Texas State University, San Marcos
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

The cultural assessment was completed by using the Perceptions of Sustainability Initiatives for Campus Development survey that was designed by the Sustainability Coordinator of Texas State University, Emma Parsley, and a Faculty member from the Agricultural Sciences Department, Dr. Tina M Cade.
This survey was sent out to the entire campus community through a campus-wide email during May 2021 and closed in July 2021. This survey collected over 1,000 responses and had a significant number of responses from Faculty, Staff, and students that accurately represent the campus population.
This survey was organized by eleven sections. The first section included pre-perceptions questions in order capture the campus community's perceptions and opinions on sustainability at large and their familiarity with the topic.
The next sections involved perception questions and statements that asked the surveyed individuals to rank whether specific sustainability initiatives, that the university is currently implementing or will implement in the future, were considered important to them as an individual and for campus development. These sections included Building & Infrastructure, Waste Management, Energy, Transportation, Water Use & Management, Grounds, Purchasing, Academics, and Campus Life. Different statements within each section were designed based off current initiatives the university implements and initiatives the university is currently looking into for future development.
The responses from the surveyed allows for university stakeholders, campus planners, and the Office of Sustainability to gain a better understanding of what the current campus community understands regarding sustainability and sustainable campus development.

How do you rate this university regarding its sustainability efforts?
Buildings & Infrastructure: How would you rate the importance each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Maintaining green building standards such as LEED standards throughout the campus
Developing green/living roofs on buildings to minimize heating/cooling requirements
Designing for naturally lit buildings and offices in new construction efforts

Waste Management: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Reducing the amount of single use plastics and Styrofoam on campus
Reducing single-use plastics and electricity use on campus by decreasing soda vending machines in strategic locations and increasing opportunities for fountain drink refills
Collecting pre-consumer food waste at dining halls from kitchens in the cafeterias to compost

Energy: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Posting signage reminders to reduce energy consumption in classrooms, offices, and bathrooms
Reducing light pollution while maintaining safety on campus
Installing solar panels on academic buildings
Incorporating alternative energies like wind and solar power for use on campus

Transportation: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Providing a safe place for walking and/or biking on and around campus
Maintaining a bike-friendly campus (maintaining bike lanes, providing bike racks, supporting biking to campus)
Including city bus stops on university's bus routes
Providing alternative transportation options on campus for faculty, staff, and students

Water Use & Management: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Retrofitting bathrooms with low-flow fixtures
Replacing outdated water fountains with water refill stations
Collecting rainwater on campus
Managing the impact of storm water to reduce flooding and erosion on campus

Grounds: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Reducing pesticide and synthetic chemical use in campus landscape operations
Integrating native species and well-adapted species for landscaping needs on campus
Removing invasive plant species from campus
Maintaining a tree inventory of campus trees to know the number and status of the canopy cover
Preserving heritage trees on campus
Providing wildlife corridors to maintain habitats in suitable areas

Purchasing: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Purchasing products with environmental certifications; Green Seal, EPEAT, etc
Using less toxic substances in cleaning and maintaining campus
Providing discounted refills at dining halls for individuals bringing their own cup
Purchasing 100% recycled graduation garments; Cap, gowns, tassels,

Academics: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Maintaining the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education status
Adding more sustainability related academic courses
Adding a Sustainability major as an undergraduate degree
Incorporating sustainability into research topics for students and faculty

Campus Life: How would you rate the importance of each sustainability initiative for Texas State University?
Teaching students to live sustainable lifestyles through daily activities
Maintaining interdisciplinary committees such as Environment and Sustainability Committee, Environmental Service Committee, Energy Conservation Committee, etc
Promoting sustainability-oriented student organizations (eg. ECO, HEAT, Bobcat Blend
Hosting and encouraging river clean-up events
Offering Green Cat Challenge environmental awards to recognize students, organizations, faculty and staff leading sustainability efforts.

A pilot survey was sent out 1 month prior to the official survey distribution in order to capture errors, information failure, and weak points within the survey. The pilot was sent out to 50 individuals, a combination of faculty, staff, and students.
The official survey was sent out to the campus community in May 2021 and closed July 2021. The survey was administered using the survey program, Qualtrics. The survey was distributed to the campus community through a campus wide email and was made available for all Texas State faculty, staff, and students, both undergraduate and graduate.

Results (1,148) indicated there were differences in how different campus community populations ranked particular themes throughout the survey. The qualitative data reinforces this information by reviewing the open-ended responses from the campus community. Overall quantitative results indicated that the Texas State University campus community believes Waste Management, Buildings & Infrastructure, and Water Use & Management were the most important themes with averaged scores of 4.21, 4.19, and 4.18, respectively. The campus community believes that Transportation and Academics are the least important themes with averaged scores of 3.74 and 3.98, respectively.

From the results, it can be inferred that the majority of the campus community is knowledgeable on the topic of sustainability with 59% of campus members reporting that they are “somewhat educated” and “highly educated” on sustainability topics. The campus community is also interested in learning how to become a more sustainable individual with 84% of individuals reporting “somewhat agree” and “strongly agree” to the statement, “I am interested in learning how I can become a more sustainable individual.”
When asked if the participants agreed or disagreed with statements regarding Texas State University and its relationship with sustainable development, it was observed that in some cases both undergraduate and graduate students and staff employees reported similar percentages. However, faculty within the university reported slightly opposite results. For example, over 50% of students (both undergraduate and graduate) and staff reported that sustainability decisions should be economically feasible while only 41.4% of faculty strongly agreed. However, when asked, “Texas State University maintains sustainability initiatives comparable to university peer institutions” and “Texas State University acts as a sustainable model for other universities” and “Texas State University acts as a sustainable model for the regional community” more than 15% of undergraduate students report strongly agree while less than 10% of graduate students, faculty and staff reported that they strongly agree. Throughout the first section of agree vs disagree statements participants, regardless of classification (undergraduate, graduate, faculty, staff), all reported similar percentages within the option of “neither agree nor disagree.”

Statements within sections, Building & Infrastructure, Transportation, Academics, and Campus Life, all reveal similar responses from the Texas State community. This relationship is believed to be due to the idea that all survey respondents, students, faculty, and staff, all interact with these sectors on a daily basis. Since daily interactions happen in these sectors, we believe that the population has more of an idea of sustainable development taking place here. In the section, Campus Life, statement, “hosting and encouraging river clean up events” is greatly supported across the campus community due to the university’s geographic location along the edge of a river. The San Marcos River is a precious resource for the university and a main attraction that brings people into the institution.
Statements within sections, Building & Infrastructure, Water Use & Management, and Grounds all received similar responses by all campus community members. The statement, “removing invasive animal species from campus,” was ranked least important within the Grounds section. It is believed that the campus community does not foresee invasive flora and fauna to be a threat to the local ecosystem due to a lack understanding regarding the severity invasive species have on the environment. Another statement that received the same assessment from the campus community was within the Building & Infrastructure section of the survey. The statement, “Maintaining green building standards such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards throughout campus” was ranked least important by campus community members. It is believed that this result is due to the lack of information regarding the concepts related to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards and how this design strategy can impact daily building occupants and the overall environment. However, it is important to note that respondents across all sectors ranked the statement, “designing naturally lit buildings and offices in new construction efforts,” as most important even though the strategy of designing naturally lit buildings and offices in new construction projects is part of the LEED building checklist. This realization supports the notion that the campus community does not fully understand what LEED is and what this design strategy entails.