| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 91.10 |
| Liaison | Alex Davis |
| Submission Date | Feb. 28, 2023 |
Arizona State University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jenae
Camacho Sustainability Analyst University Sustainability Practices |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students?:
Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
A list or sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
See file upload.
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The survey was developed by a small committee of experts at ASU in 2017. The committee reviewed other similar surveys from across the country and compiled the survey to best serve ASU's goals. It has been refined with the support of a Psychology Post-Doctoral student and is improved upon each survey year.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The survey was sent via email to all faculty and staff and approximately 40,000 of the student body. The student participants were randomly selected but weighted to ensure enough responses in each academic class for a representative sample. There were several email reminders over the course of the survey period and the response rate was 10% for students and 16% for faculty and staff. Although the response rate was less than targeted, there were over 6,500 responses, and a representative sample was achieved - giving us confidence in our results at the 95% +/- 1% level. This is the fourth year conducting this survey and we analyze responses in several ways, including by academic class – which can shed some light on whether students gain literacy over time. For example, we have conducted this survey for five years and we can compare sophomore responses versus senior responses OR compare last year’s survey of juniors with this year’s seniors. Therefore, we are able to analyze a representative cohort over time. The survey was administered annually from 2017-2020. Going forward, the survey is administered every two years to avoid "survey fatigue." The most recent survey was administered in 2021. At the time of this submission, the 2023 survey was in progress.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
2021
29.98% scored 75% (6 or more right) and 54% scored at least 62.5% (5 or more right)
2019:
33.9% scored 75% (6 or more right) and 57.5% scored at least 62.5% (5 or more right)
The decrease between 2019 and 2021 suggests that sustainability literacy slightly decreased but could be due to COVID-19 as students may have had less exposure to sustainability activities on campus than respondents in previous years.
Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
ASU's Sustainability Literacy Assessment was conducted as part of our Comprehensive Sustainability Survey tool, which has three roughly equal parts:
- Sustainability Literacy
- Sustainability Culture
- Transportation/Commuting
This assessment was conducted in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and is currently in progress for 2023 (at the time of this STARS submission). The survey is administered as a pre-and post-assessment to a representative sample of cohorts of students to identify changes in literacy over time.
ASU's Sustainability Literacy Assessment was conducted as part of our Comprehensive Sustainability Survey tool, which has three roughly equal parts:
- Sustainability Literacy
- Sustainability Culture
- Transportation/Commuting
This assessment was conducted in 2017, 2018, and 2019 and is currently in progress for 2023 (at the time of this STARS submission). The survey is administered as a pre-and post-assessment to a representative sample of cohorts of students to identify changes in literacy over time.
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.