Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 58.75
Liaison Mark Klapatch-Mathias
Submission Date May 1, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Wisconsin-River Falls
EN-6: Employee Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.20 / 3.00 Mary Wright
Asst. Professor
Teacher Education
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution administer or oversee an ongoing faculty/staff peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program that meets the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

Total number of employees:
882

Name of the employee educators program (1st program) :
Sustainability Faculty Fellows

Number of employees served by the program (1st program):
36

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (1st program):

The previous year's cohort of Sustainability Faculty Fellows mentor the incoming year's cohort with guidance from the St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development.


A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive (1st program):

Incoming fellows attend a workshop based on the AASHE "Sustainability Across the Curriculum" workshop
(http://www.aashe.org/events/workshops/curriculum).

In addition, the Sustainability Learning Outcomes Project committee runs a faculty workshop to engage faculty in reflecting upon their changed curriculum, framing coursework with essential questions, articulate activities and assessments, and naming sustainability learning objectives that gets to the heart of the central goal for student learning. This information is being compiled within a curriculum chart, tracking the growth and progress of integrating sustainability within a myriad of disciplines on campus. The Committee seeks to initiate further dialogue regarding stimulating innovative sustainability curriculum and practice, and motivation or incentives for faculty to integrate sustainability issues and concepts in coursework.


A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (1st program):

UWRF's St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development provides funding for the workshop, travel to attend the AASHE workshop at Emory University, and stipends for completing course designs to infuse sustainability into the curriculum. In 2013, 11 faculty and the Provost and Vice-Chancellor For Academic Affairs attended the AASHE workshop. Funded Professor Mary Wright’s half of the UWRF presentation at AASHE concerning the Sustainability Learning Outcomes Project (SLOP).


The website URL where information about the program is available (1st program):
Name of the employee educators program (2nd program):
Sustainability Working Group

Number of employees served by the program (2nd program):
9

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

The SWG is a Faculty Senate committee consisting of 11 voting members (2 of which are students) chaired by a qualifying member as appointed by Faculty Senate. There is one ex officio, non-voting member from the River Falls community. The SWG has no standing sub-committees, however, it will augment non-voting members as needed to address the scope of sustainability goals and initiatives.


A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive (2nd program):

The Sustainability Working Group (SWG) is the primary shared-governance group for promoting and coordinating sustainability values, principles, and practices at UW-River Falls. The SWG addresses the planning, design, implementation, and assessment of sustainable campus community programs and policies as well as documentation, such as the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS®), the Climate Action Plan (CAPlan), and the Sustainable Campus Community Plan (SCCPlan).

The SWG is a conduit through which the campus community can recommend curricular, co-curricular, operational, financial, and other sustainable campus initiatives and policies to the appropriate faculty, student, and/or administrative governance or operational units.

The duties of the SWG are to 1.) facilitate the continual refinement of a holistic vision for UWRF as a premier sustainable campus community model that fully and systemically integrates inclusivity, global literacy, leadership, and sustainability, as a culture of learning and living, and 2.) recommend campus sustainability projects, monitor their progress, and submit budget requests on behalf of the entire campus for sustainability related projects and programs.

Recommendations of the SWG will be forwarded to the appropriate governance group and the chair will consult with these groups as necessary.


A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):

Because SWG is a standing committee of faculty senate, there is no institutional financial support. SWG is generally funded by The St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development & Office of Sustainability. There is a $10k expense account but no directed funding.


The website URL where information about the program is available (2nd program):
Name(s) of the employee educator program(s) (all other programs):
Peer Empowerment and Community Education (PEACE)

Number of employees served by all other programs:
15

A brief description of how the employee educators are selected (all other programs):

Participants were trained through the Office of Student Life in multiple areas throughout the academic year.

Please refer to the website for more information on the workshops, the training team, and other general info: http://www.uwrf.edu/StudentLife/SocioculturalProgramming/PEACE.cfm


A brief description of the formal training that the employee educators receive (all other programs):

Three unique Workshop series were offered during the academic year through the Office of Student Life. See the website for more information on the workshops: http://www.uwrf.edu/StudentLife/SocioculturalProgramming/PEACE.cfm


A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program(s) (all other programs):

One staff member in Student Life served as the main organizer. Generally all other trainers/facilitators were student staff who assisted in the faculty/staff/student training workshops.


The website URL where information about the program(s) is available (all other programs):
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.