| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 49.53 |
| Liaison | Tanja Srebotnjak |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2019 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Harvey Mudd College
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 1.00 |
Louis
Spanias Sustainability Program Manager Hixon Center for Sustainable Environmental Design |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture (i.e. the assessment focuses on sustainability values, behaviors and beliefs, and may also address awareness of campus sustainability initiatives)?:
Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
In spring 2019, the Hixon Center for Sustainable Environmental Design collaborated with a Claremont Graduate University student to organize and administer focus groups on campus. These focus groups would ask representative samples of students and faculty questions regarding their attitudes and sentiments towards sustainability in their personal lives and on campus, and offered them opportunities to suggest improvements or strategies to advance and expedite efforts on campus.
A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:
Do you see Harvey Mudd as an environmentally conscious college? Why or why not? What does the college do that you view as environmentally friendly or unfriendly?
What do you know about the Hixon Center? What do you think they do? Is their role on campus important?
Do you know of any current sustainability projects or initiatives at HMC, or on other campuses? Do you think those projects and initiatives are successful?
What barriers exist here at Harvey Mudd that make it harder to be environmentally conscious? What could the college do to remove these barriers?
Thinking about your life as a whole, what, if anything, has inspired you to make environmentally friendly choices? What makes you engage with environmental issues?
Are there sustainability projects or initiatives that you would like to see happen here at Mudd? What do you think is the best role for students to play in any future environmental initiatives that the college might present?
FACULTY-SPECIFIC: Do you think it is important to demonstrate the links between your course material/content and sustainability? What do you do, if anything, to make those links explicit?
FACULTY-SPECIFIC: How could the Hixon Center help you or aid faculty with integrating sustainability topics more visibly and meaningfully into your courses or curriculum?
STUDENT-SPECIFIC: How well or how much do you think sustainability is integrated into your current coursework? What would you like to see more of in terms of course content or course offerings?
A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
We conducted three separate focus groups to cover different representative segments of campus. First was a student super group, which students from the singular environmental student group on campus were asked to partake. Second was a random student group, for which we obtained a random stratified sample of the same number of students from each graduating class and issued invitations. Lastly, we e-mailed all faculty with an invitation. The goal was to get between 6-16 individuals in each group to participate in a facilitated focus group.
A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:
Results are not yet available as we are still conducting an analysis of the results of the focus groups, and it is too early to gauge if there is change over time as this is our first time conducting sustainability-oriented focus groups as a means of cultural assessment. However, we believe it will be a valuable assessment going forward that can be replicated to measure change and continue soliciting feedback.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the 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.