Butler University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

The assessment was developed by a CUES Intern with the support of CUES Assistant Director based on assessments from other universities. This assessment was sent to colleagues for review and was edited based on their recommendations. The inaugural survey was administered in fall of 2021. It was emailed to all students, faculty, and staff by the Office of Institutional Research twice over a two week period. Students, faculty, and staff that take the survey are assigned a number to track their assessment longitudinally to assess how sustainability culture shifts from sustainability initiatives. Future surveys will be administered annually, every fall, to the entire campus community.

The inaugural survey was administered in fall of 2021. It was emailed to all students and employees by the Office of Institutional Research twice over a two week period. Individuals that take the survey are assigned a number to track their assessment longitudinally. Future surveys will be administered every fall, through 2030 per IRB application, to the entire campus community and responses are linked to assess change in literacy over time and via campus initiatives.

This survey was sent to students as well as campus employees/faculty. 429 students took the survey and 240 staff/faculty. Many students reported having a car on campus is 'very important' and expressed numerous barriers to using public transportation including it being unsafe, limited in destinations, inconsistent, and unaware of how to use the bus. Students reported low levels of importance in the University's sustainability goals for choosing where to go to college. Many comments involved recycling and composting infrastructure as solutions. When asked how students felt about climate change the most common were: anxious, depressed, angry, and sad. Most students felt climate change would negatively impact their future. There was less awareness of campus sustainability programs outside of the campus farm.
Staff and faculty also highlighted limitations of public transit and show no to low levels of interest in carpooling with a colleague. Most were able to identify the tree pillars of sustainability, although if one was not chosen as a component, it was more often social justice. Many reported sustainability efforts on campus as recycling, reusable to-gos, and water filing stations. Most agreed that human behavior is causing climate change. Staff and faculty also reported negative emotions as a result of climate change including anxious, sad, and depressed. A deeper dive into the results will occur spring 2022.