| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 71.75 |
| Liaison | Jauna Vitale |
| Submission Date | Feb. 14, 2025 |
New York University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Jauna
Vitale Assistant Director, Sustainability NYU Office of Sustainability |
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:
See the attached document.
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
NYU’s 2024 Sustainability Assessment, which includes sustainability literacy questions and a cultural assessment, was developed by NYU’s Office of Sustainability to evaluate the success of NYU's sustainability initiatives and education and develop insights into how our initiatives and sustainability education can be improved. The Office of Sustainability reviewed best practices from 10 other universities to inform the development of the sustainability assessment. Once a draft survey was compiled, the Office of Sustainability reviewed the survey with NYU’s Provost Office.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
NYU’s 2024 Sustainability Assessment was open to the entire NYU community, including students, faculty, and staff, from September 23, 2024 - November 1, 2024. The survey was included in 2 university-wide emails sent by NYU’s Chief Sustainability Officer, 2 university-wide weekly newsletters, and the Office of Sustainability’s monthly newsletter. The Office of Sustainability also hosted a variety of tabling sessions during NYC Climate Week events (September 22, 2024 - September 29, 2024) and in popular locations across campus to encourage survey responses, and worked with university partners to disseminate the survey to their communities via newsletters, digital screens, and classes. Schools and units were asked to publicize the survey through their outreach channels.
NYU plans to host a post-assessment for the entire NYU community in 3 years to ensure that we are capturing longitudinal observations.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
NYU received 7,043 responses with 5,000 responses (71%) coming from students, 1,482 responses (21% coming from staff and administrators), and 510 responses (7%) coming from faculty. The assessment consisted of 7 questions, with a mean score of 5.78 out of 7 and a median score of 6 out of 7.
Key results include (shown as % of total respondents):
95% correctly identified the definition of sustainability
93% correctly identified the difference between weather and climate.
82% correctly identified the food with the highest carbon footprint
78% correctly identified environmental justice
61% correctly identified that energy from buildings contribute the most to NYU’s emissions from onsite operations.
Optional Fields
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.