Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.41
Liaison Kristin Larson
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

San Diego State University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Kristin Larson
Director of Energy and Sustainability
Office of Energy and Sustainability
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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:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4209955/SDSU-Sustainability-Survey

A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
Literacy assessment was developed by reviewing other campus literacy assessments and by a collaboration between students, faculty, and staff. A student developed and managed the survey. It was adopted in 2018. It was combined with the cultural assessment. Literacy questions include items 20 through 23 and 30 through 36, totaling more than the minimum 10 questions required.

A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
We've had 667 respondents so far. Initial assessment done by sustainability officer, but will be further reviewed by Senate Sustainability Committee and others.

A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s), including a description of any measurable changes over time:
The vast majority of students correctly identified the importance of the environment (97%), economy (86%), and social equity (70%) within sustainability. Most students were able to correctly identify renewable energy sources, though some believed nuclear was renewable and the majority were unable to identify biomass as renewable. On questions related to scientific knowledge of sustainability, students tended to do well. Students have a general knowledge of what can be recycled on campus, with some exceptions (Styrofoam can be recycled at SDSU, for example).

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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