Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 56.59
Liaison Rob Andrejewski
Submission Date Feb. 15, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Richmond
EN-1: Student Educators Program

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.72 / 4.00 Rob Andrejewski
Director of Sustainability
Office for Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution coordinate one or more ongoing student, peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education programs that meet the criteria for this credit?:
Yes

Number of degree-seeking students enrolled at the institution:
3,972

Name of the student educators program (1st program):
University of Richmond Sustainability Advocates (URSA)

Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (1st program):
2,700

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

University of Richmond Sustainability Advocates (URSA) is a peer education program dedicated to promoting sustainability and environmentally responsible behavior in the campus community through engagement with fellow students, primarily in residence halls. Sustainability Advocates (SA) educate themselves and their peers about sustainability issues. URSA's goal is to facilitate and institutionalize stewardship on campus as a result of this increased understanding.

URSA's main activities are as follows:
1. Coordinate the Green Room Certification Program: SAs are responsible for motivating and encouraging people to enroll in the Green Residence Certification Program and certify their rooms.
2. Events and Competitions: URSA plans and carries out several events and competitions throughout the school year to increase sustainability. SAs not only participate in these events, but also create and innovate new advertising and programming.
3. Attend Weekly Meetings: SAs meet each week to learn about sustainability and the environment (on campus and beyond), plan upcoming programming, create, listen to each other, and share ideas.
4 Communicate: As spreading the word is a vital part of URSA, SAs reach out to the larger campus community in a variety of ways including: a campus-wide email newsletter SpiderBytes, digital flyers, setting up tables in highly-trafficked areas of campus, and speaking directly with residents.


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

All University of Richmond students are invited to apply to the URSA Program. Typically, no more than one student per residential building is selected. Upon submitting an application, an interview is arranged for each student to meet with sustainability staff to discuss the program further. Upon selection, URSA members attend introductory meetings.


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

Following selection, URSA members attend introductory meetings and go over the URSA manual. The Director of Sustainability presents an introduction to sustainability at a meeting following selection. The URSA coordinators give updates and provide educational materials to the group as part of each weekly meeting. Topical presentations (e.g., recycling on campus) are given by members of the campus community as requested.


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

URSA members are unpaid, but the coordinators are paid through the Sustainability Internship Program. Two coordinators are responsible for managing events, planning and facilitating meetings, and overseeing the Green Room Program.


Name of the student educators program (2nd program):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (2nd program):
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A brief description of the program, including examples of peer-to-peer outreach activities (2nd program):
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A brief description of how the student educators are selected (2nd program):
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A brief description of the formal training that the student educators receive (2nd program):
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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (2nd program):
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Name of the student educators program (3rd program):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by the program (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 financial or other support the institution provides to the program (3rd program):
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Name(s) of the student educator program(s) (all other programs):
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Number of students served (i.e. directly targeted) by all other student educator programs:
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A brief description of the program(s), 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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A brief description of the financial or other support the institution provides to the program (all other programs):
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Total number of hours student educators are engaged in peer-to-peer sustainability outreach and education activities annually:
2,000

The website URL for the peer-to-peer student outreach and education program(s):
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.