The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has released the latest draft of its rating system to gauge campus sustainability and is taking feedback from institutions that are test driving the system.

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) version 0.5 is being piloted by more than 90 colleges and universities. AASHE is taking public comment on the system until May 9, 2008 and plans to release version 1.0 in spring next year.

STARS is designed to help gauge the progress colleges and universities are making towards being more sustainable in all their operations. The system is set up to allow meaningful comparisons among institutions and provide benchmarks within institutions. It also aims to create incentives for continual improvement, help share information about sustainability practices and create a community around campus sustainability.

Credits cover all aspects of higher education and can be earned in three main categories: education and research, operations, and administrations and finance. The system looks at such things as buildings and purchasing on the operations side and investments in the finance sector.

AASHE released the first draft of STARS in September 2007, in response to the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium, which had issued a call for a sustainability rating system for campuses in late 2006.