Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.01
Liaison Paul Mathisen
Submission Date May 23, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Liz Tomaszewski
Facilities Systems Manager/Sustainability Coordinator
Facilities Department
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
6,642

Total number of students enrolled for credit that are served (i.e. directly targeted) by a student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program (avoid double-counting to the extent feasible):
6,642

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
100

1st Program 

Name of the student educators program:
Eco Rep Program

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
6,642

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The aim of the program is to have an Eco-Rep in each academic/administrative building/residence hall present to answer questions, publicize ways of being sustainable on campus, and run events. The eco-reps are currently focusing on waste minimization, recycling, water conservation, and energy conservation.

A brief description of how the student educators are selected:
Students from each building volunteer to serve as eco-reps, and the Sustainablity Office confirms them, or the Office of Sustainability identifies an individual as asks them to serve.

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
Training is provided by Waste Management, Facilities Department, and Office of Sustainability

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination):
Financial support provided by Sustrainability Office; eco-reps are provided with logo'd vests and incentive give-aways to build awareness. Supervision and oversight is provided by the Sustainability Office.

If reporting students served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:

2nd Program

Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Engineering Ambassadors

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
2,000

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
"WPI Engineering Ambassadors’ program, sponsored by United Technologies Corporation (UTC), engages middle and high school students in the exciting opportunities present in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field. They work together as a team to challenge conventional ideas and promote opportunities available to future generations in the engineering field. Engineering Ambassadors engage the younger generation through middle school tours, off-campus visits to schools and organizations, and on-campus events to engage others in the excitement of engineering. Ambassadors learn to effectively communicate technical information to a wide variety of audiences, providing valuable skills in the professional field. During the program, Ambassadors develop leadership, presentation, and project management skills for their own educational and professional development. In addition, Ambassadors receive a $1,000 stipend for their involvement and also qualify for the opportunity for a potential summer internship, plus a possible job in the future, with UTC and other sponsoring companies. "

A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
8-12 undergraduate students selected as Ambassadors based upon their major, GPA, and criteria important to the sponsoring organization.

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
Intensive presentation training and fundamental leadership modules such as leadership, change management, and project management.

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (2nd program):
An academic year stipend for the Ambassadors. A summer internship for Ambassadors with the sponsoring organization.

If reporting students served by three or more peer-to-peer programs, provide:

3rd Program 

Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Student Sustainability Leaders

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
4,320

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
Leaders from student sustainability groups meet to share ideas, provide input, and collaborate on campus sustainabiliity initiatives. Current collaboration involves working within clubs to increase food recovery programs, to "ditch the disposables," and to increase recycling

A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
Students were selected by executive boards of student sustainability groups

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
Their training is their experience working on the boards that they represent

A brief description of the financial and/or administrative support the institution provides to the program (e.g. annual budget and/or faculty/staff coordination) (3rd program):
Financial support and oversight is provided by Sustainability Office

Additional Programs 

A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs, including the number of students served and how student educators are selected, trained, and supported by the institution:
N/A

Optional Fields 

Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually (all programs):
1,500

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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