Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.72
Liaison Jim Walker
Submission Date June 6, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Texas at Austin
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.39 / 4.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit:
51,988

Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
40,048

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
77.03

Name of the student educators program (1st program):
University of Texas Campus Environmental Center (CEC)

A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):

The CEC is a sponsored student organization within the Office of Sustainability. The CEC's mission is "To empower the University of Texas at Austin community to pursue a genuine culture of environmental sustainability through constructive and dynamic means." Each year the CEC hires ~14 student leaders to conduct various types of outreach activities to their peers. Student leaders work on a variety of projects, some of which center around peer-to-peer outreach activities. Programs/initiatives include: (a) Green Greeks: Student leaders educate Greek life about living sustainably with a particular focus on recycling and composting. Includes regular educational meetings for sustainability student representatives from many of the Greek houses. (b) Green Events: Student-led consultation service that educates and supports other student organizations in hosting sustainable events. (c) Microfarm: Student-run urban farm and community garden with weekly workdays where students and student organizations learn about and participate in sustainable agriculture. (d) Education & Outreach: Student-led, campus-wide educational workshops, service events, and tabling educational initiatives. (e) Environmental Justice Collective: Student-led community teaching and learning about environmental justice issues. (f) Trash to Treasure: Move-out donation drive and pop-up thrift sales where clothing and home goods are sold for $1 each. The CEC also engages with students through a monthly newsletter and social media to share green tips, articles, events/opportunities, and more.


A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):

Undergraduate population


Number of trained student educators (1st program):
14

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
43

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
10

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
6,020

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
UT Farm Stand

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

UT Farm Stand is a student-run sustainability program based in University Housing and Dining. The program encompasses two campus food gardens, a biweekly farmers market, and zero waste initiatives. Student workers and volunteers produce educational programs, events, posters, etc. for the UT community. These students are advised by professional staff but are otherwise given the autonomy to generate educational programming in a way most effective amongst their peers.


A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):

UT Students are the primary target audience, however the reach of UT Farm Stand’s educational programs reach the entire UT community. Some programs such as the plate waste initiative have a target audience with on-campus residents.


Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
20

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
36

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
10

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
7,200

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Resource Recovery Internship Program

A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):

The internship program incorporates students into projects and initiatives within the strategy and focus of the Resource Recovery unit of Facilities Services. Students utilize campus as a living lab to further the work being done to achieve zero waste on campus and develop valuable job skillsets in the process. Resource Recovery provides thorough onboarding to ensure interns are knowledgeable and confident educating others on zero waste.


A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):

Tablings are conducted several times per semester to reach the student population with zero waste guidance.
During the summer, programs shift to target new student orientation with an educational session and guided diversion at a weekly lunch.


Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
20

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
39

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
10

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
2,555

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 Communications team is comprised of three students who create and disseminate information for the Office of Sustainability through social media and a monthly newsletter. Social media, in particular, targets students and aims to educate students about sustianability issues as well as campus sustainability events.

The Landscape Services student interns coordinate on-campus creek clean-ups for student organizations, teach fellow students about native plants at campus events, and assist the Landscape Services staff in removing invasive species, planting native species, and managing the Little Blue prairie restoration site.


Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
5

Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
30

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
8

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
1,200

Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
16,975

Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
0.42

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:

While graduate, post-doc and professional students are all able and welcome to learn and participate in the above programs, only undergraduate students are 'directly targeted'.


While graduate, post-doc and professional students are all able and welcome to learn and participate in the above programs, only undergraduate students are 'directly targeted'.

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.