| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81.02 |
| Liaison | Sam Lubow |
| Submission Date | June 29, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Stanford University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 4.00 |
Moira
Hafer Sustainability Specialist Office of Sustainability |
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)?:
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 sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
1) Do you believe that climate change is a serious issue?
A) Yes
B) Maybe
C) No
2) When you think about the concept of sustainability, which of the following factors do you think sustainability includes? (Choose all that apply)
A) Environmental factors
B) Economic factors
C) Social factors
D) None of the above
3) What do you feel are the potential effects of global climate change? (Choose all that apply)
A) Loss of habitats
B) Increase in sea level
C) More severe weather
D) Expansion of glaciers
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The three sustainability literacy questions above were first included in the 2015 Stanford Survey of New Students, which is administered annually to incoming Stanford freshmen in August before they arrive on campus. The survey is developed and administered in partnership with the Consortium for Financing Higher Education (COFHE), which includes 35 peer institutions. The survey covers several primary themes: 1) high school background, including academics, activities and demographics, 2) academic interests and expectations for college, including perceptions of academic fields and interest in majors at Stanford, and 3) self-perceptions, including self-described academic characteristics as well as experiences with stress and mental health concerns. In addition to the above topics, the sustainability literacy questions above were included for the first time in 2015. The questions were developed by the Office of Sustainability in collaboration with Stanford faculty and shared with IR&DS, who administers the survey.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The 2015 Stanford Survey of New Students was administered by Institutional Research & Decisions Support (IR&DS) between August and September of the 2015-16 academic year, before incoming freshmen arrived on campus for New Student Orientation. 1,730 matriculating Stanford freshmen were sent email invitations to take the survey, and 1,603 students responded to at least one question on the survey for an overall response rate of 93%. Given the very high response rate to the survey, the respondents were highly representative of the entire population of incoming freshmen. 50% of respondents were male and 50% were female, 26% were from underrepresented race/ethnic groups, 47% said that they were receiving financial aid, and 15% were first generation college students (no parent/guardian with a college degree).
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s), including a description of any measurable changes over time:
86% of respondents said that they believe climate change is a serious issue, with 11% saying maybe and 3% saying no.
86% of respondents said they believed that the concept of sustainability includes environmental factors, 79% economic factors, and 65% social factors. 2% of respondents reported none of the above. It is interesting to see that social factors are the least well understood component of sustainability within this population.
Finally, 85% of students felt that loss of habitats was a potential effect of climate change, 80% increase in sea level, 79% more severe weather, and 25% selected the incorrect answer: expansion of glaciers.
Since this is the first year that these questions were included in the survey, we cannot measure change over time, but we will begin to measure that in coming years. Moreover, Stanford will include these same questions on the senior exit survey in order to measure changes in sustainability literacy between students arriving at Stanford and students nearing the end of their Stanford experience.
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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.