Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.41
Liaison Deborah Steinberg
Submission Date Feb. 18, 2013
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.2

Carnegie Mellon University
ER-1: Student Sustainability Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 5.00 / 5.00 Erika Ninos
Environmental Program Coordinator
Steinbrenner Institute
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Total number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
10,856

Program name (1st program):
Eco Reps

Number of students served by the program to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (1st program):
4,137

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (1st program):

Eco-Reps is a student group focused on encouraging the Carnegie Mellon community to live more sustainably on campus. Members are encouraged not only to participate in Eco-Reps events, but to create and plan events themselves. Eco-Reps are encouraged to be sustainability ambassadors for their residence halls and to plan programs for their dorm-mates.

Recent Activities:

Zero Waste Monitoring at the Ceilidh Chili Cook Off and Tailgate Party
Zero Waste Composting Training
Canvas Bag Giveaways
"Unplug Your Cell Phone Charger" Campaign
Plastic Bag Reuse/Recycle Program


A brief description of how the student educators are selected (1st program):

All students who express an interest in promoting sustainable living practices in campus residential halls and committing to be an Eco-Rep are accepted and receive an educational training. This student program is voluntary with no stipend. The residential living community includes on & off campus residents, and Fraternity & Sorority Housing.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (1st program):

Students receive an educational training on a variety of sustainability topics from a peer educator. Students engage and learn about current environmental topics and issues at each session. Topics include but are not limited to water, food, waste, consumption, green living, energy, climate and transportation.


A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (1st program):

Carnegie Mellon University Housing & Dining Services financially supports the Eco-Rep program. The Coordinator of Student Development in Student Affairs advises this program.


The website URL for 1st Program:
Program name (2nd program):
Student College at Carnegie Mellon (StuCo)

Number of students to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (2nd program):
10,856

A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):

The Student College (StuCo) is being established to provide members of the Carnegie Mellon community with the opportunity to share in educational course-based experiences that are not available through regular university offerings, as led by Carnegie Mellon students.

One of the most successful StuCo courses has been the Carnegie Mellon Community Garden course.

The course has led to the robust development of two garden sites on the CMU campus both, managed by students. The garden team seeks to further expand the garden in the spring of 2013. Members of the garden team have engaged with the campus Children's School to provide garden education activities (Summer 2012) and have been active participants in other campus sustainability outreach programming, such as tabling during the annual Steinbrenner Environmental Expo.


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

StuCo is an educational organization involving hundreds of students at Carnegie Mellon University.

The Student College was established in 2001 to provide Carnegie Mellon students with the opportunity to share knowledge through educational, self-designed courses. Students can teach classes on any topic of their choice. However, the course cannot be available through regular University offerings. Instructors and students receive credit for their work.

•All currently-enrolled CMU students, staff and community members are eligible to take StuCo courses.


A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):

Courses typically meet once a week (for a full semester) and follow the current Carnegie Mellon academic calendar.


A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):

CMU students are eligible to teach StuCo courses and to join the Executive Committee that governs StuCo.

The StuCo Executive Committee is comprised of the Officers and Members At Large. StuCo is governed by this committee along with faculty advisors.

Student teachers are not compensated for teaching the courses.


The website URL for 2nd program:
Program name (3rd program):
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Number of students to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (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 (3rd program):
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A brief description of the staff and/or other financial support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
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Program name (All other programs):
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Number of students to whom peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education is offered (All other programs):
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A brief description of the program, 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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The website URL for all other programs:
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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.