University at Albany
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

The university administered a sustainability survey in the fall of 2018 that incorporated the NSSE Sustainability Education Consortium questions with a sustainability perceptions and behavior tool developed by Sean Vormwald, Director of Sustainability at Onondaga Community College as part of his PhD work at Syracuse University. This instrument was previously administered at several campuses during the 2017-2018 academic year.

NSSE sample: 1.During the last and/or current school year, how much has your coursework emphasized the following mental activities? Students answer :Very little (1) Some (2) Quite a bit (3) or Very Much (4) Understanding the complex relationships between economic, social, and ecological systems, Evaluating the moral dimensions of social or environmental problems, Comprehending ways in which human activities may exceed the carrying capacity of systems that support us Sample student perception question: We’d like to know more about what you think of UAlbany's campus sustainability efforts. On a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 is "Strongly disagree" and 7 is "Strongly agree", please choose your level of agreement with each statement below. We are interested in your perceptions, so there are no right or wrong answers. It seems to me that UAlbany is genuinely committed to sustainability on campus. It seems to me that UAlbany is doing a good job related to sustainability on campus. It seems to me that UAlbany implements practices aimed at improving campus sustainability. It seems to me that UAlbany measures and tracks sustainability-related metrics on campus. It seems to me that UAlbany has policies, procedures, and/or strategic plans in place that promote sustainability on campus. It seems to me that UAlbany communicates the importance of sustainability to the campus community. It seems to me that UAlbany encourages people to act in ways that improve campus sustainability. It seems to me that UAlbany offers incentives, recognition, or other support to increase sustainability related courses, research, and/or operational initiatives on campus. It seems to me that UAlbany provides sustainability related learning opportunities for students outside of the classroom. It seems to me that UAlbany provides sustainability related learning opportunities for employees. It seems to me that UAlbany has created an atmosphere where people are expected to support campus sustainability initiatives. The sense around here is that sustainability is important at UAlbany. People seem to care about sustainability at UAlbany

The assessment was administered by Student Affairs' Office of Assessment and Planning in conjunction with the Office of Institutional Research. A random sample of approximately 1/3 of the undergraduate student population (4,000 students) and approximately 1/3 of the graduate student population (1,500 students) was selected. For the faculty/staff sample, a random sample of approximately ½ of UAlbany funded faculty/staff (1,000 faculty/staff) and ½ of Research Foundation funded staff (236 staff) was selected.

The survey closed on November 21 so a detailed analysis is not yet ready however, preliminary results show that student most associate sustainability with the following terms: 1. Climate Change, 2. Human Rights and 3.Health and Well-being. Faculty/staff associated: 1. Climate Change, 2. Energy Conservation/Efficiency and 3. Waste Reduction. The most desired initiative by both groups was an increase in bottle water filling stations. While students report often working in groups and engaging in interdisciplinary work, 60% report never completing a project that evaluates the sustainability of an activity. 70% report never going on a field trip in the region and 62% have not participated in a sustainability project on campus or in the community.