was averaged over 2019, 2020, and 2021 to account for significant changes in programming during the pandemic.
Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
Website URL where information about the student sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Olivia Wiebe, Sustainability Center Coordinator; Department of Student Involvement
Olivia Wiebe, Sustainability Center Coordinator; Department of Student Involvement
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.