Sierra Magazine Releases 2020 Cool Schools List

A record-high number of colleges and universities were ranked on this year’s Sierra Magazine Cool Schools list.

The list was created with assistance from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and used participating institutions’ valid Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment & Ratings System (STARS) scores as the basis for evaluation. Upon receiving STARS scores from AASHE, Sierra ranked submissions across 18 weighted categories including curriculum, research, energy, and innovation.

The top 10 institutions, most of which are NACUBO members, are as follows:

1. University of California, Irvine
2. Stanford University (CA)
3. Thompson Rivers University (BC)
4. Arizona State University
5. University of California, Merced
6. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
7. Colorado State University
8. University of Connecticut
9. University of New Hampshire
10. Colby College (ME)

The University of Massachusetts Lowell, a newcomer to the Cool Schools top 20, also was one of four NACUBO member institutions to share their efforts and success as part of NACUBO’s 2020 Campus Efficiencies Posters.

In addition to celebrating sustainability successes in higher education, the report suggests there is still significant room for improvement. None of the top 10 institutions scored in the 90s out of the magazine’s 100 possible points, indicating that work still can be done.