The 2016 Sustainable Campus Index is a publication of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and highlights innovative and high-impact initiatives from 124 colleges and universities that submitted a STARS report.
The 2016 Sustainable Campus Index has highlighted the efforts of Elon University to advance sustainability in higher education, with a nod to the university’s work to increase public engagement through its Elon Experiences and Experiential Learning Requirement.
“Elon’s participation in STARS and recent accomplishments in the areas of public engagement and data accuracy demonstrates significant leadership and commitment to advancing sustainability,” said AASHE’s Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser.
The Experiential Learning Requirement facilitates learning from direct experience with organizations or cultures outside a typical classroom. Internships, studying abroad or Study USA, independent research and participating in a service-learning project all count as ELRs.
Students can also work with local or global communities by participating in one or more of the five program areas that make up the Elon Experience. These program areas are: Leadership, Service-Learning, Internships, Global Engagement and Undergraduate Research. The unique Elon Experiences Transcript and validated service hours by the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement help students officially document their experiences working in the greater community.
“The Kernodle Center was delighted to see Elon’s innovative Elon Experiences Transcript (EET) highlighted in this year’s Sustainable Campus Index. Putting knowledge into practice is at the core of an Elon education, and having students engaged collaboratively with local nonprofit organizations and schools to build stronger communities through addressing challenges such as food insecurity and affordable housing embodies this approach to experiential education. The EET allowed us to capture the fact that 92 percent of graduates in the Class of 2016 participated in service during their time at Elon,” commented Mary Morrison, assistant dean and director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement
Zahniser added, “We are pleased to recognize Elon University for working to secure a thriving, equitable and ecologically healthy world by incorporating sustainability into campus operations, administration, engagement and academics.”
Elon University’s STARS report is publicly available on the STARS website.