| Overall Rating | Platinum |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 85.89 |
| Liaison | Jennifer Andrews |
| Submission Date | Oct. 24, 2024 |
University of New Hampshire
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Fiona
Wilson Director/Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer Sustainability Institute/UNH |
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:
We do one combined survey that assesses student sustainability literacy as well as campus sustainability culture, The survey questions test understanding of the definition and scope of sustainability as well as awareness and knowledge on specific sustainability issues and concepts. The questions testing sustainability knowledge include, for example:
Which of the following is the United Nation’s definition of sustainable development?
- Achieving responsible production and consumption
- Addressing the climate crisis
- A collective commitment to human dignity and wellbeing for all people and ecological integrity in all places
- Eradicating poverty
- Don’t know / Not sure (98)
Food and dietary choices impact which of the following?
- Public health
- Land use
- Biodiversity
- Climate change
- All of the above
Historically, which of the following has been the leading cause of the depletion of fish stocks (select all that apply)?
- Global overfishing
- Reduced fish fertility due to genetic hybridization
- Ocean pollution
- Global climate change
Which of the following is the definition of economic viability within a sustainability framework?
- Maximizing the share price of a company's stock
- Long-term profitability, that considers employees' wellbeing and efficient use of resources
- When costs equal revenue
- Continually expanding market share
Over the past 3 decades, what has happened to the difference between the richest and poorest Americans?
- Income disparity has increased
- Income disparity has stayed about the same
- Income disparity has decreased
What is the primary function of wetlands?
- Clean the water before it enters lakes, streams, rivers or oceans and to mitigate flooding
- Promote wildlife
- Keep the number of invasive plants low
- Provide sites for landfills
Many economists argue that historically the price of electricity has been too low, because:
- They do not reflect the costs of pllltuon form generating the electricity
- Electric companies have a monoploly in their service area
- Customers spend only a small part of their income on energy
- Too may suppliers go out of business
Please indicate if the following are renewable resources:
- Oil
- Hydro
- Coal
- Solar
- Nuclear
- Wind
What is the name of the primary US agency that oversees environmental regulation:
- Department of Health, Environment and Safety (DHES)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- National Environmental Agency (NEA)
- Federal Pollution Control Agency (FPCA)
True or False: The 17 SDGs should be elements of a single, integrated approach to sustainability that requires all goals to be met simultaneously. For example, ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, advance equality, – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
Our student sustainability literacy survey is an instrument we have been using for several years. It was originally developed by assessing best practices for sustainability literacy assessments at other AASHE institutions (e.g. the ASK survey), and once created it was vetted and refined by the UNH Research Office, and UNH Survey Center, which creates and administers professional large-scale surveys. The first assessment was undertaken in November 2016, and with follow-ups administered in spring 2017, spring 2020 and spring 2024, to see change over time.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
We work collaboratively with the UNH Survey Center, our professional on-campus quantitative research experts, to develop and administer these surveys to reach representative samples. They host the assessment on UNH's Qualtrics platform.
Undergraduate students at UNH are sent an initial email, with subsequent follow-up emails, introducing them to the assessment, linking it to UNH's commitment to sustainability, and encouraging them to participate. Invitations to complete this survey were most recently sent on March 4, 2024, with targeted reminders sent on March 7, March 11, and March 14. The response rate of 3.8%, lower than in the pre-pandemic response rates (15%) but typical for post-pandemic, according to the Survey Center.
Twenty percent of responding UNH students were currently Freshmen, another 22% Sophomores, 28% Juniors, 29% Seniors, and 1% another academic standing. Only 2% of responding UNH students are between 15 and 18 years old, 92% are between 18 and 24. Seven percent of respondents are between 25 and 34 years old.
More than three in ten (37%) responding UNH students say they are pursuing their degree in the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture while 19% are pursuing their degree in the College of Liberal Arts. Slightly fewer responding students are pursuing their degree in the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (15%), the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics (16%), or the College of Health and Human Services (10%). While this does not track exactly with the overall proportion of student from each college, there was meaningful representation from each college.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
Factual Questions: We did not see a meaningul change in the accuracy of student responses when asked to identify the correct answers to a series of factual questions concerning sustainability. Nearly 30% of respondents answered 90% or more of the questions correctly, while 15% answered less than 70% correctly.
Those who do not consider sustainability to be overly important on average answered fewer questions correctly.
More than four in five responding UNH students agree that sustainability includes cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. Two-thirds of responding UNH students, largely unchanged compared to 2021, believe the UN's definition of sustainable development is a collective commitment to human dignity and wellbeing for all people and ecological integrity in all places while two in ten say they don’t know.
About three-quarters of responding UNH students feel that their UNH education has made them think about a range of social and environmental problems within the framework of sustainability of the world and how sustainability touches all aspects. It has enhanced their awareness of the interconnectedness of life, has made them consider different types of knowledge when addressing the sustainability challenges represented by each of the 17 SDGs, and has strengthened their commitment to make the world more sustainable.
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.