Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 59.34
Liaison Elizabeth MacKenzie
Submission Date July 24, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

University of Iowa
EN-6: Assessing Sustainability Culture

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 1.00 Sara Maples
Interim Director
The UI Office of Sustainability
"---" 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:
Iowa has been conducting culture surveys for several years, both as part of SERU and independently from the Office of Sustainability. This particular survey was developed by the School of Urban and Regional Planning to get a better understanding of sustainability at the University, meet STARS certification criteria, and provide a benchmark for tracking progress starting in 2016. The survey was administered again in 2017, and will continue to be administered going forward.

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:
See attached survey report.

A brief description of how representative samples were reached (if applicable) and how the cultural assessment is administered:
A simple random sample of 10% of undergraduates received an e-mail to participate in a survey, with the chance to win a bike or one of 10 gift certificates. 383 students responded (16% of the sample). Demographics of the response is available in the uploaded report.

A brief summary of results from the cultural assessment, including a description of any measurable changes over time:
The survey captured three primary pieces of information. First, it assessed knowledge of sustainability through a detailed questionnaire. Next, it compared that knowledge to various factors (academic major, demographic, etc.) to develop a profile of students who respond differently to sustainability questions. Finally, it compared the importance of sustainability of the student now vs. when they started at Iowa. It was in this final category that sustainability scores increased significantly over the course of enrollment.

Optional Fields 

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The initial survey sampled from students (2016). The 2017 survey sampled the entire campus population, but there was a poor response rate from all groups but undergraduates. In the future, the current plan is to administer to undergraduates only, based upon the 2017 experience.

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.