UCOP’s Franklin building employees turned out in big numbers last Friday, responding to the LEED commuter survey at a rate of 82 percent. The strong showing, combined with other green operations and maintenance practices, nearly assures that the Franklin building will qualify when it applies for LEED Gold.

The survey is a significant part of UCOP’s effort to renew the building’s LEED certification for operations and maintenance practices and upgrade from silver to gold. With the high participation rate and the large number of employees who take public transit, the building will get a minimum of 12 out of 15 possible points toward the “alternative commuting transportation” portion of the LEED application.

“The response was overwhelmingly positive, and even people who didn’t come into the office on Friday were still motivated to take the survey,” said Chief Building Manager Roman Starno, who is spearheading the LEED certification renewal. “We won’t know for sure until we complete the application and hear back from LEED, but based on these results, we should be able to earn LEED Gold.”

The commuting survey is only one part of the LEED application; it also requires documenting low energy use, waste reduction, a green cleaning program, environmental purchasing strategies and other sustainable practices.

With a total of 844 occupants in the Franklin building, 693 took the survey, including nearly 100 who were on leave, telecommuting or otherwise offsite the day of the survey. About 150 non-Franklin occupants also took the survey.

Here is the breakdown from the results of how Franklin occupants got to and from work last week:

• bus/BART/ferry: 42%
• drive alone: 33%
• carpool: 8%
• self-powered (e.g., walk, bike): 5%
• other (e.g., telecommute, on leave, worked offsite): 12%

The day was full of fanfare, including musical performances by Ishtory, free eats and members of the sustainability team gently urging everyone to take the survey, which was open for only one day. Respondents were eligible for a random drawing for thank-you prizes, which went to:

• iPad mini: Jeannie Malanowski, principal business analyst in the Office of Strategic Change Resources
• One month of fresh, organic produce from Full Belly Farm: Shaudreya Waterman, program assistant in Risk Services
• Gift certificate to Bittersweet Chocolate Café: Patricia Osorio-O’Dea, deputy to the vice provost in Academic Planning, Programs & Coordination

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a voluntary green building rating system, administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), which rates buildings on their sustainable operational and maintenance practices, including reduced energy and water use and the indoor environment they create and maintain for their occupants.

Starno is completing the LEED application for submission in the coming months and should get results from USGBC by the end of the calendar year.

Despite budgetary constraints brought on by years of declining state funding, the University of California continues to outpace many of its peer institutions on critical measures of student success.

UC has made significant improvements on overall graduation rates in the last few years, and both freshmen and transfers are graduating more quickly than in the past.

“This is one of the untold stories,” said UC Provost Aimée Dorr. “Graduation rates for undergraduates have risen dramatically over the past 20 years, and it is taking less time than ever for them to complete their degrees.” The trends were outlined in a report presented May 15 to the UC Board of Regents.

UC improved its student outcomes even while serving the needs of an economically diverse student population and juggling an increasing number of students per faculty member.

Graduation rates have increased across all undergraduate campuses, according to the report. More than 80 percent of students who enter UC as freshmen graduate within six years, a time frame widely considered the de-facto measure of college completion.

UC’s graduation rates exceed the average for flagship public research universities and approach those of the country’s leading private institutions. UC campuses account for six of the top 10 public research universities with the highest graduation rates.

UC also has seen big improvements in how long students take to complete their studies. The number of freshmen completing their degree in four years has almost doubled, from 37 percent in 1997 to 60 percent today. Of those students who don’t earn a degree in four years, most are able to complete their studies with just one additional academic term.

These outcomes are even more remarkable given that UC — unlike many elite research universities —enrolls large numbers of low-income and first-generation students, who typically take longer to graduate than their peers.

The ability of America’s system of higher learning to serve low-income students recently has become an issue of widespread concern. Nationally, these students are less likely to enroll in college and more likely to drop out or fail to complete their studies. UC stands in noteworthy counterpoint to this trend, according to figures Dorr presented to the regents.

The university has been able to maintain these outcomes in the face of painful budget cuts, in part by asking more of its faculty.

The average number of classes taught by faculty has increased steadily over the last 20 years. So has the average number of student credit hours per faculty member — a measure administrators say better accounts for the increased instructional and advisory activity required to support a growing number of students per faculty member.

“UC faculty have shouldered an increasing workload — and have done so while maintaining their commitments to cutting-edge research and public service that bring innumerable benefits to the state and its residents,” Dorr said.

UC does have room to improve, particularly in the number of undergraduates who complete their studies in four years and in boosting graduation rates at individual UC campuses.

For more:

>>Full story by Communications Coordinator Nicole Freeling

>>Complete report: Academic Performance Indicators at the University of California

Save the date, Thursday, May 30, when UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland will visit UCOP for the next talk in the Women We Admire series, 12 to 1 p.m. in Franklin Lobby 1 Conference Room.

With a career in higher education that has spanned more than 30 years, Leland began her term in July 2011 as the third chancellor of UC’s fledgling campus, the subject of a recent story in the SF Chronicle.

In her two years’ tenure, she has launched several initiatives to sharpen strategic academic focus, expand graduate programs and reimagine the physical development of the campus. A strong proponent of UC’s research mission, she expects to make research a top priority at UC Merced throughout her term.

Previously, Leland held faculty or senior administrative positions at Purdue and Florida Atlantic universities. She also served as president of Georgia College & State University (in Milledgeville) and has been credited with academic, research and community relations improvements that now make it one of the nation’s top public colleges.

Leland served on the boards of directors for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Among her many honors and awards are a Distinguished Alumna award from Purdue and the 2006 Governor’s Award (Georgia) for Excellence in Historic Preservation for rehabilitating historic buildings on the Georgia College campus.

She holds a B.A. in English, an M.A. in American studies and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Purdue.

The President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women initiated the Women We Admire speaker series in 2009 to bring women to UCOP from around the system to share insights about their careers, workplace challenges and work–life balance.

Events are open to all members of the UCOP community, and both men and women are invited to learn more about how to make the most of working at UC. Find other speakers in the series and archived audio of past talks on the website.