| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 61.63 |
| Liaison | Leslie North |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Western Kentucky University
EN-2: Student Orientation
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.49 / 2.00 |
Madeline
Petty Graduate Assistant Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences |
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 | No |
| Entering graduate students | No |
Percentage of all entering students that are provided an opportunity to participate in orientation activities and programming that prominently include sustainability:
A brief description of how sustainability is included prominently in new student orientation :
For first-year students, WKU offers M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan, WKU's five day transition program for first year residential students. M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan provides new students with the opportunity to move to campus a week early--before upperclassmen arrive, before classes begin--to get acclimated to campus, find out where their classes are located, and begin building social support networks. The program strives to assist new students in making a successful academic, as well as social, transition from home and high school to college at WKU, integrating aspects of social and environmental sustainability through peer-to-peer and group workshops on physical and mental well-being in school. M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan concludes with a campus-wide community volunteer day - Big Red's Blitz. Students volunteer with a variety of local nonprofits including Habitat for Humanity, Operation Pride (a community beautification initiative), the Office of Sustainability and Resource Conservation. In 2019, the Big Red Blitz team worked with the Office of Sustainability to break ground on the construction of a new community garden on campus. In 2023, the Big Red Blitz team worked to clean up the local Creekwood Greenway in the wake of recent tornado damage. Students worked to revitalize the space and contribute to restoration and transformation of the community, creating a welcoming and sustainable park environment for all to enjoy. Other Big Red Blitz programs in 2023 included Lost River Cave restoration and preservation activities supporting native biodiversity, Cultural Awareness Corvette Weekend, and Centers for Hope Thrift Store promoting sustainability through donation and second hand purchasing. All incoming first-year students are offered the opportunity to participate in M.A.S.T.E.R Plan activities. In 2023, 2046 students, 74% of the incoming cohort, participated.
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:
Data provided by Ginny Hensley of WKU Housing and Residence Life, Amelia Kolb of Student Activities, and Stefanie Estes of WKU Institutional Research.
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.