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UW-River Falls makes The Princeton Review's list of environmentally responsible green colleges

Green CollegesOctober 21, 2016--The University of Wisconsin-River Falls has made The Princeton Review's annual free guide to the most environmentally responsible green colleges.

"The Princeton Review's Guide to 361 Green Colleges: 2016 Edition"profiles colleges with the most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives, and activities. The profiles in the guide give college applicants information about each school's admission requirements, cost and financial aid, as well as student body facts and stats.    

The free 160-page guide is downloadable at www.princetonreview.com/green-guide. It includes detailed green facts including the school's use of renewable energy, recycling, and conservation programs to the availability of environmental studies and career guidance for green jobs.

As part of its many commitments to sustainability, UW-River Falls utilizes its two campus laboratory farms and the the Kinnickinnic River watershed to provide resources and opportunities for hands-on education and research. UWRF has implemented many sustainable practices in its operations including stormwater management, solar panels, and waste minimization. UWRF faculty and students offer distinctive sustainability-infused experiences through service-learning, civic engagement, and targeted research activities such as the student-driven regional climate summit and the KinniConsortium boundary organization.

A recently implemented sustainability effort at UW-River Falls is the Student Educator's Program where students in the Sustainability Office serve as peer-to-peer sustainability educators both in and out of the classroom. UW-River Falls continues to enhance existing sustainability programs and initiatives as well as pursue new ways to further their efforts.

"Pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle in our personal lives as well as on campus and beyond is part of our moral obligation to ourselves and each other, said Mark Klapatch, UW-River Falls sustainability and custodial supervisor. "We live on a planet with finite resources and we need to be diligent and innovative in our efforts to be more sustainable. UW-River Falls students, faculty, staff, and community members have proven time and time again that sustainability efforts are important and we are proud to have made the list of green schools."

Among nearly 10,000 teens who participated in the 2016 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 61 percent said that having information about a school's commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the college, according to Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior VP-publisher. The Princeton Review strongly recommends the schools in this guide to environmentally-minded students who seek to study and live at green colleges, he said. A complete report on that survey is at www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries

The Princeton Review chose the colleges based on Green Rating scores, from 60 to 99, that the company tallied in summer 2016 for 640 colleges using data from its 2015-16 survey of school administrators. The survey asked them to report on their school's sustainability-related policies, practices, and programs. More than 25 data points were weighted in the assessment. Schools with green rating scores of 80 or higher made it into the guide. Most of the 350 schools in the edition are in the U.S. Ten are in Canada. One is in Egypt.

For more information about the sustainability practices at UW-River Falls,  email mark.klapatch@uwrf.edu.

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