Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 74.80
Liaison Gioia Thompson
Submission Date March 2, 2020

STARS v2.2

University of Vermont
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 1.00 Caylin McKee
Sustainability Coordintor
University Dining Services
"---" 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::
Longitudinally to measure change over time

A brief description of how and when the cultural assessment(s) were developed and/or adopted:

2000
Environmental Council surveys student perceptions of UVM’s environmental performance in academics and campus operations to gain information of potential relevance for marketing UVM as a “green” university.

2009
Gund Institute researchers publish case study at UVM that involved 1,500 participants from the UVM campus and Burlington community in a long‐term visioning process. Their visions of a sustainable and desirable UVM were used in the 2018 survey.

2017
OoS partners with an undergraduate service-learning course in CDAE department. Students conduct direct observations, interviews and a survey to pilot the sustainability cultural assessment on campus. Results published in the journal Sustainability.

2018
OoS hires two students to review pilot findings to create and implement a new assessment that will meet STARS criteria.

2019
OoS partners with an undergraduate service-learning course in CDAE. Students conduct direct observations, interviews and an updated sustainability cultural assessment survey that is more focused on climate.

Multiple questions remained the same in 2017, 2018 and 2019, creating longitudinality.


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:

In 2018 and 2019: Brief online survey issued to students, faculty, and staff. Emails provided by UVM Office of Institutional Research based on a set of criteria, allowing a representative sample of the UVM population by grad/undergrad, college and year of students, and by employment type for employees. Sex and race/ethnicity were reprsentative for both student and employee samples.


A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment:

From 2018:
Values & Beliefs - Sustainability is valued amongst students, staff and faculty. Each group perceives the others to value sustainability as well.

Employees don’t believe UVM is performing well around sustainability engagement.
Behaviors - Sustainability is a factor for many students in choosing UVM but rarely is for employees.

Engagement with sustainability topics is less regular than practicing of sustainable behaviors.

Awareness - Students are slightly more aware of sustainability programming than employees.

Social justice component of sustainability is not understood as well as environmental aspects.


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:

2019 survey results not available at time of submission


2019 survey results not available at time of 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.