HCC, first KCTCS College, evaluated in first-of-its-kind sustainability rating system

Hopkinsville Community College (HCC) has achieved a bronze rating in an international program to encourage sustainability in all aspects of higher education. The program, Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment amp; Rating System (STARS), is administered by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE).

To date, approximately 270 higher education institutions have registered as STARS participants. HCC is proud to be the first institution in the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) and the thirty-second community college in North America to be rated. A quarter of the institutions that report data to STARS achieve the bronze rating, which indicates basic sustainable behaviors across each of the areas evaluated: education and research, institutional operations, and planning, administration and engagement.

HCCs Sustainability Committee Co-Chair Kristy Howell praised the institutions rating. Becoming the first KCTCS institution to track our hard work in sustainability with STARS is very exciting. Hopkinsville now has a solid foundation on which to build, and working through the submission has given us many ideas for improving our dedication to our campus and our community, explained Howell.

HCC has operated under an institutional sustainability plan since 2008 and under the KCTCS plan since 2010.

Dr. Patrick Lake, interim president of HCC, supports Hopkinsvilles hard work. Improving institutional sustainability is something both KCTCS and HCC have focused on for several years, stated Lake. Completing our STARS submission is a notable achievement, both as a member of KCTCS and for our continuous improvement as a campus.

Unlike other rating or ranking systems, the STARS program is open to all institutions of higher education in the U.S. and Canada, and the criteria that determine a STARS rating are transparent and accessible to anyone. Because STARS is a program based on credits earned, it allows for both internal comparisons as well as comparisons with similar institutions.