Certified Green Course logo with green apples

The Green Teaching Certificate Program at American University

About the Program

Now in its 17th year, the program has certified more than 900 individual professors at AU as “Green Teachers,” by allowing them to collect points for a variety of environmental actions, intended to (1) reduce the use of paper by moving towards using course materials, assignments, and exams in an electronic format; (2) reduce the use of energy and reduce pollution by using energy efficient equipment, e.g. by making a habit of turning off equipment not in use; scheduling office hours on the day of class; or biking or carpooling to campus; and (3) commit to other measures, such as using reusable food and beverage containers; or talking to department staff about purchasing recycled materials and supplies. Certified faculty receive a Green Teaching Certificate Seal which they can include on Blackboard course pages and syllabi. The direct impact of the program on AU’s campus sustainability is substantial, both given the large number of faculty who participate in the program, and the many times larger number of students whose actions are impacted as a result. In addition, AU’s Green Teaching Program has been replicated and successfully adopted by six additional universities across the nation, and was rewarded with the nationally competitive Innovation Award at the 2011 POD Network in Higher Education conference.

Green Teaching Program at 2013 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference

The Green Teaching Program was represented with a poster presentation at this year’s EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA on October 16, 2013.

Greening the Classroom presentation downloads

2018 Green Teacher of the Year

Jessie Mieller receiving the award

Congratulations to Professor Jesse Meiller (CAS-Environmental Science), winner of the 2018 Green Teacher of the Year Award! Learn more about why Professor Meiller was selected to win the award, and read about previous years’ winners. Learn more about why Jessie Meiller was selected to win the award, and read about previous years’ winners.

Photo credit: Jeff Watts, University Photographer