| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 82.88 |
| Liaison | Patrick McKee |
| Submission Date | Nov. 16, 2023 |
University of Connecticut
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Patrick
McKee Senior Sustainability Program Manager Office of Sustainability |
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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):
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A list or sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
https://sustainability.uconn.edu/environmental-surveys/
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
Questions in the survey were written to test for a variety of different topics under the umbrella of environmental/sustainability literacy, ranging from basics of ecosystems, to sustainability initiatives at UConn, and issues like food waste, sustainable architecture, and greenhouse gases. The process of creating the Sustainability Literacy Survey included drafting questions, and then choosing a select group of these to include, in order to have a sample representative of many different categories of sustainability literacy.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The survey was primarily distributed electronically via a link posted in UConn’s Daily Digest, an email with daily news that is emailed to students, in February 2023. This distribution system was used to reach a representative sample of students at the University. The assessment was administered as a multiple choice, an electronic Qualtrics exam. There was also a flyering campaign in all residence halls, student representatives making in class announcements, tabling in the Student Union, and social media posts on the Office of Sustainability's main social media channels to obtain a representative sample of campus.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
Due to running surveys both semesters, we use data from our Sustainability Awareness Survey (Discussed in EN-6) as our pre-test. The literacy survey that we discuss now is considered our post-test. This is because we run the Sustainability Awareness Survey in the fall and the Sustainability Literacy Survey in the spring. In addition, the literacy survey is administered annually to the entire student body and we are able to track trends and outcomes based on academic class years.
In the 2023 Literacy survey, we received 629 responses. Example findings include the following:
• 95% of students were aware that habitat loss is the primary threat to wildlife in the U.S., which is also a 4% increase from the 2019 AASHE STARS submission, showing how our student body has improved knowledge over the last submission period.
• 71% students knew what Environmental Justice was based on the EPA definition of Environmental Justice
• 78% of students knew the definition of single stream recycling
• 74% of students know what the term “greenhouse gas effect” means.
In the 2023 Literacy survey, we received 629 responses. Example findings include the following:
• 95% of students were aware that habitat loss is the primary threat to wildlife in the U.S., which is also a 4% increase from the 2019 AASHE STARS submission, showing how our student body has improved knowledge over the last submission period.
• 71% students knew what Environmental Justice was based on the EPA definition of Environmental Justice
• 78% of students knew the definition of single stream recycling
• 74% of students know what the term “greenhouse gas effect” means.
Optional Fields
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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.