Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 67.18
Liaison Weston Dripps
Submission Date Aug. 19, 2024

STARS v3.0

Amherst College
EN-4: Sustainability Culture Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.50 / 3.00 Weston Dripps
Director of Sustainability
Sustainability

Criteria

4.1 Sustainability culture assessment design and administration

An institution earns 1 point when it A) has conducted an assessment of its sustainability culture during the previous three years and B) the assessment is designed and administered in such a way that the results can be used to measure change over time (e.g., as a longitudinal or annual/biennial assessment). Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report on assessments conducted during the previous three years.

To qualify, an assessment must address attitudes, beliefs, or values; awareness of and/or participation in the institution’s sustainability initiatives; and/or other behaviors or practices that support sustainability. An assessment that covers a single sustainability topic (e.g., a transportation survey) does not qualify in the absence of a more comprehensive assessment. Likewise, assessments that exclusively address student sustainability literacy (i.e., student understanding of sustainability and/or the knowledge and skills required to address sustainability challenges) are excluded. A single assessment that addresses sustainability literacy and culture qualifies if a substantive portion (e.g., one-third) of the assessment focuses on culture. 

4.2 Percentage of students assessed for sustainability culture

An institution earns 1 point when at least 75 percent of its students are assessed for sustainability culture, either directly or by representative sample. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report the most recent data available. An institution that has not conducted a sustainability culture assessment during the previous three years may not claim points for this indicator.

A student is considered to be assessed when assessed directly (e.g., as part of a course or program or a mandatory assessment) or by representative sample (e.g., of the student’s entering and/or graduating cohort). An institution that has opted to assess an unrepresentative segment of the population may only claim points for those individuals that participated.

4.3 Percentage of employees assessed for sustainability culture

An institution earns 1 point when at least 75 percent of its employees are assessed for sustainability culture, either directly or by representative sample. Partial points are available and earned as outlined in the Technical Manual.

Measurement

Report the most recent data available. An institution that has not conducted a sustainability culture assessment during the previous three years may not claim points for this indicator.

An employee is considered to be assessed when assessed directly (e.g., as part of a program or a mandatory survey) or by representative sample. An institution that has opted to assess an unrepresentative segment of the population may only claim points for those individuals that participated.


Applicability

Applicable to all institutions.


Scoring


Measurement

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.