Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 76.57
Liaison Katie Koscielak
Submission Date April 11, 2023

STARS v2.2

Cal Poly Humboldt
OP-16: Commute Modal Split

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.24 / 5.00 Morgan King
Sustainability & Waste Coordinator
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Total full-time equivalent student enrollment:
5,334

Full-time equivalent of employees:
1,156.60

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:
68.30

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about student commuting:
The Office of Sustainability works with the Office of Institutional Research, Analytics, and Reporting (IRAR) to conduct an annual commuter survey every spring semester. The survey poses a series of questions to assess commuting practices of students, faculty and staff (the survey sent to students asks the same questions as the survey sent to faculty and staff). Results from the survey are used to track commuting patterns, to better understand programmatic impacts, and to estimate Scope 3 GHG emissions. The annual online survey is hosted by Qualtrics and administered via email to students (includes baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate, resident and non-resident students from all disciplines). The survey questions can be seen at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wVj_mvlWT_EwcrBWMUg7Uvknffh5qoni/view?usp=share_link

In Spring 2022, the survey was administered to 5,277 students, 12% of which (615) completed the survey.

It is understood that students may utilize a diversity of modes on different days to commute to campus, as opposed to a single mode every day (e.g., a student may carpool some days and ride a bike other days, and when it’s raining they may drive alone). For this survey, the primary mode of transportation is the mode a respondent indicates is utilized more often than other modes within the semester that the survey is deployed.

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:
48.82

A brief description of the method(s) used to gather data about employee commuting:
Similar to what was said in Part 1 above, the commuter survey is administered to faculty and staff members across all departments and at the same time as the commuter survey is administered to students. The survey questions can be seen at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KwknX0eL2nUEjkDMRU7xR_aWmq8O1lvy/view?usp=share_link

In Spring 2022, the survey was administered to 1,388 employees, 32% of which (446) completed the survey.

Faculty and staff members may also utilize a diversity of modes on different days to commute to campus, as opposed to a single mode every day they come to work. Similarly, the primary mode of transportation is the mode a respondent indicates is utilized more often than other modes within the semester the survey is deployed.

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 31.71 51.18
Zero-emissions vehicle 1.30 5.84
Walk, cycle, or other non-motorized mode 41.20 17.06
Vanpool or carpool 4.20 11.56
Public transport or campus shuttle 6 1.57
Motorcycle, motorized scooter/bike, or moped 1.54 2.24
Distance education / telecommute 14 10.55

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:
The attached spreadsheet includes analysis of raw data from survey responses. Responses identify primary mode of travel to/from campus for students separately from faculty and staff. The OP-16 summary sheet summarizes percentage of students and employees utilizing the various modes of transportation.

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.