Total state support for higher education declined 7.6 percent from the 2011 to the 2012 fiscal years, according to an annual report from the Grapevine Project at Illinois State University and the State Higher Education Executive Officers. Reports a recent Chronicle of Higher Education article, state spending on higher education is now nearly 4 percent lower than it was in the 2007 fiscal year. Twenty-nine states appropriated less for colleges this year than they did five years ago. The current year's large decline was due in part to the expiration of about $40 billion in federal money given to the states to prop up spending on education.

Two students at Linfield College (OR) have produced a short documentary about the social justice, public safety and environmental implications of bottled water. The students are using the video to reach out to groups on campus - and beyond - to raise awareness of these issues and move toward a ban of bottled water.

Montana State University has announced plans to invest $9.1 million on updating residence halls with new windows, lighting, water conservation improvements and mechanical changes. Scheduled for completion in the next 20 months, the project is expected to yield about $370,000 in energy savings per year. Half of the money is being loaned by the Montana Board of Investments.

Morgan Community College’s (CO) Spruce Hall has been awarded LEED Gold certification. The building features a 19-kilowatt photovoltaic system and water-efficient landscaping. Additional sustainable features include low-flow plumbing fixtures, passive solar design and low emitting materials.

President Obama has proposed a financial aid overhaul that for the first time would tie institutions' eligibility for campus-based aid programs to the institution's success in improving affordability and value for students, reports The New York Times. Under the plan, the amount available for Perkins loans would grow to $8 billion from the current $1 billion. In a speech last week at the University of Michigan, Obama announced a $1 billion grant competition that would reward states that take action to keep higher education costs down, and a separate $55 million competition for individual institutions to increase their value and efficiency. All of the proposed changes will require Congressional approval.

"If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down," said President Obama last week to colleges and universities during his State of the Union address. "You're on notice," he told them, calling for plans to reduce the interest rate on student loans, extend popular tax credits and shore up support for community colleges job training programs. While he did not mention Pell grants, reports the Inside Higher Ed article, Obama urged Congress to forestall a planned increase on the interest rate on federal student loans (which will double to 6.8 percent in July if no action is taken) and proposed doubling the number of federal work-study jobs in the next five years.

With the goal of enabling students to take action, San Diego State University's (CA) Center for Regional Studies has opened a Student Sustainability Center. Students will work with faculty at the center to create action plans to ensure the school reduces its carbon footprint. The action plans will be informed by research conducted by student interns on the successes of energy efficiency programs at other institutions.

Southeastern Louisiana University Physical Plant Services has installed a tank on campus to collect used and unwanted cooking oil from the campus community. The oil will be used to produce biodiesel to fuel off-road campus vehicles and equipment.

Student groups at a handful of institutions across the country have helped hundreds of community members start small businesses in the last few years, reports a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Campus Microfinance Alliance, a national network whose student members include Bentley (MA) and St. Cloud State (MN) universities, is one of several student-led groups offering loans to local residents who want to start businesses but are unlikely to qualify for traditional bank loans. Other groups profiled in the article include those at Grinnell College (IA) and Yale (CT), Brown (RI) and Rutgers (NJ) universities. The clubs, often established as nonprofits, have helped start barbershops, bakeries and hot-dog stands with modest loans of typically less than $5,000.

Texas State University has installed 23 water bottle refilling stations outfitted with a bottle counter that reveals the quantity of bottles saved from landfills. The project was made by possible by a $20,000 grant from the university's Environmental Service Committee.

A plan to replace tuition with post-graduation payments proposed by a group of students at the University of California, Riverside is being studied by the University of California system president and his staff. Calling themselves Fix UC, the student group's no-tuition proposal would require most graduates to pay 5 percent of their wages (not investments) for 20 years. It would offer discounts for transfer students, graduates who work in public service careers and those who stay and work in the state.

Members of the University of Cincinnati's (OH) Beyond Coal student organization are urging the administration to retire one of its campus coal-fired boilers. Students have gathered more than 2,000 signatures calling for the replacement of the aging boiler with a more efficient source of energy.

Funded by a $3 student green fee, the University of Georgia’s Office of Sustainability has awarded $20,000 to six student projects. Winning initiatives include a recycling program at a satellite campus and a demonstration project illustrating how construction waste from landfills can be refigured into projects that benefit the community.

