Sustainability Tracking,
Assessment & Rating System
Reporting Tool 101
stars.aashe.org
STARS Staff
• Meghan Fay Zahniser, STARS Program
Manager
• Ben Stookey, STARS Lead Web Application
Developer
• Laura Matson, STARS Technical Developer
• Jillian Buckholz, STARS Program Coordinator
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Agenda
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Getting Started
Credit Documentation
Submission
Reports & New Features
Resources
Q&A
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To access the STARS Reporting Tool,
log in to stars.aashe.org
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Setting up an AASHE Account
• Only institutions that are registered for STARS may
access the Reporting Tool.
• To access the STARS Reporting Tool, please log in
using your email address and password associated with
your AASHE Account (i.e., the account you use to
access AASHE’s Resource Center).
• To set up an AASHE Account, or if you need to reset
your password, visit: www.aashe.org/user/login
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Once logged into to the Reporting Tool,
view the STARS Dashboard
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Manage Institution
• In the STARS Dashboard, when you choose the
“Manage Institution” tab, you may:
– Click “Submission Set” to begin entering data,
submit dataset for a rating, or specify the
“Institutional Boundary” for the submission
– Add “Users” to your institution’s STARS account
– Edit your institution’s “Contact” information
– View your institution’s “Payment History”
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In the submission set,
determine your “institutional boundary”
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“Boundary” refers to the areas of the
institution included in the STARS submission
• Each institution is
expected to included
its entire main
campus when
reporting for STARS.
• It may choose to
exclude or include
other land holdings
and facilities (e.g.,
satellite campuses,
farms).
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Administrators may add “users”
to the institution’s STARS Account
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Adding STARS “Users”
• “Administrator” users may add as many users as
required to complete the data submission
• Only “Administrator” users may submit the
institution’s data for a STARS rating
• “Data Entry” users only have permission to
enter data into the Reporting Tool
• “Observer” users only have access to view the
institution’s saved data
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My submission
• Categories are
expandable to
access credits
• Can also navigate
using the left hand
toolbar
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Entering Data
• In “My Submission” click on a credit to begin data
submission
• “Credit Info” outlines the requirements for the
credit; identical to the STARS 1.0 Technical Manual
• Data is entered in the “Reporting Fields” tab
• “Internal Notes” allows your institution to track
specific information about the credit for internal
purposes
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Credit Info
• Credit Info includes
details about the
credit from the
Technical Manual
• Credit Info can also
be viewed by
clicking on the icon
next to the tab
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Reporting Fields
• Data must be submitted for “required fields” if pursuing
the credit
• “Conditionally required” fields may be required,
depending on what information is entered for other fields
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Help Text
• Additional help text is
included throughout the
site.
• Click on a small blue
question mark icon to
view the help text.
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Public Notes
• Contextual or
supplemental
information about the
credit may be entered
in the optional
“Notes” field
• This field will be
available to the public
upon submission for a
rating
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Responsible Party
• An affirmation by a
“Responsible Party” is
required for each credit
• The “Responsible Party”
should be the person
accountable for the data
submitted for the credit
• The “Responsible Party”
may vary, or stay
consistent, between
credits
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Saving Credit Data
• “Save with status”
to indicate if the
data submission
for the credit is
complete, in
progress, or not
pursing
• Don’t forget to
Save
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Internal Notes
• “Internal Notes”
may be used to
store notes about
the credit
• “Internal Notes”
are not public
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Summary table
• The Submission
Summary highlights
progress made in
completing the
submission
• Expand the table to
view details about
each credit’s status
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Not Applicable
• Some credits do not
apply to all institutions
• These credits include a
fourth save status:
“Not Applicable”
• Click at the top to
quickly jump to bottom
to mark the credit as
“Not Applicable’
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Submit Data for a STARS Rating
• Only when an institution is ready to submit its
finalized dataset should it choose the “Submit for
Rating” icon
• The “Submit for Rating” icon be accessed on the
“My Submission” page or under the “Submission
Sets” tab in “Manage Institution” in the STARS
Dashboard (see next two slides for illustration)
• Only an “Administrator” user may submit for a
rating
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Submit Data for a STARS Rating (2)
• Verify your
institutional boundary
• View credits that
haven’t been started or
are marked as “In
Progress”
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Submit Data for a STARS Rating (3)
• Upload a letter from the President or Chancellor
indicating the data submitted is accurate
Finalize Submission
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What’s Next?
• Public scorecard
• Submission Export
• Potential New Features
– Graphs and Charts
– Searchable Database
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Public Scorecard
• Once an institution has submitted data for a rating,
its dataset will be public
• The public scorecard will look similar to the “My
Submission” summary page
• For institutions that submit as “STARS Reporter”,
points and scores will not be displayed
• Public data is an important accountability strategy
since STARS is a self-assessment
• Stay tuned: the public scorecard will be available as
soon as an institution submits!
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Submission Export
• This feature allows
– institutions to export their dataset as a PDF file prior
to submission
– for review of the dataset before the final submission
is completed
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Potential New Features
• Graphs and charts
– Performance snapshot
• Shows how an institution performed on a particular credit
• Useful for internal institution sustainability reports
– Progress over time
• Graphs or charts to track progress for overall score or individual credits
– Compare to other participants
• Benchmarking
• Searchable Database
– Custom queries (ex.: community colleges with sustainability in new student
orientation)
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Share Ideas for Potential Resources
on the AASHE Forums
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www.aashe.org/forums/stars-reporting-tool-enhancements-and-additions
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Other Resources – STARS Website
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Other Resources – STARS Update
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Other Resources – Help Link
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Other Resources – My Resources
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Contact Information
Have a question about STARS?
1) Email stars@aashe.org
2) Post a question to the AASHE Campus
Sustainability Discussion Forums http://www.aashe.org/forums
3) Check out the STARS website at stars.aashe.org
4) Call (209) STARS 09
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