This study discusses the importance of improving communication between university students and the administration, as related to university sustainability initiatives. The Ohio State University was used as a case study. At the beginning of the study Ohio State had several sustainability initiatives in place on campus but it was hypothesized that the students were not being fully informed about the initiatives. To investigate this matter, several participatory design research activities were conducted with the intent to determine the students’ views and their unmet needs in terms of sustainability initiatives at Ohio State. Participatory research methods were chosen due to the involvement of the students in the research and design process, ensuring that the final result will meet the unmet needs of the students in a way that is appropriate to the student lifestyle.
The goal of this project was to design an improved system of communication to bridge the gap between the administration and the students. During the course of the study it became apparent that social media played a significant role in how students communicate with one another (for social and academic reasons), thus directing the project’s focus to the use of social media as a tool to improve communication between administrators and students.
This study presents background information on: The Ohio State University; recent sustainability issues and ‘green’ trends in society, and at the university level; and social media, including case studies of unexpected but positive ways in which social media has improved communication, in society and at the university level.