| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 84.74 |
| Liaison | Patrick McKee |
| Submission Date | Dec. 30, 2024 |
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 |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students?:
Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
A list or sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
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 distributed electronically via a link posted in UConn’s Daily Digest, an email with daily news that is emailed to students, in the 2023 fall semester. 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. Additionally, responses were collected at Office of Sustainability events such as Haunted HEEP which elicits greater participation across a variety of majors and grades.
The literacy survey contains responses from all levels of students from freshmen to graduate students. In addition, the responses were from a wide array of races and ethnicities, colleges and majors, and genders. The wide variety of advertising ensures that a wide variety of students complete the Sustainability Literacy Survey, allowing for a representative sample of the UConn student body.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
The Sustainability Literacy Survey is administered both as a pre-test and a post-test, as it is conducted annually. In the fall, a representative sample of students is assessed by taking the Literacy Survey. During the Spring, students are given the Sustainability Awareness Survey (Discussed in EN-6) and attend Earth Day Spring Fling and other Sustainability events. When fall returns, the body of students takes the survey once more. Due to this survey method, we are able to track trends and outcomes based on academic class years as well as compare between different years as the surveys are run yearly.
In the fall 2023 Literacy survey, we received 759 responses. Example findings include the following:
• 86% of students knew what an invasive or introduced species was
• 66% students knew what Environmental Justice was based on the EPA definition of Environmental Justice
• 68% of students knew the definition of single stream recycling
Optional Fields
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.