CSU’s sustainability ranking rises in Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges.”

Ranking of Colorado State University The Princeton ReviewThe Guide to Green Colleges has moved from 14th to ninth place in the annual sustainability edition.

It is also the 11th consecutive year that CSU has been listed on the publication's Green College Honor Roll, which lists the 45 higher education institutions that have achieved a perfect score of 99 in its Green Rating system.

The Princeton Review The rankings for the Guide to Green Colleges edition were created based on a 2023-2024 survey of administrators from nearly 600 colleges on their institutions' sustainability-related policies, practices and programs. The company also surveyed university students about their “green” campus experiences.

About the scale

More than 25 data points from the survey were analyzed to determine schools' Green Rating scores on a scale of 60 to 99. Colleges that achieved a Green Rating score of 80 or higher were selected for this edition of the guide, which lists 511 institutions.

The survey collected numerous student comments about CSU in the areas of academics, student body and campus life.

“My professors are fantastic; They make everything easy to learn and teach in a way that makes teaching enjoyable even with large lectures,” said a student. Another added: “It's a great, supportive community and I'm so proud to be a part of it.”

Growing interest in green

“We are seeing significant interest among college applicants in attending green colleges,” said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. Of the nearly 8,000 high school students who participated in the company's 2024 College Hopes & Worries Survey, 61% said information about a college's commitment to the environment would influence their decision to apply to or attend the school .

“Since we created ours Green leader “In 2010, we also saw a dramatic increase in the number of colleges committing to sustainability practices – from sourcing local food to building LEED-certified buildings to committing to divesting from fossil fuels,” Franek added. “We are proud to shine our light on these exceptional schools and recommend them to students who want their “best fit” college to also be an environmentally friendly school.”

Earlier this year, CSU ranked in the top four in the 2024 Sustainable Campus Index, calculated by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, for the tenth consecutive year.