Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 72.14
Liaison Teddy Lhoutellier
Submission Date Jan. 26, 2022

STARS v2.2

University of Miami
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 4.00 Teddy Lhoutellier
Sustainability Manager
Environmental Health and Safety
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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::
Standalone evaluation without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples

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:

Q2 - Compiled by 234 scientists, the 2021 IPCC report says Earth has warmed 1.1 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels and is rapidly headed toward a threshold at which our climate system will start to look unrecognizable. What temperature is that threshold?

Q20 - China and the United States are the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases emissions. How does the emissions from an average Chinese compare to those from an average American ?

Q25 - In the U.S., which of the following is the most commonly cited definition of sustainable development?

Q20 - Producing meat and animal-derived products requires more resources and energy than crops, fruits or vegetables. More resource equals more carbon emissions. What solutions do we have to reverse that trend?

Q7 - Urban areas will soon concentrate more than 2 thirds of the World population. What are the best ways to address the impacts of commuting alone in cars? (check all that apply)


A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:

The assessment was developed by the Office of Sustainability in consultation with the Ecosystem Science and Policy Center and faculty members that sit on our Sustainability Committee. The questions came from some of their class material, some came from standardized tests on sustainability. We also wanted to add a local dimension to it, so we added questions related to our campus and our community environmental, social and economic challenges.


A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :

We agreed on dividing the questions in two: nearly half of the questions were global sustainability questions addressing most of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the other half, local sustainable community or sustainability in the workplace questions.
212 individuals took the survey which was sent massively through our University Department of Communication outlets.
The survey was following up another assessment sent in 2019, using the same exact methodology, the same targeted audience, the same number of questions, and the same topics.


A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):

The observations made from the results are as follows:
- Answers to local sustainability related matters (2 questions) were 88% accurate.
- Answers to workplace sustainability related best practices (7 questions) were 80% accurate.
- General questions for other topics like Water Conservation, Sustainable Food and Environmentally Preferred Products (8 questions) were 78% accurate.
- Questions on international policies, climate science and sustainable development goals received a much lower score: 59% accuracy (6 questions)

The overall average of accurate answers to the survey was 76%, 4% more than last year 'survey.


Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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