| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.30 |
| Liaison | Andrea Trimble |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Virginia
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.81 / 4.00 |
Nina
Morris Sustainability Outreach Coordinator Energy & Utilities |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Number of students enrolled for credit (headcount):
22,805
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):
16,034
Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer educator program:
70.31
1st Program
Sustainability Advocates
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (headcount):
16,034
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities:
The Sustainability Advocate program is a peer-to-peer volunteer program that promotes sustainable practices in residence halls, develops and executes sustainable events on Grounds and connects students to sustainability-related resources across U.Va. There are Sustainability Advocates for first-year dorms, upper-class dorms, residential colleges, as well as off grounds residences. SAs meet with every other week, and educate their residents on sustainability issues throughout the school year, as well as plan and execute outreach campaigns targeting all undergraduates at UVA. SAs are organized into groups based on residences and are assigned an Advocate Leader to help keep SAs engaged and provide more individual support. The Sustainability Advocates are responsible for developing dorm-specific outreach programs in support of the Dorm Energy Race, Recyclemania and Earth Week and Hoos ReUse. They also create university-wide outreach campaigns in support of Energize UVA, Recyclemania, and Earth Week.
A brief description of how the student educators are selected:
Recruitment begins over the summer with a social media push to incoming students, as well as tabling during Welcome Week events. Recruitment runs through the end of August, with online applications due the first week in September. Applications are reviewed by the Sustainability Outreach team of student employees and staff to make sure all candidate are passionate, reliable and all dorms are represented. SA candidates are then interviewed in person and final selections are made by mid-September. Another round of recruitment occurs at the beginning of the Spring semester when SAs are asked to renew their membership for the program.
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach:
SAs are provided training in key sustainability topic areas and develop projects based on their interests in sustainability. SAs are also given in-person training on effective tabling strategies as well as community based social marketing strategies. SAs attend biweekly meetings where the first half of the meeting is spent building knowledge on sustainability topics such as how to recycle in the dorms, how to run an effective Dorm Energy Race and most meetings include presentations by topic experts (faculty, staff and professional experts).
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 Advocate program is administered through the Office for Sustainability. The program is overseen by the Outreach & Engagement Program Manager and is supported by the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator as well as the Outreach Student Employee team and Sustainability Advocate Leaders program. All funding comes through the Office for Sustainability.
If reporting students served by additional peer-to-peer programs, provide:
2nd Program
Sustainability Advocate Leaders Program
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
60
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
The SA Leader Program is an additional program designed to provide leadership experience to those who have gone through the Sustainability Advocate Program, as well as provide any additional resources for Sustainability Advocates. Advocate Leaders (ALs) maintain consistent communication with designated SAs, and help foster an environment where SAs can learn more about sustainability at UVA and develop the skills necessary to become an effective leader. Additionally, they serve as an intermediaries between the Student Outreach Employees and the SAs, making sure that their SAs fully understand what is asked of them and actively participate in the SA program. Examples of activities include helping their SA groups develop fun, interactive tabling ideas for Recyclemania, getting students to take personal sustainability pledge photos, and organizing Earth Week events.
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
The Advocate Leaders are recruited, ideally from the previous year's Sustainability Advocates. Although not required, it is preferred that ALs understand the Sustainability Advocate program. ALs apply online through a google form, and the applications are reviewed by the Sustainability Outreach team and selected.
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (2nd program):
Advocate Leaders meet weekly. They participate in the group-wide SA meeting every other week and an AL-only meeting on the weeks in-between. During the AL meeting, ALs meet with the Outreach Team to discuss the events for the week, agenda for the next SA meeting, progress reports for the AL's SA group, and any questions or concerns that arise. ALs communicate to their SA group about what we cover during this meeting and have them reply with an update of what they worked on individually during their off-week to ensure SAs are staying involved.
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):
The Sustainability Advocate Leader program is administered through the Office for Sustainability. The program is overseen by the Outreach & Engagement Program Manager and is supported by the Sustainability Outreach Coordinator as well as the Outreach Student Employee team. All funding comes through the Office for Sustainability
If reporting students served by three or more peer-to-peer programs, provide:
3rd Program
Sustainability Student Employee Program
Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (3rd program):
16,034
A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (3rd program):
Sustainability Student Employees are committed to making sustainability part of the UVa community. The students work in teams to address four key areas of sustainability: Recycling, Energy & Water, Student Outreach and UVa Sustainability Promotion. Through various events and programs, the student employees coordinate & communicate the University’s sustainability efforts and educate their peers on ways to be more sustainable. Current Programs include:
• Sustainability Advocates Program
• UVa Sustainability Days
• Zero Waste Athletics
• Dorm Energy Race
• Recyclemania
• World Water Week
• Earth Week
• Hoos ReUse
A brief description of how the student educators are selected (3rd program):
Students apply through the internal job posting website, Cavlink. The position description is posted on the UVa Sustainability Website, social media and discussed at the Sustainability Advocates meeting. The applications are reviewed by the Outreach & Engagement Program Manager and candidates are selected for an in-person interview.
A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive to prepare them to conduct peer outreach (3rd program):
Sustainability Student Employees receive 8 hours of formal training at the beginning of the semester, followed by weekly staff meetings and weekly team meetings. The experienced team leaders are instructed to pass along knowledge regarding projects to their teams and meet with the Program Manager regularly to plan and execute initiatives. Student Employees attend (when available) a summer retreat to set the outreach objectives for the year as well as team-building activities.
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):
The Sustainability Student Employees are a year-round, part-time paid position through the Office for Sustainability.
Additional Programs
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Optional Fields
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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:
https://sustainability.virginia.edu/programs/index.html
https://sustainability.virginia.edu/about/office/staff.html
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.