Sustainability literacy is a topic of increasing interest among a growing number of higher education sustainability staff and faculty. Formal education programs and courses that address sustainability are becoming increasingly common. However, there currently exists no standardized tool or method to assess the sustainability literacy of students. Although the concept is not new, and discussions have occurred in the past, new conversations have emerged, in part because of preparation for STARS version 2.0 and research that other institutions have completed in this area.

This blog article focuses on current STARS data for ER 13: Sustainability Literacy Assessment. It also looks at the results from a recent campus survey from Ohio State University that was presented at AASHE 2012. Finally, it concludes with ideas and opportunities for collaboration.

The Challenges of Conducting Sustainability Literacy Assessment

The challenges to conducting sustainability literacy assessment are numerous, at least partly explaining the low scores in ER credit 13.

• Developing an assessment and methodology that provides meaningful results can be difficult
• Analyzing and interpreting the results can be time-consuming
• Buy-in from administration may not be there
• Students may already be experiencing survey fatigue
• No central assessment tool currently exists

There exists room for improvement and fortunately, there is a growing interest and enthusiasm on the topic of sustainability literacy assessment. At the AASHE 2012 conference in Los Angeles, Adam Zwickle and Tom Koontz from the Ohio State University (OSU) engaged participants in a discussion and presentation on the research findings from OSU’s sustainability literacy survey.

Implementation: OSU’s Sustainability Literacy Survey
Faculty and students at OSU’s Environmental and Social Sustainability (ESS) Lab developed a sustainability literacy survey instrument to measure multiple domains of sustainability knowledge. STARS’ ER credit 13 was cited as among the drivers for developing the instrument.

OSU’s sustainability assessment measured knowledge of sustainability as well as student values and beliefs in two survey segments. The sustainability knowledge segment was is built upon a “triple bottom line” approach, including an equal number of environmental, social, and economic questions. This portion of the survey included 30-questions on sustainability literacy, though this was later reduced to 16 questions. With several value-based questions included, the survey was sent via email to 10,000+ undergraduate students at OSU. Although no participation incentive was used, non-response email follow-ups were sent to help boost participation.

Results: Sustainability Literacy at OSU
OSU’s survey ultimately garnered a 19.3% response rate – a higher-than-expected rate, according to OSU researchers. The overall average score for OSU undergraduates was 69%. On average, students answered correctly 73% of environmental questions, 71% of social questions, and 61% of economic questions. A gradual increase in scores according to class level was found to be significant, as depicted in the graph below.

OSU Sustainability Literacy Results by Class Level

OSU researchers are using data collected from both portions of the survey to test for correlations between sustainability literacy and student values, attitudes, and behaviors. The findings suggest that, although respondents tended to have slightly more liberal and environmentalist views, these differences were found to be non-significant. Researchers also found that students who took the survey only after complying with one or more requests for follow-up were slightly more likely to get a subset of the sustainability knowledge questions wrong.

Opportunities for Collaboration
An outcome of the discussion following the OSU presentation was a strong desire to collaborate in the development of a common assessment tool that could be used by numerous colleges and universities. OSU researchers have spoken with representatives from several institutions, though commitments have not yet been made. Through this blog, AASHE hopes to further raise awareness on the topic of sustainability literacy assessment, and continue the dialogue on collaboration for the development of a common tool.

Should AASHE take a role in leading the development of a common sustainability literacy assessment tool? If so, in what specific ways can AASHE assist in the process? Readers can contribute to the dialogue by providing feedback below, or they can ask questions and provide suggestions at stars@aashe.org.

UMBC faculty and staff give their all to the university each and every day simply by doing their jobs well. The launch of this year’s Faculty/Staff Campaign is another important way of showing that you care — and supporting the UMBC community beyond your individual reach.

Even modest gifts add up to help students, faculty and staff succeed. We do great things at UMBC, and every little bit helps us continue to make a difference. Furthermore, our gifts are put to good use; when you make a gift to UMBC, 100% of that gift goes directly to the area that you’ve chosen.

Here are a few stand-out points about the Faculty/Staff Campaign:

• Last year, 216 members of UMBC’s faculty and staff donated over $136,000 to the university.
• Faculty and staff supported a wide range of initiatives – ranging from the University’s Greatest Need to athletics, student affairs and departmental related funds.
• Our faculty and staff donors contribute to UMBC in a number of ways – through gifts-in-kind, planned giving, payroll deduction, and outright gifts.
• Faculty and staff support of the university is a great indicator of how much the UMBC community believes in the mission and vision of the university.
• So far in FY13, there have been 116 contributions from faculty and staff members for $17,129.68.

One great way to make your gift is by signing up for payroll deduction before Friday, November 16. If you would like to make your gift by payroll deduction, please use the form that was sent to you via interoffice mail. If you have questions or need a new form, please contact Dayna Carpenter, Annual Giving Coordinator, at dayna@umbc.edu or ext. 5-3377.

If you prefer to make your gift by credit card, you can do so quickly and easily online at www.umbc.edu/giving. Remember that gifts received before December 31, 2012, can be counted as a charitable contribution for the 2012 tax year; however, please note that gifts made by payroll deduction will fall into the 2013 tax year.

Registration is now open for classes beginning on January 8, 2013.  Classes are held every Tuesday night for 5 weeks from 6-9:30 pm at bwtech@UMBC South.

This five week workshop prepares participants to take the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Designed to improve performance on the competitive LSAT, this intensive course focuses on:

1. Test-taking techniques
2. Time-saving methods
3. Improving logical reasoning
4. Practicing with sample tests
5. Enhancing reading comprehension
6. Reducing test anxiety

Taught by Dr. Anthony Poplawski of Spiegelberg and Associates, UMBC’s Test Preparation Courses are acclaimed for their comprehensiveness, revealing the true character of the test, their focus on maximizing scores, their intellectual seriousness, and reducing the test candidate’s test anxiety. Instruction is at the highest professional level by experienced college faculty.

Please visit The Law School Admission Council at www.lsac.org to view information on the LSAT exam.

*You do not have to be a student at UMBC to take this course.

• if you have any questions about this course,
• to be notified when this course and any closely related courses are scheduled for open enrollment,
• to request a quote for group training at your location or ours.