Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.46
Liaison Paul Mathisen
Submission Date May 22, 2020
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Paul Mathisen
Dir. of Sustainability & Assoc. Prof
Civil & Environmental Engineering
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution conduct an assessment of sustainability culture (i.e. the assessment focuses on sustainability values, behaviors and beliefs, and may also address awareness of campus sustainability initiatives)?:
Yes

Which of the following best describes the cultural assessment? The assessment is administered to::
A subset of the campus community or a sample that may not be representative of the entire community

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:

The assessment was developed in conjunction with the sustainability literacy assessment in 2017 to evaluate both the knowledge of the WPI community as well as how the community responded to sustainability in terms of their behavior and perspective toward sustainability.


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:

examples: how often you consider your actions in relation to sustainability (e.g., driving a car, buying a coffee served in a styrofoam cup); Do you believe that the considerations involving CO VID19 are relevant to the challenges of climate change; i believe that the topic of diversity and social justice have been integrated through the curriculum of courses taught at WPI; I feel included and valued as a member of the student, faculty, or staff community


A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:

administered via email


A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:

each spring and fall the office of Sustainability conducts a Sustainability Literacy Assessment which both measures a community member's knowledge about sustainability as well as asks about a community member's attitude and behaviour regarding sustainability. As time goes on, surveys show that our students 1) knowledge about sustainability matters has increased, and 2) students' perceptions and behaviors have changed positively and they feel more engaged in contributing toward a sustainable world


The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives 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.