Virginia Tech
EN-3: Student Life

Institution has co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives. The programs and initiatives fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Active student groups focused on sustainability

• Gardens, farms, community supported agriculture (CSA) or fishery programs, and urban agriculture projects where students are able to gain experience in organic agriculture and sustainable food systems

• Sustainable enterprises that include sustainability as part of their mission statements or stated purposes (e.g. cafés through which students gain sustainable business skills)

• Sustainable investment funds, green revolving funds or sustainable microfinance initiatives through which students can develop socially, environmentally and fiscally responsible investment and financial skills

• Conferences, speaker series, symposia or similar events related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience

• Cultural arts events, installations or performances related to sustainability that have students as the intended audience

• Wilderness or outdoors programs (e.g. that organize hiking, backpacking, kayaking, or other outings for students and follow Leave No Trace principles

• Sustainability-related themes chosen for themed semesters, years, or first-year experiences (e.g. choosing a sustainability-related book for common reading)

• Programs through which students can learn sustainable life skills (e.g. a series of sustainable living workshops, a model room in a residence hall that is open to students during regular visitation hours and demonstrates sustainable living principles, or sustainability-themed housing where residents and visitors learn about sustainability together)

• Sustainability-focused student employment opportunities offered by the institution

• Graduation pledges through which students pledge to consider social and environmental responsibility in future job and other decisions

• Other co-curricular sustainability programs and initiatives

Multiple programs and initiatives may be reported for each category and each category may include institution-governed and/or student-governed programs.

This credit applies to all institutions.

Institutions earn 0.25 points for each category listed above for which it has one or more programs up to a maximum of 2 points available for this credit. Partial points are available based on the number of categories for which an institution has programs.

Timeframe

Report on currently available programs and on events that occurred during the three years prior to the anticipated date of submission.

Sampling and Data Standards

Not applicable