The University of Texas at Dallas
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 1.00 |
Gary
Cocke Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture?:
Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered::
A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:
The Office of Sustainability developed the Literacy and Culture Sustainability Assessment during the 2022 Summer session. Sustainability Literacy Surveys from other institutions were referenced to assist with developing questions, and new questions were developed to assess campus-specific sustainability knowledge. Formats of survey questions include multiple choice, matrix, and open-ended.
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:
A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
The survey was administered online and promoted through our department’s Instagram, emails to various faculty, the campus staff and faculty newsletter, student government social media, posted flyers around campus, and our sustainability newsletter. All students, staff, and faculty had equal opportunity to respond to the survey, so the only anticipated bias is due to self-selective participation. 159 students, 142 staff, 41 faculty, and 8 others participated in the survey, totaling 350 participants over the 7 weeks of the fiscal year 2021. The sample size collected was unbiased and accurately reflected a representative sample of the University (according to AASHE STARS).
A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:
Most participants in 2022 commute and are knowledgeable about different sustainability topics (including much interest in the UN’s 17 SDGs), except for the topic of the largest source of global greenhouse gas emissions, where only around 15% of participants chose the correct answer.
Participants seem mostly unaware of our various campus sustainability services and programs, with the highest awareness for campus recycling at ~11.7% and the lowest for the AASHE Stars online, publicly accessible sustainability report.
The most popular individual sustainability practices reported are utilizing reusable containers, recycling, reusing or repurposing old items, and voting for candidates with strong environmental platforms. The least popular practices reported are composting, gardening, and contacting state or national representatives.
For opinions on the university’s sustainability practices and impacts, 52% of participants most strongly agree that they would like to see UT Dallas take stronger action towards sustainability, and 55% most simply agree that they believe that UT Dallas values sustainability. The most neutral statement for participants is that their community service contributes to their understanding of sustainability at ~48%. On the other side, ~30.5% of participants most simply disagree that their university’s commitment to sustainability affected their decision of where to work, and ~13% of participants most strongly disagree with that statement.
Only about half of the participants participated in any community service this year. The most common reasons not to participate were that they didn’t have time, unawareness, and perceived danger of COVID-19.
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:
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.