Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 72.96
Liaison Audrey McSain
Submission Date Feb. 16, 2022

STARS v2.2

Lehigh University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Katharine Targett Gross
Sustainability Officer
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
The entire (or predominate) student body, directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
Pre- and post-assessment to the same cohort or to representative samples in both a pre- and post-test

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:

1. Which of the following components are included in a comprehensive definition of sustainability?
2. Which of the following is the most commonly used definition of sustainable development?
3. Most carbon emissions produced by US citizens are due to …
4. What is NOT a potential effect of global climate change?
5. Which activity has the largest environmental impact?
6. The term “renewable energy resources” means resources that…
7. Which energy resource is nonrenewable?
8. Placing your cell phone in the charger when you are not using it…
9. Where does most of the household garbage in the U.S. end up?
10. Which of the following household wastes is considered a hazardous waste?
11. What is a “food desert”?
12. Which of the following foods is the most carbon-intensive to produce?
13. The most significant driver in the loss of species and ecosystems around the world is…
14. What is the most common cause of pollution of streams, rivers, and oceans?
15. Which is the best environmental justice example?


A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:

Lehigh's Sustainability Literacy Assessment was developed in collaboration between the Office of Sustainability and the Lehigh Sustainability Council's Education Subcommittee. These two groups developed the questions and the answer choices for the assessment. The assessment was sent via email through Qualtrics to all students in October 2020 and March 2021.


A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :

The assessment was administered through a Qualtrics survey. A link to the survey and information explaining the assessment was sent via email to all students (both undergraduate and graduate) in October 2020 and March 2021. We received 264 responses in October 2020 and 216 responses in March 2021.


A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):

In March 2021, the average score was 11.52/15 (76.8%) and 9 out of 15 questions had a score of 80% or higher. This is compared to October 2020, when the average score was 11.07/15 (73.8%).


Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The data above was not impacted by COVID-19 and therefore is representative of a normal year.


The data above was not impacted by COVID-19 and therefore is representative of a normal year.

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.