Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 55.78
Liaison Jennifer McLaughlin
Submission Date Dec. 9, 2019
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

South Dakota State University
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Jennifer McLaughlin
Sustainability Intern
Facilities and Services
"---" 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::
The entire campus community (students, staff and faculty), directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Longitudinally to measure change over time

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

For the STARS 2016 report, sustainability assessments from various other universities and colleges were analyzed, and common questions were used for our survey.The goal was to use questions that were previously used and shown to be statistically successful. Sustainability value questions that pertained directly to SDSU were also included. Special thanks goes to the following universities for allowing us to utilize their questions: University of Maryland, Western Michigan University, University of North Carolina, Appalachian State University, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Missouri, Ohio State University and their Environmental & Social Sustainability Lab. For this year's survey, the survey from STARS 2016 was used as a template, the Sustainability Specialist worked with a sociology professor and a staff member from SDSU Institutional Research to tweak and improve the survey. We particularly worked to improve question clarity and ensure the questions were not leading participants to the correct answer.

A similar survey was sent out previously in FY18. A follow-up assessment is schedule in the next couple years.


A copy or sample of the questions related to sustainability culture:
A sample of the questions related to sustainability culture or the website URL where the assessment tool is available:
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A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:

The survey is sent via e-mail to a randomized 1/3 of the degree-seeking student population.


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

Respondents valued sustainability and felt it was important for the university to be a leader. However, respondents were not very aware of sustainability offerings on campus. Respondents were more aware of offering this year than in the 2015 survey. Since FY18, respondents were more aware of the recycling program, water bottle re-fill stations, reusable to-go boxes, but less aware of the book recycling program.


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.