Cal Poly Humboldt
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

In the fall semester of 2016, a working group, comprised of the Office of Sustainability (OS) and faculty members, developed questions for a sustainability literacy assessment (SLA), which includes cultural questions assesing values, behaviors, beliefs, and awareness of campus sustainability initiatives. The group reviewed SLA’s from other institutions, and developed certain questions about local issues. The OS then compiled the questions, worked with the IRB and Office of Institutional Research, Analytics and Reporting (IRAR) to push out the assessment in April 2017, and then again in the spring of 2018.
In the summer of 2018, the OS met with Dr. Tony Silvaggio, Department of Sociology, who had expressed interest in refining the SLA, expanding the cultural questions, and using it as a tool to teach his students about survey development and analysis, and building it out to a longitudinal study by surveying new students (i.e., freshmen and first year transfers) in the fall semester and then surveying graduating students in the spring semester. The revised, longitudinal SLA, with expanded cultural questions, was first launched in the fall of 2018 and continues to be administered in the fall and spring semesters of each academic year.

Below are the cultural questions included in the sustainability survey:

Please indicate which of the following statements best describes your level of interest in sustainability:
I have a passion for sustainability
I have considerable interest in sustainability
I am neither interested nor disinterested in sustainability (neutral)
I have little interest in sustainability
I have no interest in sustainability

Please indicate how often you engage in the following activities? [Always, Most of the time, Sometimes, Rarely, Never]
Recycle
Use a reusable water bottle, coffee container, etc.
Use reusable bags at store
Volunteer work in the community
Join a student club or student government
Participate in a gathering addressing social issues
Buy sustainable products (fair trade certified, organic, etc.)
Use alternative transportation (ride bus, bike, carpool)

Please indicate the degree of importance you place on the following sustainability issues: [Very Important, Important, Neutral, Not Important, Not Very Important]

Recycling
Minimization of waste being sent to the landfill
Choosing food based on its environmental impact
Water conservation
Purchasing environmentally friendly consumer products
Energy conservation
Livable wages
Minimizing carbon emissions from transportation

Was Cal Poly Humboldt's commitment to sustainability a reason you chose to come here?
Yes
No
I don't know

How many times have you taken classes at Cal Poly Humboldt that either explicitly focus on
sustainability or touch on sustainability-related topics?
Never
Once
A few times
More than five
Don't know

My understanding and awareness of sustainability related issues has increased since I have become a student at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

From the following list, please indicate what or who has influenced your awareness and understanding of sustainability. (0 = no influence, 4 = a great deal of influence)
High school teachers/courses
Parents/family
Peers
Student Activism
College Instructors/courses
Initiatives around campus (recycling, Earth Day etc.)
Media

I find it easy to find data/information about our sustainability-related practices and policies here at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Strongly agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

I would prefer more sustainability-related content in my courses.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

I think that universities should be sustainability role models in their daily operations (for example, water and energy conservation, exemplary recycling program, environmental and social issues awareness).
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

I feel that Cal Poly Humboldt is doing a good job of modeling sustainability in its daily operations ( for example, water and energy conservation, exemplary recycling program, environmental and social related issues awareness).
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

In the fall semester, the sustainability survey is emailed out to incoming freshmen and transfer students, across all colleges and programs, by the Office of Institutional Research, Analytics and Reporting (IRAR). In the spring semester, the same questions are emailed out to graduating students. The survey is online and is hosted by Qualtrics. Respondents first review consent information and click on a consent button before they can enter the survey. The survey remains open for three weeks. To help bolster response rates, the Office of Sustainability requests department administrative support coordinators to request faculty to remind their students to take the survey. All identifying information is removed before IRAR shares survey data with Dr. Silvaggio and the Office of Sustainability.

See the attached summary for a longitudinal results comparison for the cultural assessment. In summary, over 40% of new student respondents have annually answered yes to the question, “Was Cal Poly Humboldt’s commitment to sustainability a reason you chose to come here?”. In 2022, 59% of graduating student respondents had taken “a few” or “more than five” classes with sustainability related or focused content, and 69% of those respondents ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that their understanding and awareness of sustainability related issues has increased since becoming a student at Cal Poly Humboldt. The attached document provides further results.