As thousands in the region return to classes starting today, they'll find "green" roofs being installed on their dorms, receive reusable water bottles, and see corn growing on their quad.

They'll be able to enroll in new environmental majors and minors, participate in bike-share programs, and take showers that waste less water. They'll meet campus "sustainability coordinators," learn of new committees looking to make operations more environmentally efficient, and hear of studies to measure a campus' so-called carbon footprint.

Some will have to carry their lunches without a tray - a move to reduce waste. They will get lessons on climate change and live in buildings increasingly powered by the sun and the wind.

Higher education has found a higher calling: Sustainability is a top priority for many university presidents across the country, according to a survey released last week by the National Wildlife Federation and other groups.

"It reflects a change in the wider society and the public attention on issues of global warming and the rising cost of energy," said Judith Walton, executive director of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, a Kentucky-based group that has grown from 40 college members to more than 550. "Much of it is driven by students. They're seeing their future in this."

Congress last month approved funding for universities to offer more academic programs in sustainability and improve energy efficiency on campus. Schools in this region aren't waiting for the grants, which aren't likely to begin until 2010 and could end up less than the projected $50 million total.

At Drexel University - which rolled out solar-powered recycling and litter bins in July, installed low-flow showerheads in the gyms, and requires incoming freshmen to take a lesson on climate change - officials attributed the green sweep to a confluence of events.

"Al Gore's efforts have had a significant role to play. And it's Katrina. It's haze over Beijing. It's more hybrid cars. They all start to pile up, and after a while it's hard not to pay attention," said Carl "Tobey" Oxholm III, executive vice president and chief of staff.

Jameson Detweiler, 22, an engineering graduate student at Drexel, is working with a group to revamp an old fraternity house into a laboratory for better living, including conservation.

Detweiler has become increasingly concerned about global warming, he said, and was one of about 70 students who met with Drexel officials in March to urge more action.

"It's a very important issue to me," said Detweiler, of Lancaster. "I just know we're going to run out of stuff, and that's not going to be good for anybody."

Philadelphia University is starting a bachelor's program in environmental sustainability, a rarity in the nation, officials boast. The program has five enrollees for this fall.

"Our program is going to focus on solutions, working with companies and organizations to create sustainable approaches to what they do," said Tom Schrand, associate dean of the university's School of Liberal Arts. "It's definitely a job market that's going to increase in the future as more communities, more businesses try to tackle the idea of sustainability. We want to train people for those [leadership] jobs."

Freshman Jenny Clay grew up in a small town in Berks County, surrounded by farmland and in the shadow of Hawk Mountain, an environmental sanctuary that focuses on preserving birds of prey. She wants to make a career out of preserving the environment.

"I love it where I live, and I don't want to see it developed," said Clay, 18.

Philadelphia University appears to be in the minority. The National Wildlife Federation survey of more than 1,000 campuses said universities were lagging in developing academic programs on sustainability. Very few require students to take a course in that area.

Other area campuses reported having programs in the works. Muhlenberg College in Allentown, for example, is developing an interdisciplinary minor in sustainability studies. Villanova University will launch a master's-degree program in sustainable engineering in 2009.

At Lafayette College in Easton, Pa., students will return to see corn more than six feet tall growing in the spacious quad. The school calls it "corn on the quad" and has mounted a "corn cam" on the library. Freshmen are reading a book that traces corn and other food from the source to the table, and other disciplines will include lessons on the project.

"We've made this an educational project, not a gimmick," said Hannah Stewart-Gambino, dean of the college.