EWU Campus Sustainability Fund
The Office of Sustainability is seeking to set aside $10,000 of the S & A funds as a Sustainability Fund for students and staff to use for projects that promote sustainability practices or concepts. Increased campus sustainability could help to improve student and staff health, reduce our impact to the environment, and create new learning opportunities. A student led Sustainability Fund Committee would be in charge of managing and allocating funds. Although the committee would be comprised of both EWU students and employees, only the students would have voting rights and the employees would serve as advisors to the student committee members, which would ensure that only projects that students see merit in would be funded. The committee would listen to proposals from students, clubs, organizations, and employees and would decide which projects/ programs to approve for funding. Funding approval would be based on sustainability, educational value, and the overall benefit to the campus community. Creating the Sustainability Fund would ensure a campus funding source for students and staff that explicitly works to promote sustainability focused research, learning opportunities, operations, and engagement at EWU.
How many students utilize the services and activities provided by your program? Describe how statistics are obtained and provide demographics on the student population you believe are important and relevant to your unit.
Services and activities provided through this program would be accessible for all students on campus. The sustainability funding program would allow any student, club, campus organization, or staff member to submit a proposal for a project or activity that would promote sustainability on campus. An increase in campus sustainability could help to improve student and staff health, reduce our impact to the environment, and create new learning opportunities by establishing living laboratory spaces on campus. Living laboratory spaces are generally defined as projects and programs that not only serve as educational and research tools, but are also integrated into operations that serve the campus community.
Since this would be a new program to campus it is difficult to quantify the number and demographics of the student population who would utilize this program. However, projects supported by this funding program would seek to create opportunities that would benefit all students.
How do you gauge the effectiveness of the services and activities you provide to students? Is student input collected and used in this process? If your unit has an advisory committee, in what capacity is it involved in your budgeting process?
The approval and allocation of funds would be determined by a student led committee. This committee would listen to proposals from students, clubs, organizations, and employees. It would decide which projects would be approved. In order to go before the Sustainability Fund Committee, applicants would submit a proposal detailing their plan. Along with a project description the plan would need to include a budget, intended impact to the campus community, and project specific metrics to track its effectiveness. The committee would be comprised of 12 members and would be structured as follows:
1. Seven (7) EWU students
a. One (1) ASEWU member
b. Six (6) students-at-large recommended by the ASEWU
i. Comprised of different majors – no more than two (2) students of any given major.
c. Only student committee members will have voting rights to approve projects and determine how to allocate funding
2. Five (5) EWU employees
a. Two (2) staff
b. Two (2) faculty members
c. EWU Sustainability Coordinator
d. Knowledgeable employees would serve as advisors during committee meetings to help evaluate the practicality, sustainability, and educational value of proposed projects/programs. Employee committee members will not have voting rights.
How do you ensure that student fees do not subsidize non-student uses?
The Sustainability Fund Committee would oversee the dispersal of funds and would be tasked with insuring that student fees are only allocated to projects and programs that do not subsidize non-student uses.
Have alternative (non-S&A Fee) funding sources been pursued to the fullest possible extent? If yes, please elaborate. To what extent does your unit rely on earned income? How much of that revenue is obtained directly from students?
Currently, there is not a consistent source of funding on campus that students and employees can apply to that is used explicitly to promote sustainability projects and programs. There are potential opportunities on campus to fund projects of this nature, but applicants to these sources of funding compete with other non-sustainability projects and there is not necessarily oversight that would ensure proposals stick to sustainable practices. A Sustainability Fund would explicitly work to promote sustainability focused research, learning opportunities, operations, and engagement at EWU.
Are there any long term contract obligations associated with this funding request? If so list each obligation with the amount associated.
There would be no long term contract obligations with this funding request. The purpose of the Sustainability Fund is to serve as funding source to allow students and/or employees to install or implement projects and programs that promote sustainability. All projects and/or programs would have to reapply annually for funding and there would be no guarantee that a project or program would be funded one year to the next. In the case of projects that would require routine and ongoing maintenance once implemented (i.e. building modifications, renewable energy installations, water conservation projects, etc.), proposals to the Sustainability Fund would need to identify long term funding sources and establish the commitment and willingness of impacted departments to incorporate these projects into their operations.
What was the overall impact on your organization and its ability to serve students from past funding? Please provide examples.
The Sustainability Fund would be a new program to EWU, but is not a new concept to institutions of higher education. Green Fees or Sustainability Funds are increasing in popular across the U.S. and are quite common in other higher education institutions across Washington State. Green Fees or Sustainability Funds are usually sourced through either a tuition based fee or allocation of funds from S&A fees. For example, the University of Washington has maintained a Campus Sustainability Fund, supported through S&A fees since 2010, which has funded sustainability projects ranging from $250 up to $100,000. To learn more about the UW’s program and projects/programs funded click here. Western Washington University has also had a Sustainable Action Fund since 2005. This fund was implemented after the student body voted and passed an approval for a tuition increase. WWU students currently pay $0.70 per credit up to a max of $7.00 per quarter, which generates approximately $300,000 annually to be used for their Sustainable Action Fund Grant. To learn more about WWU’s program and to see a list of projects/ programs funded click here. Washington State University has a Student Cougar Green Fund that students can submit funding proposals to that supports sustainability programs on campus. WSU’s Student Cougar Green Fund is supported by a $5 optional fee that students can choose to pay each semester when registering for classes. Evergreen State College students pay $1 per credit (up to $20 max per quarter), which generates approximately $240,000 annually for renewable energy and conservation projects. Of the six four-year public colleges in Washington State, only Central Washington University and EWU do not have a green fee or sustainability fund that specifically supports sustainability projects.
How closely are your actual expenditures aligning with the budget presented to last year’s Committee?
The Sustainability Fund would be a new program to EWU. The budget requested for this year would open up new opportunities for students and employees to engage in sustainability focused projects and programs for the betterment of the student experience at EWU. We think the budget request for the pilot year is reasonable and will allow us to fund numerous applications.
What is the impact to service students if your request is not funded or lowered?
Campus operations would continue on without having a funding source explicitly set aside for promoting sustainability projects and programs at EWU. The impact to students would be a forgone opportunity to create learning and life experiences centered on concepts that promote sustainability.
What are new initiatives for this years?
The initiatives for the 2017 – 2018 academic year will be entirely dependent on the proposals received by the Sustainability Fund Committee. The initiatives will be wide ranging but could include:
o Renewable energy research projects
o Energy and water conservation research projects
o Increased composting on campus
o Invitations to sustainability leaders for campus workshops and seminars
o Funds for student travel to sustainability focused conferences
o Funds for student club projects and programs
o Funds for additional campus garden activities
o Sustainability art exhibits
o Tours to local/regional renewable energy projects
o Interactive sustainability display in JFK