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USFs Move Toward a Green Future with Online Courses and Paper Reduction

ENC 3250 Professional WritingDr. Francis TobienneWhite Paper ProjectRandy Dyer, Jacob Lamb, Arieana Mangra, and Shannon Mitchell

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION2EXECUTIVE SUMMARY3USFS MOVE TOWARD ELECTRONICS4ONLINE COURSES5STUDENT GREEN ENERGY FUND6CONCLUSION7WORKS CITED8

INTRODUCTIONThe University of South Florida system has increasingly made efforts to become more environmentally friendly, following a nationwide initiative among countless universities. In 2011, the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP), in an effort to be green, developed many organizations to aid in the Green Movement. USFSP has clubs and organizations such as Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF), Student Environment Awareness Society (SEAS), and Gardening Club. These clubs and organizations work directly with the student body and university to implement ways to Go Green. At USFSP the Science and Technology building is the first building in the USF system that is a LEED certified Gold building. Having a LEED certified building means that it corresponds with five green design categories. Those categories are sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources and indoor environmental quality. Of four different levels USFSP has reached one of the higher certifications. The Student Green Energy Fund has specifically worked to bring recycling bins to campus, water bottle refills and solar docks for outside studies. Student Environment Awareness Society works with the Harbor by the waterfront and keeping the area clean as well as bringing more awareness to students on campus of the environmental situations going on around the University and St. Petersburg area. Lastly, the Gardening Clubs works to increase the shrubbery around the campus and expands seating options for students.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYIn 2008, University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) to further officially express efforts to research, develop, and execute methods of going green. From USFs SGEF that contributes to innovative sustainability programs and technologies, to SEAS that promotes campus awareness of environmental issues USF has gone the extra mile to be as clean, efficient, and safe as possible. However, one of the most influential and successful changes has not been through an organization, but rather methodology; through the increased use of online courses across USF campuses. Elements such as online lectures, electronic handouts, online tests and quizzes, the use of social media in study groups, and much more have become commonplace subsequently pivotal in reducing paper product waste, conserving energy, and being clean.

USF MOVE TOWARDS ELECTRONICSThe University of South of Florida has been on the fast track to being a paperless campus. Since 2010 USF has been moving towards being more electronic. This began when USF received 5.9 million dollar federal stimulus grant that was given to USF health to make all of USF health records paperless. Going paperless for USF Health was not only about saving the environment but using electronics to make the health records more accurate and more efficient. Since receiving this grant, USF has been moving forward with a paper free initiative. USFs move towards a more electronic campus has also made campus more environmentally conscious. On the fast track to going paperless the USF also wanted more environmentally safe buildings. University of Florida St. Petersburg created the first Leed Gold certified gold building in the USF system. This means that all batteries in this building are deposed at recycling centers, computers are disposed of in recycling centers, the use of low powered computer and hardware is encouraged, and this building only uses recycled paper. USF student building is seeking Leed approval as well. The next step on their move towards electronics is to create more online classes to be a more paperless campus. The University has already started by making a huge move with their health program. For the masters of Science program or graduate certificate in health informatics all of the courses are 100 percent online. Further initiatives to move courses online will exponentially expand not only the ease and availability of education, but paper waste reduction and energy conservation.

ONLINE COURSESOnline course offerings on college campuses in the United States have become a major success in the past decade and have made leaps and bounds in the last five years. Participating in online learning provides students the ability to go completely paperless in their studies through the use of online textual documents. The use of online documents often eliminates the necessity of real text-books, saving paper and saving trees. Further, telecommunication via distance learning reduces the carbon footprint when having to commute to campus via automobiles while also being a real convenience to students as far as a flexible schedule and ease of access to class is concerned. As online classes become more commonplace, and technology continues to advance, online education will increasingly become as intimate, effective, and engaging as traditional classes.As a demand for education grows, digitally delivered courses that can provide information to students through the interweb become more and more practical. As online courses become increasingly easier and cheaper to provide, more completely online universities will appear across the nation. Since the boom of online education in 2012, around thirty percent of college students take at least one online class per semester according to many studies. These elements have facilitated and will continue to facilitate alternative options for educational degrees, such as spending an introductory year completely online before physically attending college.

STUDENT GREEN ENERGY FUNDThe USF Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) began as a tool to improve a Climate Action Plan. Operating on credit hour fees, SGEF supports numerous sustainability programs and initiatives from small devices such as CURV manual treadmills that do not use any electricity to installation of systems in building that control the brightness of lights depending on the detection of the presence of students or faculty. The SGEF is even culpable for initiatives to program and ensure computers on campus operate on a sleep cycle to conserve energy, water fountains have a special bottle refill function, and much more.

CONCLUSIONAn average university can produce 1.2 to 2.2 metric tons of waste per week. An avid focus on being green; finding ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, can allow for up to 70 percent of waste produced being reintroduced. There is no one way to be green; tackling all angles of conservation seems to be key. Whether it is recycling, conserving energy, or increasing online education, USF has reached new heights of influence and legacy by reducing her carbon footprint and raising individual awareness on the part of the environment.

WORKS CITEDThe Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges

Jacqui Cash, "USF One of Nation's Top Green Colleges"

USF Physical Plant Recycling Program

EurekaAlert

Green Initiatives, LEED Certifications