| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 75.15 |
| Liaison | Lori Collins-Hall |
| Submission Date | March 5, 2021 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Sterling College (VT)
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.25 / 1.00 |
Holly
Francis STARS consultant Advancement |
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)?:
Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
This cultural assessment was developed for the STARS submission, as the last method of determining the culture through course evaluations didn't seem direct enough. The questions are meant to get insight into how the student feels about climate change and sustainability issues, whether they feel they have a personal responsibility, and how they feel about Sterling College's initiatives. This survey is broad enough that it can be used for years to come to give a sense of how these answers change.
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:
The questions are as follows:
- How important is the issue of climate change to you personally?
- How worried are you about climate change?
- How much do you think climate change will affect you personally?
- How much do you think climate change will affect future generations?
- What comes closest to your attitude about the current environmental issues we face?
- In your opinion, what are the top three [sustainability] issues on campus? (Select up to 3)
- What would be the best way to improve recycling at Sterling College?
- I have a personal responsibility to help make a difference on environmental issues like minimizing waste, resource consumption, and energy use.
- I have a personal responsibility to help make a difference on social issues like ensuring equity and inclusion and spreading environmental education.
- How do you utilize your personal responsibility at Sterling College?
- I have become more aware of environmental issues since attending Sterling College.
- I have started caring more about environmental issues since attending Sterling College.
A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
It was administered through a Google Form survey which was sent to the entire student body.
A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:
Because sustainability is an overarching theme for everything at Sterling College, we wanted to see how the student was internalizing all of Sterling's values. Here are some of the facts and figures taken from the quiz:
- 70% of the students feel that climate change will greatly affect themselves
- 100% of the students feel that climate change will greatly affect future generations
- 80% believe they have an explicit personal responsibility to limit their impact on the environment
- 90% believe they have a personal responsibility to ensure equity and inclusion while spreading environmental education
- 80% said they have become more aware of environmental issues since attending Sterling College
We also received some insight into practices that Sterling can improve on! These changes could help our campus, the environment, and our next STARS submission, so we will be taking those ideas on.
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.