Green Fee Committee

A student majority Green Fee Committee (GFC) has been established to solicit, review and award funds for environmental service related projects on campus. The green fee is collected with tuition beginning in Fall 2011 through Summer 2016. The green fee is $5.00 per semester and $2.50 for the summer session.

Please use this site to learn more about the history of the green fee [pdf], timeline and upcoming deadlines, the GFC structure and by-laws [pdf], how you can participate as a GFC member, and how you can submit a proposal for green fee funding.

[Note: PDFs require Adobe® Reader® or compatible software]

Green Fee Proposal Application

The Green Fee application is currently closed. The next grant cycle will be announced on this webpage.The current year's instruction booklets are available below for reference.

2013 Project Application Instruction Booklet [pdf]
All students, staff, and faculty may submit ideas for projects using this application. The information booklet will guide you in writing, assembling, and submitting your application materials.
2013 Research Grant Instruction Booklet [pdf]
Current students are eligible to request Green Fee funding for their sustainability-related research. All guidelines for eligibility and assembling and submitting the application are in this booklet.
2013 Budget Sheet [MS Excel; .xlsx]
Required for all Green Fee projects.

All current students, faculty, and staff are eligible to submit ideas. Questions may be addressed to greenfee@austin.utexas.edu.

If you are a current grantee and need to amend your budget, scope, or project timeline, please use this Project Amendment Form [MS Word;.docx] and Budget Sheet [MS Excel; .xlsx].

2012-2013 Green Fee Projects

Here are a few active projects that have recently been featured in various media. Contact us directly if you would like to get involved or learn more about a project. See the full list of projects with grant amounts [pdf].

The Leona MicroFarm,the University's second student-run community garden, hosted workdays this fall and will begin planting this spring. View their blog to learn more about their progress. You can also watch a video about the community gardens produced by the Green Fee and the Environmental Science Institute. Photo Credit: Daniella Lewis.

The College of Fine Arts collaborated with the Safe Cycling Campaign to put on a unique, one-time dance performance illustrating the importance of nighttime illumination on bicycles. After the show, the audience selected their own bike lights provided by the Campaign and Bike Texas. The Safe Cycling Campaign has also hosted community feedback sessions on multi-modal safety on campus, and collaborated with Parking & Transportation and UTPD on future planning. Read more about the one-of-a-kind event. Photo Credit: Sandy Carson.

The UT Tree Nursery at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center recently distributed the first drought-resistant Loblolly pines to the reforestation effort in Bastrop. Read the Austin American-Statesman article on the reforestation effort. Similar coverage was offered in the Daily Texan. Photo Credit: Nathan Goldsmith.

As recently reported in the Daily Texan, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is leading a pilot project to recycle hard-mold foam packaging from university labs. Pilot projects like this one help the university work out the logistics of a larger-scale recycling effort. Photo Credit: Chelsea Purghan.

Listen to the audio clip of a student journalist's interview with the grantee team* about their solar table installation and their intent to create a practical class or workshop series to teach current students to build the University's own charging station. Photo courtesy Sol Design Lab.

*Note: audio clip is a MP3 file. Right-click to download or click once for your computer's autoplay options.

Reports and Past Projects

Green Fee Committee Members

The membership of the GFC is established by Student Government resolution AR 7 (April, 2010) and consists of:

two students appointed by the Student Government
one graduate student appointed by the Graduate Student Assembly
one student appointed by the Campus Environmental Center
two students at-large appointed by the Green Fee Committee
one faculty member appointed by the Provost
one staff member appointed by the Office of Student Affairs
one staff member appointed by University Operations

The charge of the GFC is made jointly by the Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Juan Gonzalez and Vice President for University Operations, Dr. Patricia Clubb. The initial charge is derived from state legislation, student government resolutions, and The University of Texas System guidance as follows:

The University of Texas at Austin Green Fee Committee is a student-majority committee charged with managing and reporting on funds generated by an environmental services student fee that may be allocated toward a) efficiency improvement projects for existing infrastructure, environmental improvements through services related to recycling, energy efficiency and renewable energy, transportation, employment, product purchasing, planning and maintenance, and irrigation; b) matching funds already established for student internships, scholarships and research grants; and c) any other environmental initiative proposed by university students, faculty or staff.