Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 70.35
Liaison Katie Maynard
Submission Date March 2, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of California, Santa Barbara
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Katie Maynard
Sustainability Coordinator
Geography & Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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)?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
The entire campus community (students, staff and faculty), directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Longitudinally to measure change over time

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
During the 2014-2015 school year, an initial list of over 200 questions was gathered with help from faculty and administrators across campus. These questions were used in pilot surveys which were taken in a number of classes on campus. Factor analysis was then used to determine the resulting 91-question assessment.

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:
Please see the copy of the survey attached.

A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
The University of California, Santa Barbara strives to create an in-depth cultural assessment to accurately represent our administrative and student population. Once our assessment was created, it was then sent to an adept team of statisticians who determine a representative sample of the student population to participate. The assessment was then sent by email to the sample of students to participate in our survey. On odd years, the assessment is sent to our undergraduate students while on even years it is sent to our faculty, graduate students, and other staff members.

A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:
Of our nearly 600 participants, many are using reusable shopping bags, buying recycled materials, composting, and participating in other sustainability related actions regularly. Sustainable actions are relatively similar compared to our 2015 assessment with around 30% of our participants regularly doing these actions. Along with UC Santa Barbara’s high participation on campus, some of our most dedicated students study abroad with sustainability as a focal point in their studies, with many more taking internships with sustainability central in the internship. For a more detailed result, please contact our sustainability office: http://www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/sustainability-staff/

Optional Fields 

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.