Overall Rating Bronze
Overall Score 28.04
Liaison Sam Edwards
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

Quinnipiac University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
The entire campus community (students and employees) directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples of the same population

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
Resonate (a sustainability consultant) conducted a Campus Culture Assessment in 2014 to determine student behavior around sustainability. QU plans to repeat another culture assessment in 2022.

A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:
1) In the past academic year, have you volunteered your time to a community group or project to help improve environmental quality, social justice and or economic development of the local community?
2) Select strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree:
Most students at QU are not really concerned about sustainability issues.
I would like to become involved in sustainability projects or events on campus.
If QU offered courses focused on sustainability issues, I would take some.
QU has a responsibility to understand and respond to the needs of the local community.

A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
All students were emailed the survey as part of course evaluations at the end of the semester to complete online. There were also in person group sessions: one with faculty, one with the sustainability committee and one with a randomly selected group of students.

A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:
The Sustainability Committee and its smaller “Core Group” are actively committed to transforming QU into a “green” campus. Their perspective is, at the moment, almost entirely environmental. There is an awareness of the larger conceptualization of sustainability, but the focus is still predominantly on environmental greening. This can be changed through actively integrating broad sustainability concepts into the fabric of the curriculum, campus and student life, and the administration. Students are missing the “what’s in it for me,” the “why” behind the desired behaviors. Sustainability is perceived as a service provided by the University. “Students don’t recycle” – said by every group we met with.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the assessment of sustainability culture is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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