Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.76
Liaison Richard Johnson
Submission Date Oct. 13, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Rice University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.25 / 1.00
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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)?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
A subset of the campus community or a sample that may not be representative of the entire community

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples of the same population

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:

The Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences administered a survey of all students who had matriculated as of November 1, 2014. The results capture responses from the five-day period, November 1st through 5th.

The sustainability office also closely tracks metrics related to social media and communications on a monthly basis to help determine the level of engagement regarding particular sustainability-related messages, newsletters, articles, and communications channels.


A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
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A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:

Would you support Rice creating a new interdisciplinary environmental studies major or minor? Which would be your preference?
If an environmental studies program at Rice offered areas of focus, what course(s) of study would interest you the most?
If an environmental studies major had been available when you first enrolled at Rice, would you have declared it as your major?
If an environmental studies minor had been available when you first enrolled at Rice, would you have pursued it as a minor?
Would you be willing to be part of a focus group to discuss the future curriculum, structure, and organization of environmental studies at Rice?
Please provide any additional comments or feedback about Rice developing a new major or minor in environmental studies.


A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:

This survey only sampled students; it did not include faculty or staff.


A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:

The responses to the open-ended question in the survey demonstrated a wide variety of concerns (or lack thereof) about the environment. With 49% of students supporting the creation of a new major and 62% supporting a new minor, it was ultimately decided to move forward with the minor. The CENHS officially started offering the Environmental Studies minor in Fall 2015.


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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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.