University of California, Davis
EN-2: Student Orientation

All incoming undergraduate students and their family members have an opportunity to participate in Transfer, First-Year and International and National Orientation. Sustainability programming is featured at multiple points:

During the online module series, called Aggie 101, students read abstracts about several resources and are encouraged to look them up online to learn more. Highlighted departments that discuss sustainability include Transportation Services and Student Housing and Dining. In addition, family members and supporters can register for our online webinar series, where they hear from a variety of campus partners. Student Housing and Dining Services as well as Transportation Services present at this time.

During the in-person fall program, Aggie Orientation, all students are invited to attend the campus resource fair, known as Davisfest. Here we invite campus departments to table and provide information about resources to all new students. Annual participants include the sustainability staff from Student Housing and Dining Services Sustainability, Sustainability office, and Transportation & Parking Services.

In the museum-style event called "Health, Wellness and You," all students go through an exhibit with posters to read and activities to participate in that teach them about the 8 dimensions of wellness and how UC Davis can support them in those areas. In the Environmental Wellness section, students learn about the definition of environmental wellness, how the environment can affect them and ways they can take action to protect and preserve their environments. There is also an activity where students examine common waste items encountered on campus and they have to identify if it is recyclable, compostable, or must go in the landfill.

The banners in Health, Wellness, and You are then uploaded to a Canvas page that all students have access to during Aggie Orientation week (see attached). On the Canvas page, we encourage students to walk, bike, or bus into campus when possible.

A graduate student orientation, sponsored by Graduate Studies, is offered in the form of Aggie 201, an online orientation platform that provides a resource and services overview for new graduate students. Consisting of modules and videos, Aggie 201 helps new students prepare for some of the expected and unexpected aspects of graduate school. All incoming graduate students are encouraged to use orientation as an opportunity to become familiar with the various university processes and services.

Aggie 201 does not feature sustainability prominently in its programming. However, it does discuss sustainable transportation options around campus, focusing on bicycles, buses, and shuttles. In addition, Graduate Studies offers an in-person Resource Fair in which several sustainability-focused campus units participate, including Environmental Health & Safety, The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), Hands on the Land, and the Sustainability office.

The percentage of entering students participating in sustainable orientation programming is equivalent to the percentage of entering students who are first-year or transfer students.
New enrollment data for undergraduate students: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/admissions-residency-and-ethnicity
New enrollment data for graduate students: https://stats.gradhub.ucdavis.edu/enrollment?report=NEW_ENROLLMENT&programs=ALLG&terms=202110

Cora Ballek, a student employee at the Sustainability office, assisted in compiling this credit response.