Washington University in St. Louis
EN-9: Staff Professional Development and Training

UCollege, WashU's continuing education program, is available to all full time WashU employees with a full tuition waiver as part of their employee benefits. Every semester, numerous sustainability courses are offered and many of the students are employees seeking to discover new information on topics that interest them, to apply to their current work, or to support a career/position shift.

The Office of Sustainability staff offers training and presentations in general sustainability to a wide variety of groups (custodial staff, kitchen staff, individual offices, faculty council, etc.) and specific topics, like green event planning and alternative transportation options, on a regular basis.

The Sustainability Action Team (SAT) meets quarterly to learn about and then disseminate information about new sustainability initiatives. Meetings feature guest speakers and are open to all staff. Content is a mix of regionally-relevant presenters/programs, as well as internal presenters/programs.

Periodically, the Office of Sustainability or Facilities departments will offer preparation courses for credential programs like LEED GA and LEED AP through the US Green Building Council, and Sustainability Facility Professionals (SFP) through the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). These multi-day trainings are typically attended by 40-45 employees and end with a credentialing exam. The university covers the costs of these trainings.

Sustainability staff and facilities staff are encouraged and supported in attending external professional development, training and conferences. A delegation of several WashU affiliates attend AASHE's conference annually. Many local opportunities for PD are available through industry groups, business associations, etc.

The Office of Sustainability maintains a webpage on relevant sustainability credentials, continuing education opportunities, and professional associations that offer sustainability-relevant professional development across a variety of fields (like purchasing, lab management, and building operation, maintenance, and design). https://sustainability.wustl.edu/get-involved/staff-faculty/professional-development/ Each department manages professional development budgets according to their own policies. In many cases, the departments will cover the costs of professional development, especially if it can be tied back to their work.

WashU annually sponsors both the national USGBC and the local chapter, which provides discounts on credentials and access to free and discounted continuing education content to employees. Our local USGBC chapter offers frequent programming, some of which we have co-hosted or presented at. The sponsorship agreement allows 5 employees to receive membership to the local USGBC chapter, provides discounts to most CEC programming, and free participation in CEC programming that is hosted at the university. As a result, staff with LEED credentials can work towards CEC requirements and other staff has easy access to high-quality training.