Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 48.69
Liaison Tina Evans
Submission Date Aug. 20, 2024

STARS v2.2

Colorado Mountain College
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.47 / 5.00 Tina Evans
Professor, Sustainability Studies
Sustainability Studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
3,139

Full-time equivalent of employees:
591

Part 1. Student commute modal split

Has the institution gathered data about student commuting behavior?:
Yes

Total percentage of students that use more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation:
52

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about student commuting:

As part of a larger survey that assessed our sustainability literacy (in AC-6), we queried our students and employees about their commuting habits. See below for the survey itself..

Note that the employee and student FTE figures do not match those in our PRE-5 category because the performance year being measured here is 2022, whereas our PRE-5 data is for 2024.

Our survey included questions for the sustainability literacy assessment (AC-6; questions 5-15), the commute modal split (OP-16; question 20), and the assessment of sustainability culture (OP-16; questions 16-30). All questions are included below.

 

 1. I am a: (select all that apply):



  1. faculty member -staff member

 

  1. student 2. What is your goal? (select all that apply)

    • 4-year degree

    • 2-year degree -Certificate

    • Personal Learning (Not seeking a credential)

    • Other 3.


 

  1. Which is your primary CMC campus?

    • Dillon

    • Breckenridge

    • Leadville

    • Salida

    • Aspen

    • Carbondale

    • Rifle

    • Glenwood Springs

    • Spring Valley

    • Vail Valley (Edwards)

    • Steamboat Springs

    • Distance

    • Central Services


 

  1.  What is your housing status?

    • on-campus

    • off-campus


 

  1. The most significant driver in the loss of species and ecosystems around the world is:






    • Over-utilization (e.g. overhunting, overharvesting)

    • Conversion of natural spaces into human developments (farmland, cities, etc.)

    • Acid rain

    • Breeding of animals in zoos

    • Don’t know




Ozone forms a protective layer in the earth's upper atmosphere. What does ozone protect us from?



  • Acid rain

 

  • Climate change

 

  • Sudden changes in temperature

 

  • Harmful UV rays

 

  • Don't know



7. Which of the following is an example of sustainable forest management?



  • Setting aside forests to be off-limits to the public

 

  • Never harvesting more than what the forest produces in new growth 

 

  • Producing lumber for nearby communities to build affordable housing

 

  • Putting the local communities in charge of forest resources

 

  • Don’t know



8. Many economists argue that electricity prices in the U.S. are too low because:



  • They do not reflect the costs of pollution from generating electricity

 

  • Too many suppliers go out of business

 

  • Electric companies have a monopoly in their service area

 

  • consumers spend only a small part of their income on energy

 

  • Don’t know



9. What is a potential effect of global climate change?



  • Loss of habitats

 

  • Less severe weather

 

  • Decrease in sea level

 

  • Don’t know

 

  • Loss of the ozone layer



10. Which of the following is the best example of environmental justice?



  • Urban citizens win a bill to have toxic wastes taken to rural communities

 

  • The government dams a river, flooding Native American tribal lands to create hydropower for large cities

 

  • All stakeholders from an indigenous community are involved in setting a quota for the amount of wood they can take from a protected forest next to their village

 

  • Multinational corporations build factories in developing countries where environmental laws are less strict

 

  • Don’t know



11. Which of the following would be considered living in the most environmentally sustainable way? -Recycling all recyclable packaging



  • Reducing consumption of all products

 

  • Buying products labeled "eco" or "green"

 

  • Buying the newest products available

 

  • Don't know



2. Imagine that we had to pay for all the costs associated with the goods we use every day. What would go into calculating the true costs of a product?



  • The cost of raw materials to make the product

 

  • The cost of environmental damage caused by production

 

  • The cost of health care for employees who manufacture the product

 

  • All of the above

 

  • Don’t know



13. Which of the following statements about water is true?



  • Globally, water for personal use (such as washing dishes, doing laundry, and bathing) is the major use of water resources

 

  • Globally, freshwater reserves (aquifers) are used faster than they are replenished

 

  • Floods and severe weather will increase the availability of clean drinking water

 

  • Because water is a free and abundant resource, it is not a major concern for most countries



14. Workers around the world face a variety of social injustices, including low wages, poor working conditions, and lack of access to education. To help improve conditions for these workers you can: -Support corporations that do not allow workers to join labor unions 



  • Buy the newest products to keep factories around the world open

 

  • Purchase products from companies that conduct business in a socially responsible manner -Support large corporations because they generally have more money to pay their workers

 

