Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 69.87
Liaison Kevin Kirsche
Submission Date June 22, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of Georgia
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Nate Shear
Sustainability Metrics Intern
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
A subset of the campus community or a sample that may not be representative of the entire community

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:
EBI/Skyfactor Overview:
Every three years, University Housing has conducted the Skyfactor/Educational Benchmarking, Inc. (EBI) resident assessment for students living in the traditional halls. The results of this assessment provides University Housing with information about resident satisfaction with their on-campus living experience. In addition, this data allows the department to understand if a high quality residential experience is being provided at the University of Georgia. This report highlights findings for this year’s assessment. All factors measured in this years’ assessment received a performance rating of fair to excellent.

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:
Sample:

How have you personally participated in sustainability efforts or initiatives in your community?
(Please check all that apply)
Water conservation efforts
Energy conservation efforts
Recycling efforts
Participation in educational programs (e.g. film series, Green Cup Challenge)
I am not familiar with sustainability efforts in my community
I do not participate in any sustainability efforts in my community

What additional resources would help you integrate sustainability into your daily life?
More bins
More information
Advertising
More convenient recycling
Education
More recycling locations
Incentives
Compost bins
Dining hall compost

Living on campus has improved my ability to discuss sustainability issues and alter my actions to be more sustainable: Strongly agree, somewhat agree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat disagree, strong disagree.

A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
University Housing conducted the EBI for all first year residents in East Campus Village and University Village during March of 2018. The online assessment was sent to all students who fit the first-year criteria in those buildings/halls as of Fall 2017. The choice to administer this assessment to all first-year students was in an effort to get the most robust data possible given the unique nature of expanded housing and as a means to assess how it might impact student experiences now and in the future. Additionally, the decision to administer the assessment electronically was intentional and is an example of the department’s efforts to respond to student preference for the use of technology. The response rate for this year’s assessment was 36% (N= 514) which is representative of the population (CI = 95%).

Sustainability is a fairly new factor for Skyfactor/EBI assessments and is meant to understand how living on-campus improves residents’ ability to discuss sustainability issues and alter their actions to be more sustainable.

A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:
Sustainability is a fairly new factor for Skyfactor/EBI assessments and is meant to understand how living on-campus improves residents’ ability to discuss sustainability issues and alter their actions to be more sustainable. Residents rated this as good with action rated above being able to discuss the issues.

This number was listed at 4.21 in 2018 and rose to 4.66 in 2019.

2018-
Major Themes: More Bins, More Information, Advertising, More Convenient Recycling, Education, More Recycling Locations
- The major themes from this question involved students needing to know more information about sustainability generally, and specifically about what programs, initiatives, and resources are available to them to engage with. Finally education about sustainability.
- Additionally several themes related to a desire for more access to recycling bins, bin locations, and generally more convenient recycling options.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the assessment of sustainability culture is available:
---

Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Contact: Christy Tweedy, Sustainability Coordinator, University Housing. ctweedy@uga.edu 706-542-4514

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.