Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 65.69
Liaison Jennifer Kleindienst
Submission Date April 5, 2023

STARS v2.2

Wesleyan University
EN-2: Student Orientation

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Jennifer Kleindienst
Sustainability Coordinator
Finance and Administration
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Are the following students provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability?:
Yes or No
First-year students Yes
Transfer students Yes
Entering graduate students Yes

Percentage of all entering students that are provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability:
100

A brief description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation :
Since 2015, first-year students have been able to participate in sustainability in Orientation through one or more activities planned by the Eco Facilitators; for the past several years this has been a "Tacos and Talk" event where Eco Facilitators prepare vegan taco fixings for incoming students with mostly local ingredients, then students enjoy dinner and conversation outside. First-years are also introduced to sustainability through composting at events, the Waste Not tag sale, and cardboard collection during move-in.

Since 2019, students have participated in an optional (about 75% participation) educational interactive online quiz, Sustainability EDU, developed and annually updated by the Sustainability Office.

In 2022, the Allbritton Center for civic engagement launched "The NewlyWes Game" for Orientation leaders to do with small groups of incoming students. Topics (Jeopardy-style) included on-campus engagement, sustainability topics, environmental justice, and engaging with the Middletown community.

For graduate students, the Sustainability Office gives a brief presentation in new grad student orientation. A printed copy of the Quick Guide to a Sustainable Wesleyan, Graduate Student Edition, is included in the new graduate student orientation packet that each new incoming student receives. The link to this information is also online.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about sustainability in student orientation is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Graduate students have a separate orientation that includes sustainability. Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) is a separate, part-time graduate program that does not have an orientation.

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.