Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 50.16
Liaison Dr. Jill Wicknick
Submission Date Jan. 7, 2023

STARS v2.2

University of Montevallo
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Susan Caplow
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Behavioral and Social Sciences
"---" 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::
The entire campus community (students and employees) directly or by representative sample

Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
Without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples of the same population

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
We administered a survey in the fall of 2021 to gauge culture, behavior, and knowledge.

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:
20. To what extent do you agree with the following statements:
It is important to conserve energy
Water is not a scarce resource
Natural areas are important for our well being
Buying locally is generally good for the environment
Recycling is not important
Global climate change impacts me personally
I consider the impacts my actions will have on sustainability issues on campus
I act in ways that have a positive impact on sustainability while on campus
I encourage other people to adopt sustainable behaviors on campus

A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
We sent out the link multiple times, via email, and encouraged participation through a gift card raffle.

A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:
Generally speaking, we have a strong culture of sustainability here. The two areas with the lowest scores/largest area for improvement is perceptions about water scarcity - many people did not think water is scarce, which is a common perception in our region because we have a lot of rain and freshwater, but the threats to our freshwater supplies in Alabama are growing, so we need to address this perception directly. Second, we have very few people engaging in alternative forms of transportation - with lot of parking and commuter students, there is a strong culture of driving here. We are also actively targeting this issue in our sustainability work on campus.

Optional Fields 

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