Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.85
Liaison Tara Pike
Submission Date June 17, 2011
Executive Letter Download

STARS v1.0

University of Nevada Las Vegas
ER-13: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 2.00 Tom Piechota
Associate Vice President for Interdisciplinary Research
Division of Research and Graduate Studies
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Has the institution conducted a sustainability literacy assessment?:
Yes

Did the assessment include a baseline evaluation of students and then a follow-up evaluation of the same cohort?:
No

A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment:
A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment :

UNLV Student Sustainability Literacy Survey

Thank you for participating in the UNLV Student Sustainability Literacy Survey. The purpose of the survey is to understand the ideas and opinions of UNLV students about sustainability topics on and off campus. Your participation is completely voluntary. Your responses will be strictly confidential and used only for statistical purposes.

Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability.

The survey is sponsored by the UNLV Urban Sustainability Initiative.

The first few questions ask for your thoughts on sustainability.

How familiar are you with the term “sustainability?”
____ Very familiar
____ Somewhat familiar
____ Not very familiar
____ Not at all familiar

Thinking about the term sustainability, please check 3 items from the list below that best express what sustainability means to you.
____ Conservation/Recycling/Preserving
____ How long something lasts
____ Maintaining something
____ Having enough of something adequate
____ Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their needs
____ Balance: people matter, economy matter, environment matter
____ Humans living within limits of the natural environment
____ Being stewards of our own health means being stewards of the environment
____ Environmental/natural resources
____ Other, please describe: ____________________________________________________________

For the next set of questions, refer to the following list, and for each topic, mark if you are very familiar, somewhat familiar, not very familiar, or not all familiar.

____ Very Familiar
____ Somewhat familiar
____ Not very Familiar
____ Not at all familiar
____ Economic growth and diversification
____ Renewable Energy
____ Water supply
____ Close-knit community
____ Labor training
____ Air pollution
____ Public gathering places
____ Affordable housing
____ Land use
____ Access to health care
____ Racial & gender equity
____ Fair trade
____ Traffic and congestion
____ Alternative transportation
____ Poverty
____ Safety and Security
____ Energy Conservation

Please read the following list of statements and mark it you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree?

Sustainability includes social, environmental, and economic factors. My knowledge of sustainability has increased since enrolling at UNLV
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

My knowledge of sustainability affects how I live my life.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

My knowledge of sustainability issues affects my purchasing choices.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

My knowledge of sustainability issues affects how much energy I use.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

My knowledge of sustainability issues affects my choice of academic major.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

My knowledge of sustainability affects my career and professional goals.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

I am aware of UNLV's commitment to green buildings, turf reduction, retrofitting, and recycling.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

I want to learn more about sustainability at UNLV.
____ Strongly agree
____ Agree
____ Disagree
____ Strongly disagree

The next set of questions asks about your activities.

Thinking of your ON CAMPUS activities, which have you done in the last 30-days to reduce energy? (Check as many as apply to you.)
____ Turn off unused lights in a classroom
____ Recycled on campus
____ Printed your paper double sided
____ Decline a bag
____ Reusable bottles or mugs
____ Take the stairs instead of elevator
____ Taken alternative transportation to class such as carpool, bus, bicycle

Thinking of your OFF CAMPUS activities, which have you done in the last 30-days to reduce energy? (Check as many as apply to you.)
____ Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs
____ Turned off the water while brushing teeth/shave
____ Recycled
____ Washed clothes in cold water
____ Unplugged application to eliminate 'ghost' power use
____ Used alternative transportation such as bus or bike
____ Purchase energy star unit

Which best explains any personal motivation on your part for becoming involved in sustainability type behavior?
____ I don't participate in sustainability type behavior
____ It's the right thing to do to make the world a better place
____ Save money
____ Protecting human health
____ Friend influence

How do you typically hear about UNLV events and activities? (Check as many as apply to you.)
____ By Rebelmail
____ Campus flyers
____ UNLV website
____ Social Networkings such as. Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc
____ UNLV Instructors/Professors
____ Other UNLV students

This final set of questions asks about your background.

What is your academic major(s): ___________________________

What is your present class standing:
____Freshman ____Sophomore ____Junior ____Senior

What is your gender: ____Female ____Male

Do you consider yourself primarily:
____White or Caucasian ____Hispanic or Latino/a ____Black or African America ____American Indian ____Asian ____Pacific Islander ____Other (please specify): _______________________

How would you describe your political orientation:
____Conservative ____Moderate ____Liberal ____None of these


A brief description of how the assessment was developed:

Students were asked to rate their familiarity with sustainability topics. The topics were chosen from the Urban
Sustainability Initiative website (http://urban21.unlv.edu).


A brief description of how the assessment was administered:

The survey was conducted in mid-February of 2011. It was a web-based survey created on Surveymonkey. Professors and instructors asked their students to take the survey from the following general education courses: ENG 101, HIST 101, MATH 124, SOC 101, and GEO 101.

Students from the Solar & Renewable Energy Minor and ENV 101 were also asked to participate in the survey. An invitation to the survey was also sent through Rebel Announcements Via Email (RAVE). A total of 103 students completed the survey.


A brief summary of results from the assessment:

Students were asked about their familiarity with the term “sustainability.” The majority (49%) of students from our sample were “somewhat familiar” with sustainability and 35% of the students were “very familiar” with sustainability.

Students were given a set of sustainability definitions and asked to rate the best, second best, and third best descriptions in their opinion. The highest rated definition was: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generation to meet their needs” (31.7%).

Students were most familiar with the following topics: renewable energy (78.78%), traffic and congestion (78%), racial and gender equity (77.77%), and recreation (74%). Students were not familiar with the following topics: labor training (50%), health care (33%), the best land-use (35.35%), and affordable housing (32.32%). Overall, students have are familiar with the topics.


The website URL where information about the literacy assessment is available:
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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.