STARS Pilot Project
The STARS pilot project took place from February 2008 to January 2009. Institutions that participated in pilot tested the system and provided feedback to AASHE to help shape future versions of STARS.
Pilot Participants
Nearly 70 colleges and universities participated in the STARS pilot project. Schools were selected to represent diverse institution types, geographic regions, and sizes. See a list of institutions participating in the pilot project.
Results
The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System Pilot Project Results (pdf) is a detailed summary of results and feedback received during the pilot project.
Student Research
Kyle Murphy, a student at The Evergreen State College, coordinated his institution's participation in the STARS Pilot Project and wrote his Master's thesis about lessons learned from that experience. He writes:
This research focused on three main questions with respect to Evergreen’s use of the STARS tool: (a) Is STARS an effective tool for use at Evergreen (did the framework address issues important to Evergreen, did it meet the criteria of an ideal assessment framework, and what are the advantages and disadvantages), (b) Does the STARS process lead to organizational learning, and (c) What STARS reveal about Evergreen’s commitment to sustainability. Using a case study research design, I took a multi-disciplinary approach to the data collection for STARS implementation. Through my research I found that STARS is an effective tool to evaluate sustainability at Evergreen, which led to organizational learning, and highlighted Evergreen’s complex and dynamic commitment to sustainability.Thesis presentation (pdf)
Thesis full text (pdf)
A Phased Approach
The STARS pilot project took place in two phases. A phased approach helped to moderate the workload for participating institutions. It also allowed AASHE to solicit another round of feedback about some sections included in STARS before asking schools to gather data.
Phase One of the STARS pilot started in February 2008. Phase One covers the Operations category and about half of the Administration and Finance category. View STARS Guide to Pilot Phase One (pdf).
STARS Pilot Phase Two started in September 2008. Phase Two covers the Education and Research category and remaining credits in the Administration and Finance category, as well as Tier Two Credits and Innovation Credits. View STARS Guide to Pilot Phase Two (pdf).
Focused Conference Calls
AASHE conducted a series of conference calls for institutions participating in the pilot project. Each call focused on one or two categories covered by STARS. Participation in the calls was open only to schools enrolled in the STARS pilot project. View a schedule of calls and notes from the calls.
