Overall Rating Platinum - expired
Overall Score 85.66
Liaison Mark Lichtenstein
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Justin Heavey
Sustainability Associate
Sustainability Office
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Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students?:
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::
Pre- and post-assessment to the same cohort or to representative samples in both a pre- and post-test

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:
Which of the following is the most commonly used definition of “sustainable development”:

a) Creating a lasting government welfare system that ensures universal access to education, health care, and social services
b) Building communities that are both demographically and economically diverse
c) Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs
d) All of these
e) None of these
f) Don’t know / not sure

Which of the following is NOT included in the most common definition of “sustainability”:

a) Environmental factors
b) Social factors
c) Technological factors
d) Economic factors
e) Not sure/don’t know

Which of the following best describes the cause(s) of climate change:

a) Burning of fossil fuels
b) Deforestation
c) Agriculture
d) Natural process
e) All of the above
f) None of the above
g) Don’t know, not sure

A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The assessment was developed from a sampling of questions from other university surveys adapted with permission, and original questions developed internally with a collection of faculty, staff, and students. The survey was developed and first administered to all students in 2019. The survey is in the cue of institutional assessment surveys and is scheduled to be administered to all students on 03/19/21. It is expected the survey results will again show a high level of sustainability level among incoming freshman, increasing sustainability literacy with grade level, and increasing sustainability literacy among the same class of students from year to year.

A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The survey was offered to all students with a high response rate.

A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
The initial results in 2019 showed high literacy among students. Results of the second assessment in 2021 will be compared to 2019 data and analyzed for observed versus expected rates of sustainability literacy.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment 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.