UNLV STARS fact sheet

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by earning a 2011 Silver Rating in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System (STARS), is ahead of the curve among public universities – and improving. STARS is a voluntary, self–reporting framework developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) to help measure sustainability performance over time and among colleges and universities nationwide. The UNLV Sustainability Council oversaw STARS, which by measuring sustainability can help UNLV to reduce energy consumption and waste, improve education, attract research, and generate jobs. A rating of Silver puts UNLV in great company – with Yale, University of North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Florida, and Michigan State – and improving. A Few Highlights UNLV has secured more than $99 million in funding for renewable energy research over the past 10 years. UNLV scored high marks for its new Renewable Energy Minor and Graduate Cirtificate program. Greenspun Hall earned LEED Gold and the Science and Engineering Building scored LEED Silver designations. Grounds and Landscape earned a perfect score. Rebel Recycling diverted 60% of all waste. STARS will serve as a road map for a Comprehensive UNLV Sustainability Action Plan

BENEFITS AND OBSTACLES TO INSTALLING WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES: A TEXAS STUDY

There is much known about renewable energy including solar and wind. However, there is little information available regarding the use of wind and solar energy on college and university campuses. As educators and shapers of the next generation of society, colleges and universities can be important leaders in the transitioning to renewable energy, and in educating their students about renewable energy. In addition, college and university campuses are in an economic downfall now, with the high costs of education and decreased state funding. Institutions of higher education must find ways to save money and decrease costs; utility bills could potentially be reduced by using cutting-edge technologies of renewable energy. The overall goal of this research was thus to identify benefits and obstacles to installation of wind and solar energy on college and university campuses. Texas was selected not only because the University of Texas at Arlington is located in Texas , and thus traveling to other universities in Texas for the case studies was convenient, but also because Texas is the leading state of production of wind power , and also has large potential for production of solar power. In addition, Texas has a large number of colleges and universities to survey. This research study can help a college or university that is considering using solar or wind power to make a sound decision. This study will be of value to various university personnel, including sustainability directors, physical operations personnel, and faculty remembers. This study used an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach. In the first phase, interviews were conducted with the Sustainability Directors from 3 universities in Texas that have already installed solar and/or wind power: the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi, and the University of Texas at Arlington. The themes identified from these interviews were then used to develop quantitative survey questions regarding potential benefits and obstacles to installation of solar and wind power on university campuses. The surveys were then sent to 59 colleges and universities across Texas. Twelve survey responses were received. Important themes that emerged from the interviews were 1) the importance of renewable energy for the environment, 2) green publicity, 3) opportunities for teaching and research, 4) the need for financial savings, and 5) the need for grant funding. Selected findings from the quantitative survey were: • Most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that installing wind or solar power on campus would make for good publicity for the college or university (92%), would attract students to the school (83%), and would be good teaching tools for students on campus (100%). • The colleges and universities surveyed were more likely to think that that solar power would save them money (83%) compared to wind power (58%). • Large schools (\u3e 10,000 students) and 4-year schools were more likely to believe that renewable power could be a useful research tool at their university. • The primary obstacle to installing solar panels and wind turbines on university campuses is up-front costs. Providing additional grant funding and incentives is critical in overcoming this hurdle. Secondary concerns include availability of wind power and the potential for both solar panels and wind turbines to be eye-sores

State University No More: Out-of-State Enrollment and the Growing Exclusion of High-Achieving, Low-Income Students at Public Flagship Universities

State flagship universities are facing an identity crisis. Will they continue a historic dedication to economic equity, or will they become instruments of social stratification?Although the admissions practices of private selective colleges are frequently featured in media coverage, public flagship universities enroll seven times as many Pell Grant recipients. However, these "engines of social mobility" are increasingly crowding out high-achieving, low-income students.The Great Recession brought dramatic cuts to higher education appropriations and in response, flagship universities are enrolling more out-of-state students. These students offset university budgets by paying higher tuition but often, they demonstrate lower academic achievement and higher participation in partying

Theoretical starting points: The field of emerging research universities

Efforts to prevent or persuade increased emphasis on academic research at state colleges and regional universities demonstrate how emerging fields of higher education can be influenced through various policies and incentives. Utilizing the concept of strategic action fields (Fligstein & McAdam, 2012), this paper explains changes in organizations by providing insight into how state policy influences constructed, meso-level social orders. Expanding on Pierre Bourdieu’s (1996) concept of fields, defined as the structured arena where practice occurs, strategic action fields extend the analysis to that of groups of actors competing for advantage and resources to increase their capabilities and reputations.Educatio

Black Male Student-Athletes and Racial Inequities in NCAA Division I College Sports

The purpose of this report is to make transparent racial inequities in NCAA Division I college sports. Specifically, the authors offer a four-year analysis of Black men's representation on football and basketball teams versus their representation in the undergraduate student body on each campus. The report concludes with recommendations for the NCAA and commissioners of the six major sports conferences, college and university leaders, coaches and athletics directors, journalists, and Black male student-athletes and their families

Outcomes Based Assessment of Universities

This study summarizes recent and continuing research conducted by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) on the metrics used for measuring college performance. Unlike other rankings, this study does not concentrate on the inputs of college education such as endowment size, number of faculty, or the educational preparation of students as measured by SAT scores, etc. Instead, it focuses on the outputs, namely the success of students after graduation. Using the names of entrants in Marquis Publishing's 2008 edition of Who's Who in America as our standard for measuring high levels of success, we collected the names of over 5,200 individuals, along with their educational background.This is more than a 5 percent sampling of all names listed in this standard reference work. From this sample, we then calculated which colleges produced the most successful graduates. The results thus far have been both fascinating and surprising.We have found that while going to top ranked schools as measured by standard college rankings does correlate with success, it is a weaker relationship than many may have previously believed. The study reveals that the "industry standard," U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) rankings, on the whole, is only weakly related to graduate success. This suggests that the characteristics contributing to the value of a student's education differ substantially from what is typically assumed. The goal of this study is not to serve as a definitive source for ranking and comparing colleges. Rather, the research presented herein will hopefully serve as both an impetus and road ma

Campus Environment 2008: A National Report Card on Sustainability in Higher Education

Presents survey findings on national and regional trends among colleges in environmental leadership in management, academic courses in sustainability, and conservation efforts in operations. Profiles exemplary programs and notes areas for improvement

Measuring Up 2006: The National Report Card on Higher Education

Measures the performance of the U.S. and of each state in providing education and training beyond high school. Compares national and state higher education performance with other nations

The Role of Minority-Serving Institutions in National College Completion Goals

Outlines Lumina's work with minority-serving institutions to boost completion rates, especially among men of color, by building capacity for data collection and analysis, collective advocacy, developmental education policy and practice, and transparency

Trends in Undergraduate General Education in the U.S., the Texas Core Curriculum, and Communication Course Requirements

In October 2011, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board revised Texas Core Curriculum (TCC) rules impacting all public higher education institutions in Texas. The new rules were implemented in the fall semester of 2014. In this study, we review the history of undergraduate general education requirements in the United States and recent changes to the TCC. Then to determine how recent changes reflect historical trends in general education and affect the course offerings of departments of English and communication, we use descriptive statistics to examine courses included under the TCC Communication Foundational Component Area of 37 state universities and 53 community colleges. Findings indicate the number of re-quired English and speech communication courses decreased both at community colleges (-11.5%) and universities (-15.9%), signaling a shift toward providing students greater choice in course selection which could impact academic programs in the years to come.Educatio