| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.18 |
| Liaison | Chris Adam |
| Submission Date | Dec. 30, 2024 |
Dawson College
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Chris
Adam Coordinator Sustainability Office |
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:
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The Office of Sustainability was interested in measuring student sustainability literacy by means of a before & after study design, for which a survey was utilized. Literacy surveys administered in several universities were reviewed and Dawson-specific questions were designed by the sustainability office, an external consultant and with the support ofthe Quality Assurance and Planning Office of Dawson College. Some specific climate-related questions were part of a national survey for Colleges and Institutes Canada.
Question surveys were piloted with a small group and then a pilot "live" survey was tested for any IT issues.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
With the exception of minor changes, identical surveys were administered, first between October 26 and November 6, 2022 and then between May 3 and May 14, 2023. The goal was to determine if there were any changes in student familiarity with issues pertaining to sustainability initiatives from Fall 2022 to Winter 2023.
No attempt was made to make sure that the same students filled out the survey both times, because an assumption can be made that each sample is representative of the population of interest, given that all Dawson students had access to the survey through their MyDawson page (Omnivox), and that each sample was sufficiently large. In all, 4510 students respondented to the survey in the Fall (3471 completed the survey and 1039 partially completed it), and 3999 filled out the survey in the Winter (2708 completed it, and 1291 partially completed it).
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
The main findings were 1) that students and staff are very concerned about environmental issues 2) hundreds of recommendations were made to the college and 3) that little increase in awareness of sustainability in general or awareness of sustainability activities within the college was seen between the comparative surveys. The sustainability office will be taking this information into account and repeating many more activities to reach more students.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Office of Sustainability - survey planning with CICan and external consultant
Quality Assurance & Planning Office - compiling of survey results and report submission
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.