| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 83.87 |
| Liaison | Yolanda Cieters |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Seattle University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Phillip
Thompson Director CEJS |
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 the attached Sustainability Literacy Survey
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
From August 2013 until July 2023, a sustainability literacy assessment was adopted at SU called "SUSTLIT," a standardized questionnaire designed to assess aptitude in sustainability. It was created by two faculty members in the Albers School of Business and Economics. The questionnaire measured knowledge, attitudes, and behavior about sustainability. All the knowledge items were 5-point Likert scales (strongly disagree-strongly agree). Statements on SUSTLIT were worded such that about half reflected correct understanding of sustainability and half incorrect. Reported scores, therefore, were recoded such that higher numbers reflected more correct responses--stronger agreement indicating higher sustainability literacy.
In September 2023 a new sustainability literacy assessment was developed by a cohort of faculty fellows who have been appointed by SU’s Provost to support the university in its strategic goal to revise and reimagine the curriculum by (among other focus areas) integrating sustainability and climate change across academic endeavors. The new version is shorter (13 questions) and addresses current sustainability concepts and issues. The new survey is based on work done by Ohio State University's Environmental and Social Sustainability lab. They published an article about the survey which can be found: https://ess.osu.edu/research/assessment-sustainability-knowledge-ask. We adapted and updated their survey based on more recent developments and student feedback. Adopting this new survey will enable SU to benchmark results with other schools across the country such as Arizona State University, Ohio State University and others.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
Since 2013, the survey (first the older version and since last year the newer version) is sent to all incoming students (undergraduate and graduate students, including freshmen and transfer students) at the start of each Fall quarter.
The first post-test was sent to all graduating seniors in May 2017 and each year since then.
The survey is sent out by the Director of the Center for Environmental Justice and Sustainability (CEJS).
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
See result tables here: https://www.seattleu.edu/cejs/academics/sustainability-literacy/
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.