Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 48.18
Liaison Cora Kenfield
Submission Date July 27, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.0

Vassar College
ER-1: Student Sustainability Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
-- 0.00 / 5.00 Jeff Walker
College Sustainability Coordinator
Sustainability

This credit was marked as Not Pursuing so Reporting Fields will not be displayed.

Notes on the submission: Vassar does not have a formal peer-to-peer education program, however, we have an internship program, which employs six students a year as interns for the sustainability committee. In addition to committee educational outreach, each intern works closely with an administrative office on campus on sustainability matters. The six intern positions are listed below, along with the administrative office that they work most closely with:

1. Buildings and Grounds intern (Building and Grounds department)
2. Purchasing intern (Purchasing office)
3. Local Foods intern (Campus Dining office)
4. Recycling and composting intern (Campus Dining; Custodial Services)
5. Education intern (Residential Life office)
6. Community Relations intern (many different offices)

This arrangement not only gives the student interns experience as educators, but it also gives them experience in the practical aspects of sustainability actions because they help these offices in their sustainability activities.

The interns could be said to serve the entire campus (students, faculty and staff) because at one time or another their projects have wide ranging effects. The internship program is competitive. Students apply to become interns, and are interviewed by members of the committee. There were 25 applicants for 4 open positions this past year. The interns are trained by the sustainability coordinator, the sustainability representative in the office with which they work and by current interns in a half-day retreat.

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.