Introducing the New and Improved AASHE Bulletin!

AASHE is very excited to announce the debut of its redesigned AASHE Bulletin! We are celebrating the e-newsletter’s sixth year anniversary with a new look and restructured content. The redesign was implemented with the following goals in mind:

1. Thought leadership

While 90 percent of subscribers who participated in the 2011 Bulletin reader survey said the newsletter does a good job in general, many suggested a more curated approach to the content, meaning highlighting some stories over others.

Traditionally a clearinghouse of higher education sustainability news, the weekly e-newsletter is now taking a more curated approach with a new Connecting the Dots column. Appearing above the table of contents (TOC), this feature will examine several stories in each Bulletin issue, contextualizing and linking the themes to foster an integrated perspective on higher education sustainability.

To aid the Bulletin’s transformation toward a vehicle for thought leadership, this column will feature a rotating list of higher education sustainability specialists. This inaugural AASHE Bulletin Editorial board is made up of 17 sustainability leaders with diverse areas of expertise including sustainability education, climate action planning, student engagement, biomimicry, risk analysis, change management, measuring sustainability, diversity, social justice and much more. Visit the AASHE Bulletin web page for a complete list of board members.

2. Advancing sustainability (and providing an invaluable resource)

In an effort to better advance higher education sustainability, the redesigned Bulletin also features expanded coverage designed to push the boundaries of traditional ways of thinking about sustainability. Recently, a new “Access & Affordability” category was added to capture key national conversations including the Occupy protests and Pell Grant debates. Expect other new categories as the concept evolves over time.

3. Engaging a diverse and inspired community

The Bulletin will also work to deepen the inclusion of global perspectives on what higher education sustainability means with a new monthly Global Edition. Expanding on the current biennial coverage, the Global Edition will be issued monthly starting with the March 27 issue. Instead of only containing global news, the monthly edition will integrate international stories with the stories from the U.S. and Canada scheduled to run that week.

Redesign Features

Designed by Aten Design Group and implemented by the AASHE IT team, the Bulletin has a fresh new look with colors and fonts that match the AASHE website (also designed by Aten).

The Bulletin reader survey showed that 67 percent of respondents like the Bulletin format with the TOC on top, organized by primary topic, and the story summaries below. The chief complaint was that the length of the Bulletin was too long each week. We also heard that there was too much emphasis on green building in the Bulletin, a result of the alphabetical TOC with the “Buildings” category at the top of most issues. With this feedack in mind, we made these minor tweaks to the organization of the content:

Presentation of Bulletin Categories
The Bulletin TOC is now organized by three major headers that mirror AASHE’s Sustainabilty Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) credit categories:

• Education & Research
• Operations
• Planning, Administration & Engagement

Content Introduced by “Connecting the Dots” Feature
This new AASHE editorial feature headlines the newsletter to give it more of a magazine feel with a picture and the author’s byline. This is a change aimed at being both aesthetically pleasing and better curating the content for our readers.

Shorter Bulletin Blurbs
We have worked to shorten the length of Bulletin story and job posting summaries, while still providing a summary of the stand-out information.

Sponsorships

Bulletin sponsorships were moved from underneath the table of contents to “above the fold” at the top right of the newsletter. This change is to give businesses a better opportunity to connect with Bulletin readers, and the space provided is better designed for readers to understand how that sponsor’s products may relate to their higher education sustainability efforts.

AASHE is offering a limited-time discount on Bulletin sponsorships through September 18.

We hope you enjoy the new Bulletin and share it with others! Contact AASHE Bulletin Editor Margo Wagner at margo@aashe.org with any questions or feedback.

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