| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 60.05 |
| Liaison | Beverley Ayeni |
| Submission Date | Dec. 11, 2020 |
University of Toronto Mississauga
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
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:
See attached document.
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The survey was developed by the Sustainability Manager with oversight from the Director of Utilities and Sustainability. This survey was shared with the Principal's Sustainability Advisory Committee for feedback before disseminating.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The assessment was distributed as a survey to all students, staff, faculty and librarians via email using an internal survey system and was open for over 3 weeks with a reminder email sent halfway throughout the survey. Over 1200 respondents provided their feedback.
A follow up survey is approved to take place in 2021.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
Key Findings:
1. Total Respondents: 1201
- 69.03% of respondents are undergraduate students
- 7.66% of respondents are graduate students
- 23.31% of respondents are staff and faculty
2. Respondents are from a wide range of different programs.
3. Only 1.71% of Respondents are entering their first year at the university.
4. Only 4.81%of Respondents are going to live on campus
- 50.23% of Respondents live off-campus with the distance between 4-20km
- 33.22% of Respondents live off-campus more than 20km
5. Over three-quarters of the respondents have an adequate understanding of the concept of sustainability but only 35.33% of respondents are aware of the sustainability website for the sustainability office at UTM.
6. More than half of the respondents indicated they have already taken or intend to take sustainability-related courses if there is enough flexibility within their academic program to allow for it.
7. We see a quite even distributed interest in the different sustainability-related issues that are listed in the survey. Including waste reduction and diversion programs, renewable energy programs, wellness programs geared towards sustainability, water conservation programs, alternative modes of transportation (cycling, walking, public), access to locally-grown food organic, or vegan/vegetarian food.
8. The three major primary areas that most respondents think UTM should become more sustainable, including waste management, investment in renewable energy, and education on sustainability.
9. About 60% of respondents learn about sustainability initiatives on campus by email, social media, and TV screens on campus.
10. The top 3 sustainability initiatives the respondents aware of are UTM Nature Trail, Sustainability Week, and the UTM bike share program.
11. 767 respondents stated that they think sustainability should be a priority on our campus and have given elaborative answers to why it should be the priority.
Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment 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.