MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators The following is a presentation prepared for MASFAA’s 2009 Conference in Minneapolis, MN October 18-21, 2009

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Going Green in the Financial Aid Office Dan Mann University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 10:45-12:00

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS What is “Going Green”? Resource Conservation ◦ Reduce ◦ Reuse ◦ Recycle Saves Money

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Green is Customer Driven Common Misconceptions: Green products are not as effective Green products are more expensive Its too hard to be environmentally conscious It doesn’t really matter

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Campus Sustainability Efforts Most campuses have a Sustainability Committee ◦ Energy Conservation/Reduction ◦ Examine Campus Carbon Footprints ◦ Establishing Environment/Sustainability Classes and/or Majors ◦ Chief Sustainability Officer ◦ Transportation ◦ Green Projects

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS College Sustainability Report Card Released October 7, Schools

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS What things can be done to “Go Green” in the Financial Aid Office?

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Waste Products Trash Recycle Shred

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Office Supplies Buy recycled paper/products Buy/Reuse rewriteable CDs and DVDs Create central supplies area ◦ Keep organized ◦ Clean out desks regularly and put unused items back into storage ◦ Ask around before you buy new

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Office Work Area Install CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light) and LED (Light Emitting Diodes) bulbs ◦ Provides 75% energy savings Install motion detector light switches Use lamps and task-specific lighting as needed

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Office Work Area Unplug cell phone chargers and shut down equipment when not in use Keep thermostat 2-3 degrees higher in summer and lower in winter Don’t allow space heaters

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Communication/Processes for Students Tracking (Verification) Letters Financial Aid Award Letters Student Bills Refunds/Electronic Direct Deposit Credit Card Payments Satisfactory Academic Progress Letters

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Communication/Processes for Students Consumer Information Short Term Loans Scholarship Applications Student Employment Applications Electronic I-9s s/Texting/Others?

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Financial Aid Processing Paper Reports Electronic Imaging Electronic Faxing

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Computers Choose laptops over desktops ◦ Less electricity ◦ Less packaging and raw materials Enable screen savers on monitors ◦ Saves electricity ◦ Increases security

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Computers Implement power conservation software Turn computers off at night Replace monitors with lower-energy LCD screens Eliminate desktop printers Replace older computers/equipment

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Thin Clients A thin client (sometimes also called a lean or slim client) is a client computer or client software in client-server architecture networks which depends primarily on the central server for processing activities, and mainly focuses on conveying input and output between the user and the remote server.clientclient-serverserver Source: Wikipedia

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Thin Clients Prices and Energy Usage Vary ◦ Cost less than the price of standard computers ◦ Over 90% energy savings compared to standard computers

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Seven ways to go green in your office 1. Turn off your computer when you go home. 2. Make sure your computer goes into sleep mode when not in use. 3. Turn off your office or cubicle task lights when not in use. 4. Turn off lights in conference rooms and offices when you leave. 5. Leave mini-blinds in the down position with slats in open position. 6. Use a reusable cup or mug instead of disposable cups. 7. Recycle Source:

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Questions and What are you doing???

MINNEAPOLIS, MN OCTOBER MASFAA: TIME TO REFOCUS Contact Information: Dan Mann Office of Student Financial Aid University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 620 East John Street Champaign, IL (217)