| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 76.41 |
| Liaison | Krista Bailey |
| Submission Date | Dec. 12, 2023 |
Pennsylvania State University
EN-1: Student Educators Program
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.80 / 4.00 |
Doug
Goodstein Assoc Director for Student Engagement Sustainability Institute |
Number of students enrolled for credit:
Total number of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Percentage of students served by a peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education program:
Name of the student educators program (1st program):
A brief description of the student educators program (1st program):
EcoReps are student educators for sustainability at Penn State’s University Park campus.
Their campus-wide programming engagement takes two forms:
1. First-Year Student Engagement: Through working with Dining Services in the Dining Halls (all first-year students are required to have a meal plan), Housing Services in our first-year residence areas (all first-year students have a campus residency requirement), and with our faculty by guest-lecturing at credit First-year seminars (first-year students are required to enroll in an FYS for credit class) the EcoReps offer opportunities to learn broadly about Sustainability (through the Sustainable Development Goals) and begin to adopt practical ways to live sustainably
2. Campus-wide Public Programming: EcoReps hosts 6 campus-wide programs open to the entire University Park and State College community – Welcome Back Ice Cream Social, Single-use Scaries, America Recycles Day, Campus Race to Zero-Waste, Earth Hour, and Earth Day.
Additionally, before becoming an EcoRep, students participate in a 3-credit training class focused on developing and expanding their understanding of sustainability concepts, and peer education/behavior change techniques. Training includes two full day pre-semester retreats as well as monthly professional development programs.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (1st program):
The target audience is first-year students in East and Pollock residence areas. These residence hall complexes house the large majority of first year students.
Number of trained student educators (1st program):
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Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (1st program):
Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
A brief description of the student educators program (2nd program):
Building off of the success of STATERs (Students Taking Action To Encourage Recycling) which ran from 2005 through 2015, the Tailgate Ambassador program re-started this gameday tradition in 2017. The program is a partnership between the Office of Physical Plant and Intercollegiate Athletics administered by the Sustainability Institute. The program connects committed volunteer student organizations to canvas all tailgate lots surrounding Beaver Stadium. Students serve as liaisons, enhancing fans' tailgate experiences, and promoting environmentally responsible tailgating practices, especially recycling and composting.
For each game, Tailgate Ambassadors partners with five campus recognized student organizations to bring ten people to volunteer for 4 hours. 200 hours per game x 7 games = 1400 hrs In return, organizations will receive $400 for every ten volunteers they provide. Each volunteer works for 4 hours on game day, wrapping-up to allow plenty of time for students with tickets to enter the student section. All student organizations that partner with Tailgate Ambassadors receive a packet of information the week before the gameday, for sharing at that organization’s meeting. They also receive a 30min pre-game training delivered by Sustainability Institute, Athletics, and Recycling Center staff.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (2nd program):
The target audience is students, alumni, and other visitors who participate in tailgating during home football games. In 2021 there were 8 home football games at Penn State. As an example, for one game the students logged 31 tons of recycling, 80,000 fan interactions, and 3600 recycling/ trash bags distributed.
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Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (2nd program):
Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
A brief description of the student educators program (3rd program):
HealthWorks is a program in University Health Services that aims to promote health and wellness among Penn State students through peer-to-peer education/ outreach opportunities.
The mission of HealthWorks is to:
- Increase awareness and knowledge of health issues such as sexual health, nutrition and fitness, stress, sleep, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, body image and eating disorders, and wellness;
- Empower students to engage in healthy lifestyle choices;
- Provide health education programs, information, and materials to students;
- Provide one-on-one wellness services; and
- Advocate for a healthy Penn State community.
Training consists of a mandatory three-credit class that addresses health behavior theory, health promotion strategies, and health issues relevant to the college population. Health topics include alcohol and other drugs, nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, sleep, and stress. There will be two separate training classes for each group of peer educators. The classes will be offered through the Department of Biobehavioral Health during the fall semester. The program targets all students at Penn State's University Park campus.
In addition, there is a Green Health team within HealthWorks that focuses on the connection between sustainability and health. Yearly they organize and participate in a campus wide tobacco/trash clean up. HealthWorks also regularly engages in on-campus local-foods nights, where they commonly display comparing the amount of CO2 produced for one plate of the beef and broccoli with rice vs. tofu and broccoli with rice. Approximately 2000 students were targeted by this program.
A brief description of the student educators program’s target audience (3rd program):
This program is available to all students who wish to participate.
Number of trained student educators (3rd program):
Number of weeks the student educators program is active annually (3rd program):
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Website URL where information about the student educators program is available (3rd program):
A brief description of all other student peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs:
In 2022, Penn State launched a Sustainable Labs Pilot to foster sustainable practices in the research labs and augment student career preparedness. We use the My Green Lab Certification program, as well as a formal educational training program for undergraduate Sustainable Lab Ambassadors (SLA) who support the enrolled labs. Further, each lab appoints a My Green lab coordinator who is trained by the Sustainability Institute staff to implement the program in their lab. In 2022 we had 25 labs enrolled in the program and 4 SLAs. Website: https://sustainability.psu.edu/programs/sustainable-labs/
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Grand total number of hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators (all programs):
Hours worked annually by trained student sustainability educators per student served by a peer-to-peer program:
Website URL where information about the student sustainability educators programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Number of Students Served: 46,869
- Ecoreps: 8,700 (# students in target resident halls)
- Tailgate Ambassadors: 35,669 (assuming that 75% of 47,559 students attend at least one football game each season); 5 -student orgs x 8-10 volunteers each x 4 hrs/ game x 7 games
- HealthWorks: open to all students; 90hrs/semester x 2 semesters/yr x 60 educators in 2021-22. Reached approximately 2,500 students according to Erin Raupers, Assistant Director of Student Life Health and Basics.
Total students reached: 46,869
Number of Students Served: 46,869
- Ecoreps: 8,700 (# students in target resident halls)
- Tailgate Ambassadors: 35,669 (assuming that 75% of 47,559 students attend at least one football game each season); 5 -student orgs x 8-10 volunteers each x 4 hrs/ game x 7 games
- HealthWorks: open to all students; 90hrs/semester x 2 semesters/yr x 60 educators in 2021-22. Reached approximately 2,500 students according to Erin Raupers, Assistant Director of Student Life Health and Basics.
Total students reached: 46,869
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.