The University of Iowa has announced plans to replace a gas-powered boiler with a new $7.3 million biomass boiler that burns woodchips. If the boiler is successful on its smaller Oakdale campus, the university plans to implement renewable technologies on its main campus.

Union College's (NY) U-Sustain has received an anonymous $8,000 donation to improve its recycling system. The grant will be used to install more recycling bins around campus to encourage the recycling of plastics, glass and other materials.

A team of University of Notre Dame (IN) researchers sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy have developed a type of paint that can generate electricity upon exposure to light. The paint’s semiconductors absorb light and generate charge carriers that are tapped in photovoltaic cells. Researchers will continue to work to develop the paint into a product with competitive efficiency and stability.

The University of Pennsylvania has announced the award of eight new Green Fund grants for sustainable campus projects. Projects include a water density system at the university ice rink; a campus chemical inventory and waste management system; a new sustainability journal in the Earth and Environmental Science department; a bike-sharing pilot program; and Franklin Farmers, a network of local gardeners who will aim to raise awareness of health issues in the community.

The University of Rhode Island’s research ocean vessel, the Endeavor, has started using refined biofuel. To fuel its trek around the globe, the vessel recently filled up with a mix of recycled oil from fast food restaurants and regular diesel.

The University of South Carolina has unveiled a new Student Sustainability Fund, which will allow the campus community to submit proposals for sustainable projects. While $25,000 in seed money has been allocated to the fund, an optional student fee will add to it in the future. A committee of 14 students and five faculty members are in the process of accepting and reviewing proposals.

The University of Texas at Arlington is the first higher education institution to be certified by the Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITES). The voluntary, national rating system and set of performance benchmarks for sustainable landscapes recognized the university for its Green at College Park, which features an open lawn, pedestrian promenade, shade arbor, native plants in rain gardens and a water detention system. The Green is one of three projects to receive recognition from among 150 pilot projects seeking certification since summer 2010.

The University of Vermont has launched a new sustainable campus innovation certificate program that can be taken entirely online. The program will equip those working within higher education operations, administration and student leadership with the training to inspire and guide a green transformation across their campus and surrounding community. Participants will learn how to institute sustainable practices, drive environmental innovation to boost enrollment of eco-savvy students, and incorporate sustainability into the curriculum to encourage student participation and retention.

Students in the Net Impact chapter at Antioch University, New England (NH) have signed the Perpetual Food Pledge. Aiming to bring awareness to the fact that the number of people who experience food insecurity in New Hampshire has increased by 90 percent since 2006, the pledge states that a nonperishable food item to help feed the hungry will be purchased with every trip to the grocery store.

Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus has announced plans for a 1-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant. The facility will be developed by SunPower Corp., which will sell the energy produced back to the university. The plant is expected to produce an amount of energy equal to that needed to serve about 225 SunPower customers.

Austin Community College (TX) has installed 18 electric car charging stations available to the campus community and the public as part of the ChargePoint America program. At $2 per hour-long charge, the college hopes the stations will help create a support network for environmentally friendly vehicles.

Bristol Community College (MA) has announced a pilot project with a local high school that will expose both high school and higher education students to sustainable and green energy technologies. With a combination of theory, experimentation and field trips to a solar farm and green energy plant, students will learn about wind energy, efficient lighting, brownfield redevelopment, city planning and transportation, urban agriculture, solar thermal design and greenhouse technology.

California State University, Fullerton has installed three solar power systems on the roof of campus buildings, each 1.16 megawatts in size. Including solar powered electric vehicle charging stations, the systems are expected to produce enough electricity per year to equal the elimination of 5,181 passenger vehicles from the road over the next 25 years.

Central Lakes College (MN) has announced a new Local Food College program that will aid farmers in increasing the production of food in the region. The low-cost sessions include an overview of whole farm planning, fruit and vegetable production, and business planning. Participants will learn from practitioners and educators and share personal experiences with others who are part of the growing movement to build resilient local food systems.

In a response to a Campus Climate Survey, Duquesne University’s (PA) Council on Diversity has announced plans to host more events and programs that showcase diversity. The survey revealed that students and faculty are in favor of actively promoting gender, racial and religious equality. Goals include monitoring the campus social climate; planning events to celebrate and promote diversity on campus; and recruiting and retaining minority faculty, staff, administrators and students.

