Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.55
Liaison Susan Powers
Submission Date Feb. 22, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Clarkson University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.96 / 4.00 Alex French
Sustainability Coordinator
ISE
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
4,669

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):
2,284

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
48.92

1st Program 

Name of the student educators program:
Sustainability Internship Program

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
2,284

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
We usually hire 3-4 student sustainability interns. Peer education and outreach across campus is their main responsibilities. They work between 6-10 hours per week through the semester. Their tasks change based on the skill sets of the individual student and the priorities of the campus sustainability committee. Some examples of some of the activities they have carried out recently include distributing recycling information to all incoming freshmen, working with RAs to create sustainability poster boards in residence halls, posting weekly sustainability tips/facts on campus electronic signs, going door to door training campus apartment residents about water and energy conservation, coordinating sustainability events throughout the academic year, tabling to explain and get out the vote on candidate sustainability fund projects, teaching residents about and coordinating our campus move-out program (promoted to off-campus students as well), running an apartment food waste program, meeting with representatives from Greek Life houses to provide tips on sustainable living off campus, etc.

A brief description of how the student educators are selected:
A position is posted for a Sustainability Internship. Applicants are required to submit a resume, cover letter, and they often have a letter of recommendation.

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
Students are guided by more senior interns, the Sustainability Coordinator, and the Director of Sustainability. They report to the Sustainability Coordinator. Intern work requires them to check into the ISE office weekly for specific tasks and review/revision of their efforts. New interns will receive a significant amount of training (in event planning at Clarkson, for example). Our veteran interns on the other hand will often just report back each week on their progress.

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):
The Sustainability Coordinator spends a significant amount (25%) of time working with and directing the Sustainability Interns. In addition $8,000/y is allocated for paying our interns.

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

2nd Program

Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Smart Housing Program

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
128

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
Students on the SHP research team develop weekly messages to share with residents in the SH apartments. The messages they develop include motivation, facts and tips related to electricity and water conservation. The student researchers on this team also work with some of these students in face-to-face workshops and focus group discussions.

A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
Students apply for the positions

A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
SHP student researchers meet with the research team weekly to learn about the program and expectations for messages. They work with faculty to refine their ideas before communication ensues.

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):
Students are paid for ~10h/y through work study funding (75%), supplemented by ISE dept. funds (25%)

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

3rd Program 

Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
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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):
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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:
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Optional Fields 

Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually (all programs):
800

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Students impacted by student educator peer to peer programs includes all residential students. * First year students - Interns provide hallway sustainability bulletin boards * Apartment dwellers - information and goals of Food waste collection program are communicated to all apartment dwellers, many of these students then participate. * All residential students - value and opportunities to participate in Take it or Leave it end of year material goods collection and redistribution program are communicated. An unknown number of graduate students at the Potsdam campus are also impacted and educated through the take it or leave it program. This number is not quantifiable and not included here.

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.