  • Don’t know



15. Where do you get information about sustainability? (select all that apply)



  • Classes

 

  • News sources

 

  • Friends/family

 

  • Social media

 

  • Other



16. How important do you think sustainability will be for the future well-being of society and the planet?



  • Not at all important

 

  • Slightly important

 

  • Moderately important

 

  • Very important

 

  • Extremely important



17. How important is it to you that CMC reflects sustainability values in how it functions and operates? 



  • Not at all important

 

  • Slightly important Moderately important

 

  • Very important

 

  • Extremely important



18. Drag and drop to rank the following goals for CMC in order of importance (1-MOST important) -Renewable energy powering CMC’s campuses (wind, solar, other)



  • Zero waste campuses

 

  • Carbon-neutral campuses

 

  • A “green” scholarship for student research/study in sustainability

 

  • Locally sourced, organic, non-GMO food service

 

  • Increased focus on diversity and equity



19. Please mark how concerned you are with each sustainability category:



  • Climate change

 

  • Access to food and clean water

 

  • Use of non-renewable resources

 

  • Transferring to renewable resources

 

  • Recycling

 

  • Reducing consumption

 

  • Waste minimization

 

  • Habitat degradation

 

  • Human rights

 

  • Social justice

 

  • Extremely Concerned

 

  • Very Concerned

 

  • Somewhat Concerned

 

  • Slightly Concerned

 

  • Not at All Concerned



20. Which best describes your main mode of transportation for getting to and from campus/classes at CMC? -Single occupancy gas, diesel, or hybrid-powered car, truck, SUV, or van Carpool in a gas, diesel, or hybrid-powered car, truck, SUV, or Van (2 or more occupants)



  • Zero emissions vehicle (with any number of occupants) 

 

  • Bus, campus shuttle, or another mode of public transportation

 

  • Motorcycle, moped, e-bike, motorized scooter, skateboard, or wheelchair

 

  • Walk, bike, or non-motorized skateboard, scooter, or wheelchair

 

  • I almost always use distance learning and/or telecommuting and hardly ever travel to campus/class 21. Which of the following statements best describes your level of interest in sustainability?

 

  • Not Interested at All

 

  • Slightly Interested

 

  • Moderately Interested

 

  • Very Interested

 

  • Extremely Interested



22. How interested are you in learning more about sustainability through classes?



  • Not Interested At All

 

  • Slightly Interested

 

  • Somewhat Interested

 

  • Very Interested

 

  • Extremely Interested 



23. Have you attended sustainability events at your campus?



  • Yes

 

  • No



24. How many sustainability events have you attended?



  • One

 

  • Multiple

 

  • I regularly attend sustainability events



25. Are you interested in attending future sustainability events at your campus?



  • Yes 

 

  • Maybe

 

  • No



26. Why haven't you attended any sustainability events yet? (select all that apply)



  • I wasn't interested in attending events

 

  • I wasn't aware of the events

 

  • I wasn't available to attend the events

 

  • Other

 

  • Events were inconvenient to attend



27. Do you participate in any sustainability clubs at your campus?



  • Yes

 

  • No



28. Are you a member of the employee green team at your campus?



  • Yes

 

  • No 



29. Why don't you participate in sustainability clubs at your campus? (select all that apply)



  • I’m not interested

 

  • I am unaware of any sustainability groups on my campus

 

  • The sustainability clubs at my campus have inconvenient meeting times

 

  • The sustainability clubs at my campus have inconvenient meeting locations

 

  • Other 



30. Why aren't you a member of the employee green team at your campus? (Select all that apply)



  • I'm not interested in being a member of the employee green at my campus

 

  • I don't know how to become a member of the employee green at my campus

 

  • I didn't know my campus had an employee green team -Other

Part 2. Employee commute modal split

Has the institution gathered data about employee commuting behavior?:
Yes

Total percentage of employees that use more sustainable commuting options as their primary mode of transportation:
35

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting:

Sustainability Survey 2022 (the same survey that included the sustainability literacy assessment)


Optional Fields 

Percentage of students and employees that use the following as their primary mode of transportation:
Percentage of students (0-100) Percentage of employees (0-100)
Single-occupancy vehicle 47 68
Zero-emissions vehicle 2 ---
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 10 ---
Vanpool or carpool --- ---
Public transport or campus shuttle 2 ---
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 1 ---
Distance education / telecommute 26 14

Website URL where information about student or employee commuting is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

This came from the 2022 Sustainability Survey (the same survey that included the sustainability literacy assessment and the assessment of sustainability culture).


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.