Ivy League students recently crashed a handful of investment banking firm recruiting sessions at Harvard (MA), Brown (RI) and Princeton (NJ) universities, reports an Inside Higher Ed article. "...we protest the campus culture that whitewashes the crooked dealings of Wall Street as a prestigious career path. We are here today as a voice for the 99 percent, shut out by a system that punishes them just for being born without privilege," a group of 18 Princeton students said collectively during one recruiting session. "What we need is not a university for the 1 percent, but a university in the nation's service, and in the service of all nations." The tactic marks a shift for the college Occupy movement, says the article, "which up to this point had primarily targeted either their institutions or Wall Street as a whole."

Kalamazoo College (MI) has received a $23 million grant for its Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. The largest grant in the college's history will endow scholarships and internships for students, fellowships and professorships for faculty members, lectures and conferences, local and global partnerships, and residencies for social justice scholars and activists. The grant is from the same foundation that established the center three years ago.

The Lane Community College (OR) Board of Education has approved a watershed science technician associate degree. The water conservation curriculum will provide career opportunities for students who previously only had the certificate option.

Michigan State University's College of Education has named Donald E. Heller, a national expert on higher education access issues, as its new dean. The former director of Pennsylvania State University’s Center for the Study of Higher Education has spent much of his career studying how government and institutional policies affect college access and choice for low-income and minority students. At a time when both the state and federal governments are stepping up their focus on higher education financing, accessibility and outcomes, says Michigan State University’s provost in the Chronicle of Higher Education article, "someone who understands education policy and the role of the university in helping to shape that policy is extremely attractive."

Middlebury College (VT) has announced plans for a small solar farm consisting of 34 solar trackers that will produce enough electricity to power one of its residence halls. The system, slated for a spring installation, will also be used as an opportunity for student learning and research.

Following a recent National Task Force for Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement report noting that community college students in particular benefit from civic learning, Mount Wachusett Community College (MA) has received a $2 million donation from an anonymous donor to establish a civic learning center, reports the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Community College Times. The center will establish best practices; support programs, activities and community events that highlight the value of civic engagement and its relationship to healthy communities; and help fund awards for the college's students who show commitment and provide mentorship in areas of civic learning.

Portland State University (OR) has received $3.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for sustainable transportation research and education. One of 63 applicants for 22 grants, the university will focus on research and education programs that improve health and safety for all users; increase the efficiency and understanding of cycling, walking and transit; make the best use of data, performance measures and analytical tools; integrate multimodal transportation with land use; and take long-term action on transportation emissions and climate change.

Princeton University (NJ) has started the installation of a new 5.3-megawatt solar photovoltaic panel field, to be completed by summer 2012. The university will host the field and lease the equipment from the project's funder and owner, Key Equipment Finance. After eight years, the university will have the option to purchase it at fair market value.

The president of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities announced at a recent conference that the state's population of students in dire financial need grew by half in the 2009-2010 academic year, reports a Washington Post blog. This is a crisis for colleges, says the article, because while the federal government's Free Application for Federal Student Aid has determined that many more students bound for Wisconsin colleges should have their expenses covered entirely through aid, it hasn't stipulated where that aid will come from. The neediest students are eligible for $5,550 in federal Pell grants. Beyond that, grant and scholarship dollars come mostly from individual schools.

The University of Arizona has installed two self-serve bicycle repair stations on campus. Users are able to suspend their bikes and make minor adjustments using the 17 tools that are tethered to the unit.

A record high of 91,512 students from diverse ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds applied for fall 2012 admission to the University of California, Los Angeles. Latino applications grew by 15.6 percent over last year, while African American and American Indian applications increased by 13.7 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively. The university also continued to experience gains among students from low-income families.

The University of California, Santa Barbara has announced the installation of four bike repair stations on campus, with two more on the way. The stations, which feature a metal stand designed to suspend a bicycle for repairs and a variety of tools including wrenches, screwdrivers and an air pump, are free to the campus community.

In an effort to increase student awareness of its sustainability efforts and successes, the University of Connecticut's Office of Environmental Policy and Communications and ResLife departments worked with a graphic design firm to develop an informative display for campus. The wall-size mural, which includes three-dimensional pieces that can be updated, features a collage of pictures and short text paragraphs explaining what the university is doing to reduce its environmental impact.

