St. Mike’s featured in Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges 2021 Edition

Saint Michael’s College is one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges, according to The Princeton Review®. The education services company features Saint Michael’s in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges: 2021 Edition.

Released on October 20, 2020, and accessible for free at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide, the guide profiles 416 colleges.

The Princeton Review chose the schools based on a survey of administrators at 695 colleges in 2019-20 about their institutions’ commitments to the environment and sustainability. The company’s editors analyzed more than 25 survey data points in the process of choosing schools for the guide.

Kristyn Achilich ’05, director of the Saint Michael’s Center for the Environment, said, “As we look at our one-year anniversary as the Center for the Environment at Saint Michael’s College, we couldn’t be more honored to make the Green College list.  We’ve worked hard this year to bring structure to our existing programs, establish new programs in Energy and student employment and more holistically connect sustainable living and learning ethos and practice with our campus community.”

“Our work continues this year with our STARS evaluation and we hope to soon make the TOP 50 list!” Achilich said. “If you are interested in connecting about student opportunities and collaborations, please reach out at Center for the Environment Saint Michael’s College.”

Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief, said, “We strongly recommend Saint Michael’s to students who want to study and live at a green college. Each and every one of the outstanding colleges in this edition of our guide offers both excellent academics and exemplary evidence of environmental commitment. ”

Franek noted that The Princeton Review has seen a high level of interest among college applicants and their parents in colleges with green practices, programs, and offerings. Sixty-six percent of the 12,845 respondents (college-bound teens and parents) to The Princeton Review’s 2020 College Hopes & Worries Survey said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their (or their child’s) decision to apply to or attend a school.

The school profiles in The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges include “Green Facts” sections detailing such matters as the availability of transportation alternatives on campus and the percentage of the college food budget spent on local/organic food. The profiles also provide information about the schools’ admission requirements, cost, financial aid, and student body demographics.

In its profile on Saint Michael’s, The Princeton Review states that “Saint Michael’s College prides itself on a strong sense of community that informs its collaborative approach to greening the campus. The Office of Sustainability in collaboration with students, faculty and staff has facilitated sustainability efforts on campus which run the gamut, covering everything from recycling programs and a lecture series to free local transportation options for students and staff.”

It further notes that “The College’s ‘Three Degree Challenge’ promotes energy efficiency in existing buildings on campus by turning down thermostats. A campus-wide, single-stream recycling program and an on-site composting facility are helping Saint Michael’s get closer to becoming a zero-waste institution. Low-flow plumbing became the standard at the college fifteen years ago, and now all campus shower heads and sink aerators are optimized for water conservation. The College’s Organic Garden program offers students hands on experience with growing healthy food and offers summer workshops for faculty and staff. Opportunities for sustainable research are available through collaborative efforts like the Lake Champlain Research Consortium and through the college’s own sustainability office as well as through the new environmental studies major.”

Additionally, “The new Dion Family Student Center and Residence Hall utilizes geothermal energy, has a new interactive educational Energy Dashboard and was built with many energy efficiency technologies. The student environmental club, Green Up, led a successful campaign to ban the sales of bottled water on campus, organizes the popular Earth Week events and runs many other educational programs on campus. The fleet of college owned vehicles now includes five hybrids, and the College offers all students and staff free CCTA bus commuter passes in order to reduce the number of cars, and therefore carbon emissions, on campus. Additionally, two solar-powered electric vehicle charge stations are located on campus,” the profile states.

The Princeton Review profile also reveals that St. Mike’s has earned a “silver” STARS rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE); STARS is intended to engage and recognize the full spectrum of higher education institutions, from community colleges to research universities.

Notable factors listed as reasons for the College earning an 82/99 Green Rating from The Princeton Review included these, listed in the profile: “School Has Formal Sustainability Committee; Sustainability-focused degree available; School employs a sustainability officer; 13 percent food budget spent on local/organic food; Available Transportation Alternatives; Condensed Work Week Option For Employees; Free Or Reduced Price Transit Passes And/or Free Campus Shuttle; Indoor And Secure Bike Storage, Shower Facilities, And Lockers For Bicycle.”

The Princeton Review has published its annual Guide to Green Colleges since 2010. The company is also known for its dozens of categories of annual college rankings, its books, including The Best 386 Colleges and The Best Value Colleges, and its many other education services.

How Schools Were Chosen for the Guide

The Princeton Review chose the 416 colleges based on its survey of administrators at 695 colleges in 2019–20 concerning their institutions’ sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. Survey topics ranged from academic offerings and campus initiatives to career preparation for “green” jobs. More than 25 survey data points were analyzed by The Princeton Review editors to tally Green Rating scores for the schools on a scale of 60 to 99. Colleges that earned a Green Rating of 80 or higher made it into the guide. Of the 416 schools in the 2021 edition, 393 are in the U.S., 22 are in Canada, and one is in Greece. The 416 schools are listed alphabetically in the guide and not ranked overall from 1 to 416. Colleges that earned a Green Rating of 99 made it onto The Princeton Review’s earlier (August 2020) reported Green Honor Roll, as well as this guide. The Green Rating scores appear in the profiles of the schools in the guide on The Princeton Review website and in profiles of the schools in the 2021 editions of The Princeton Review books, The Best 386 Colleges (published August 2020) and The Complete Book of Colleges (published July 2020).

* Note: The Princeton Review Guide to Green Colleges released last year, on October 22, 2019, was the 2019 edition. This guide is presented as the 2021 edition to align the project with publishing protocols by which guides released after June in a calendar year are identified as editions for the upcoming year.