Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 63.22
Liaison Jody Jones
Submission Date Oct. 17, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Mount Royal University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Courtney Stange
Administrative Assistant
Institute for Environmental Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students (i.e. an assessment focused on student knowledge of sustainability topics and challenges)?:
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::
Standalone evaluation without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples

A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
A sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
See Sustainability Literacy Assessment section in the link above (questions 21 - 29).

A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The first MRU Sustainability Literacy & Culture Assessment was developed by members of the Sustainable MRU committee in August 2019 to determine trends in understanding, behaviours, and attitudes, and use the results for education and planning. Questions were sourced from other post-secondary sustainability literacy assessments and research conducted on sustainability cultural indicators. Review of the surveys results in November 2019 will determine if and when a post-assessment will be administered.

A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The survey was administered at the Fall 2019 Campus Sustainability Fair over two days in September in a high traffic area on campus. Herbs and an incentive gift card were offered to complete the 10 minute survey. The survey was also advertised to all staff, student, and faculty on the MyMRU portal, and in the campus community newletter, OurCommunity, over a one month period. 394 responses were captured, with 79.2% being from students who identified their program and year of study.

A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s), including a description of any measurable changes over time:
83% of participants correctly identified that the ozone layer protects us from harmful UV rays, and 65% correctly identified that decreased taxation was not a UN sustainable development goal. Frequently missed questions included content on greenhouse gases, electricity, and climate change. The survey has only been administered once, so there are no measurable changes to report at this time.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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