The University of Illinois at Chicago has approved a refundable $4.00 per semester sustainability fee for students. The fee was proposed by students to assist the university in aligning its operations and academics with the principles of sustainability. A student-led committee, supported by faculty and staff, will decide which student-driven initiatives receive funding through the initiative.

The University of North Carolina, Greensboro’s School of Education building has achieved LEED Gold certification. Thirty percent of the $47 million project features regional materials and 88 percent of the construction waste was recycled. Sustainable features include drought resistant plants, low-flow plumbing, a bio-retention pond and sand filter systems.

The University of Pennsylvania has replaced two 1970s-era Zambonis with energy-efficient ice-resurfacing machines for its campus ice rink. The university also replaced a gasoline-powered ice edger with a zero-emissions model. With support from the Green Fund, the university plans to install a new water densification system this spring, designed to help reduce energy use in the arena.

In an effort to make education more affordable and accessible, Sewanee: The University of the South (TN) has announced that it will freeze the cost of tuition, room and board for the next four years for the class entering next fall. Tuition and fees for these students will remain level through spring 2016. The university previously announced a 10 percent reduction in tuition and fees for the current 2011-2012 academic year, which will remain in effect for returning students next fall.

The University of Washington, Seattle has announced the latest round of Campus Sustainability Fund project winners. Collected through a quarterly $118 student fee, the $180,227 will be split between five projects including a new sustainability service learning coordinator student liaison, on-campus composting facility, parking lot bioswale, green wall and feasibility study for a student biodiesel campus cooperative.

Professors at Western Washington University and the University of Washington have been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement to help fund a study to create more efficient solar panels. The team will research new ways to refine the technologies used in solar panels, as well as test less expensive and greener materials that can be used to achieve the same power generation as a standard solar cell.

Wilfrid Laurier University (ON) has implemented a building dashboard system on campus to monitor energy consumption in real-time. The Lucid Design Group dashboard was funded by a $150,000 grant from the university president's Innovation Seed Fund.

Sixty-five signatory campuses of the American College & University Presidents' Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) have submitted public greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories since the last update in the AASHE Bulletin on Nov. 8, 2011. The GHG inventory is the first major reporting requirement of the Commitment and is due within a year of signing. In alphabetical order, new inventories were submitted by: Albion College (MI); American University (DC); Austin College (TX); Bard College (NY); Bowdoin College (ME); Bowie State University (MD); Chatham University (PA); Clark University (MA); Coastal Carolina University (SC); Delta College (MI); DePauw University (IN); Eckerd College (FL); George Mason University (VA); George Washington University (DC); Gonzaga University (WA); Grand Valley State University (MI); Hamilton College (NY); Haverford College (PA); Indiana State University; Lorain County Community College (OH); Macalester College (MN); Maharishi University of Management (IA); Massachusetts College of Art & Design; Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts; McLennan Community College (TX); Montclair State University (NJ); Ohio University; Ohlone College (CA); Oregon State University; Phoenix College (AZ); Seattle University (WA); Sewanee: The University of the South (TN); Southern Polytechnic State University (GA); St. Lawrence University (NY); St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley (MO); State University of New York College at Oswego; Stetson University (FL); The City College of New York; Trident Technical College (SC); University of Arizona; University of Arkansas; University of California, Irvine; University of California, Los Angeles; University of California, San Francisco; University of Colorado Boulder; University of Hawaii at Manoa; University of Maryland Baltimore; University of Maryland Baltimore County; University of Maryland College Park; University of Massachusetts Lowell; University of Minnesota-Crookston; University of Minnesota-Rochester; University of Minnesota-Twin Cities; University of Missouri-Columbia; University of Missouri-Kansas City; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; University of Vermont; University of Washington Tacoma; University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Valdosta State University (GA); Villanova University (PA); Wentworth Institute of Technology (MA); Wesley College (DE); West Chester University of Pennsylvania; and Western Washington University. In related news, State University of New York Institute of Technology has released a greenhouse gas inventory.

Champlain College and the University of Vermont have announced a subsidized car sharing membership for full-time students, faculty and staff. Offered through the Campus Area Transportation Management Association and CarShare Vermont, the program's $150 annual membership fee has been underwritten by the two Vermont institutions in an effort to triple the number Champlain College and the University of Vermont members in 2012.