Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 68.78
Liaison Amber Saxton
Submission Date Sept. 9, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

George Mason University
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.08 / 4.00 Margaret Lo
University Sustainability Director
Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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Does the institution coordinate one or more ongoing student, peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs that meet the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

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Number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
32,559

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Name of the student educators program (1st program):
Green Patriots program

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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (1st program):
7,680

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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (1st program):
The Green Patriot program is an environmentally-minded student group whose mission is to work with the Office of Sustainability to cultivate a culture of sustainability at George Mason University (Mason). Green Patriots help to increase environmental knowledge and foster positive environmental behavior by providing effective tools and information to their peers.

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):
Students voluntarily attend meetings, and are chosen as student educators (help lead meetings, workshops, presentations) based on expressed interest and commitment to the program.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):
Green Patriots are trained on various sustainability topics hosted by the Office of Sustainability on a regular basis. Regular peer-to-peer meetings with Green Patriots with diverse backgrounds and knowledge allow participants to share best sustainable practices across the university.

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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (1st program):
The Office of Sustainability funds the meetings and weekend trips for the Green Patriots, as well as a student intern to manage the program. The Patriot Green Fund is also utilized to fund sustainability projects that the Green Patriots implement.

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Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Sustainability Living Learning Community

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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
6,023

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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
The Sustainability Learning Living Community is an on campus residential community that unites students by their vision for a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable future for our planet. All residents are enrolled in a Leadership and Sustainability course in which they engage in peer-teaching, and implement campus greening initiatives. Students have implemented multiple green initiatives including an e-waste program, rain garden, and numerous sustainability workshops.

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
Students fill out an application and are selected based on their expressed interest in sustainability.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):
The Learning Living Community leaders (resident advisors and peer mentors) receive training on program planning from Mason Housing. All residents are required to be enrolled in a Leadership and Sustainability course. In this course the residents learn how to educate their peers about sustainability initiatives and how to implement their own sustainability projects.

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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
George Mason University (Mason) Housing provides funding for the Learning Living Community programming, and the Patriot Green Fund provides funding for green projects.

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Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
Mason Common Read program

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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
3,200

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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
As part of Mason's strategic goal of being a model well-being university, all first-year students and transfer students will read a common book promoting well-being concepts and building a strengths-based culture. Approximately 190 student leaders are being trained to discuss concepts within the book such as discovering each individual's strengths, finding their purpose through those strengths, the benefit of positivity, and building resilience to difficulties.

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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
Student leaders such as Resident Advisors, Orientation student leaders, Living Learning Community leaders, and Student Advisors are currently being trained for the fall 2014 cohort of first year and transfer students.

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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (3rd program):
All student leaders will be given the common read book and trained to facilitate events and experiences related to the book in their respective areas.

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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
The institution is providing the common read books for the student leaders, first year students, and has worked with the campus bookstore to offer the book to the rest of the campus at a discounted rate.

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Name(s) of the student educator program(s) (all other programs):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by all other student educator programs:
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A brief description of the program(s), including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (all other programs):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (all other programs):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (all other programs):
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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (all other programs):
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Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
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The website URL for the peer-to-peer student outreach and education program(s):
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Data is for FY15.

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.