AASHE has published updated guidance on STARS reporting and COVID-19 in the Help Center.
The pandemic is likely to impact the data you report to STARS in a variety of ways. For example, the number of employees and students on campus may have dropped dramatically during certain periods, impacting commuting figures and weighted campus user calculations. These impacts will vary depending on each institution’s context, making a one-size-fits-all response impractical. For example, some institutions may wish to avoid reporting on the pandemic period in the hopes of maintaining better continuity with previous reports, while others may find it important to document the reality of the situation as accurately as possible.
The general recommendation of the STARS Steering Committee and the AASHE STARS team is to craft a report that you believe captures your institution’s performance as accurately as possible, even if that means diverging from previously established timeframes and methodologies. In doing so, please carefully document in the Reporting Tool any adjustments you make in response to COVID-19 to help ensure that others will be able to understand your decisions and accurately interpret your report.