Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 66.51
Liaison Aurora Sharrard
Submission Date Feb. 28, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Pittsburgh
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.01 / 4.00 Erika Ninos
Sustainability Program Coordinator
PittServes
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Part 1. Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer, sustainability educators program

Number of students enrolled for credit:
28,391

Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
7,891

Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
27.79

1st program

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

A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
The University of Pittsburgh recruits approximately 100 student volunteers each fall semester to function as the "Pitt Green Team" during Arrival Survival and orientation activities. These students receive specialized training in campus sustainability practices including recycling procedures and food waste composting. They work in teams to act as sustainability ambassadors at the residence halls during the fall move-in. They also assist with recycling and composting during the special events that happen during orientation week. The Pitt Green Team members that apply to serve, are selected based on their answers to several essay questions focused on gaging their interest in campus sustainability. They receive a full weekend of training, networking and tours prior to serving. The students continue to participate in sustainability focused events and service throughout their first semester.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The audience for Pitt Green Team is twofold- all first year students and students living in University of Pittsburgh residence halls.

Number of trained student educators (1st program):
100

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (1st program):
1

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (1st program):
4

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (1st program):
400

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):

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

2nd program

Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
Pitt EcoReps

A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Housing established the EcoReps program in academic year 2019-20 to promote a culture of sustainability within residence halls. Pitt EcoReps are student residents who help their peers live sustainably in residence halls.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
The target audience for the Pitt EcoReps program are all students living in University of Pittsburgh residence halls.

Number of trained student educators (2nd program):
5

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (2nd program):
34

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (2nd program):
5

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (2nd program):
850

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):

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

3rd program 

Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
First Year Sustainability Presenters

A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
The University of Pittsburgh's Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation trains sustainability-driven students to give a variety of sustainability informational presentations to first year classes. These presentations teach students how to get involved in sustainability on campus through a variety of avenues ranging from student organizations, current initiatives, and academic opportunities for students interested in sustainability. First Year Sustainability Presenters are trained by Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation faculty members.

A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
The target audience for the First Year Sustainability Presenters are all first year students, with the hope and expectation that we can raise their awareness about what sustainability is, how Pitt is working on becoming more sustainable, and what opportunities to get engaged in, study about, and advance sustainability exist on campus.

Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
7

Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
32

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per trained student educator (3rd program):
1.50

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (3rd program):
336

Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):

Additional programs 

A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
In Academic Year 2020-21, the "Pitt Green Team Leaders" program was to be piloted as 2nd year Pitt Green Team engagement. The goal of this program was to encourage former first year Pitt Green Team members to take leadership positions and mentor incoming first year students during their second year. Due to Covid-19, the program pivoted to allow the Green Team Leaders to work jointly with the Student Office of Sustainability and Pitt EcoReps to create a library of social media content that focuses on key sustainability initiatives at Pitt.

Number of trained student educators (all other programs):
8

Number of weeks, on average, the student educators programs are active annually (all other programs):
6

Average or expected number of hours worked weekly per student educator (all other programs) :
4

Total number of hours worked annually by trained student educators (all other programs):
192

Part 2. Educator hours per student served by a peer-to-peer educator program

Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
1,778

Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
0.23

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the student sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.