Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 66.40
Liaison Parker Long
Submission Date Aug. 27, 2021

STARS v2.2

Virginia Commonwealth University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 4.00 Parker Long
Sustainability Reporting and Outreach Coordinator
Facilities Management - Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
A subset of students or a sample that may not be representative of the predominant student body

Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
Standalone evaluation without a follow-up assessment of the same cohort or representative samples

A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
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A list or sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:

What percent of Virginia's energy is produced via renewable sources?
- < 10%
- 15%
- 20%
- 25%

Which of the following is recyclable in all curbside single-stream recycling bins across Virginia?
- Batteries
- Plastic bags
- Magazines
- Light bulbs

Which of the following items is not recommended for backyard composting?
- Coffee grounds
- Cardboard
- Meat and bones
- Unbleached paper

Which of the following takes the longest to decompose?
- Glass bottle
- Tin can
- Newspaper

Electrical power in Virginia is produced mainly by which resource?
- Coal
- Natural Gas
- Solar
- Nuclear

Which country is the biggest emitter of CO2?
- The United States
- India
- China
- Japan

What percent of Earth's water is available and accessible as drinking water?
- 70%
- 50%
- 10%
- <1%

What is a food desert?
- An area with an arid climate where food cannot be grown due to lack of water
- An area where residents lack access to affordable and nutritious food
- A farm that cultivates bulk of only one variety of fruit or vegetable
- A farm that grows produce that requires very little water.

Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
- Methane (CH4)
- Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
- Ozone (O3)
- Nitrogen (N)

Ozone forms a protective layer in the earth's upper atmosphere. What does ozone protect us from?
- Acid rain
- Climate change
- Sudden changes in temperature
- Harmful UV rays

The world population is currently ~7.5 billion people. What was the world population in 1987?
- 3 billion
- 4 billion
- 5 billion
- 6 billion


A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:

This assessment was developed by reviewing other university assessments and reviewing STARS guidance on successful assessments. The literacy assessment was specific to relevant regional sustainability issues along with global issues and general sustainability knowledge questions to gauge student understanding of a broad array of sustainability challenges.


A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :

The literacy assessment was conducted through VCU's online surveying tool and was included in a daily email to all students. It was an opt-in survey, so although we did not receive enough responses to be a representative sample, we did get a broad array of responses from students in different schools and colleges across the university.


A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):

The summary of these results is below:

What percent of Virginia's energy is produced via renewable sources?
45.1% correct

Which of the following is recyclable in all curbside single-stream recycling bins across Virginia?
78% correct

Which of the following items is not recommended for backyard composting?
75.3% correct

Which of the following takes the longest to decompose?
68.3% correct

Electrical power in Virginia is produced mainly by which resource?
48.7% correct

Which country is the biggest emitter of CO2?
67% correct

What percent of Earth's water is available and accessible as drinking water?
75.3% correct

What is a food desert?
83.9% correct

Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
55.5% correct

Ozone forms a protective layer in the earth's upper atmosphere. What does ozone protect us from?
92.5% correct

The world population is currently ~7.5 billion people. What was the world population in 1987?
37.5% correct


Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.