University of Sharjah
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment

Section B: Knowledge
B.1) what is the best definition for “Hydroponic system”?
a. “A form of agriculture where plants are not grown in soil, but rather in trays or grow beds fed by a constant flow of nutrient solution.”
b. “The science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.”
c. “A production system that sustains the health of soils ecosystems and people.”
d. None of the above.
e. Didn’t hear about the term before.
B.2) Which of the following is NOT a type of renewable energy?
Fossil Fuels Hydroelectric Geothermal Solar All are renewable energy Don’t know
B.3) Which of the following CANNOT be recycled easily?
Milk cartons Aluminum cans Pizza boxes Newspapers All are recyclable Don’t know
B.4) Which of the following is NOT an Effect of Global Warming
Ocean acidification More heart attacks Increase Precipitation (rain and snowfall) Higher sea levels All are effects of global warming Don’t know
B.5) which of the following are the number one recycled items
Glass bottles Aluminum cans Plastic bags Cartons Don’t know



C.3) Are you aware of the following environmental issue


Yes No

Climate change
Ozone Hole
Global Warming
Polar Melt
Motor Vehicle pollution
Industrial pollution

Food contamination by Pesticides
Bio-engineered food supply
Electromagnetic (power lines, cell phones)

In order to identify the gap between the current and required sustainability behavior at
the University of Sharjah, we conducted a survey among students, staff, and faculty
members. We designed an electronic questionnaire using Google Forms that includes 23 questions about sustainability
behavior, which are shown in Table 1. The questionnaire has been checked for reliability and validity by distributing it to a test group to collect feedback about the questionnaire design. Furthermore, the questionnaire content has been valid with experts

In the sample design, the targeted population, in this survey, is the campus students, staff members, and faculty members. The total number of students, staff, and faculty was 16,587 in 2018. Assuming a 5% marginal error, the minimum required sample size (using the following equation) is estimated to be 391 respondents. The equation uses the population size (N) and the marginal error (e) to calculate the minimum required sample size (n). The number of respondents at the end of the survey duration was 646, which corresponds to a response rate of 3.89%. Note that the minimum representative sample rate of 2.36% for a marginal error of 5%. This sample size can be seen as a representative sample size as it is greater than the minimum required sample size (391) for this population.

Equation: n=N1+Ne2

The analysis revealed that the knowledge level about sustainability is low in the university, the communication college has the least sustainability level with a marginal error of 25%, followed by the college of fine arts and design with a marginal error of 25%, and business administration with a marginal error of 15%. In addition, students have low sustainability levels when compared to other campus populations. Based on the brainstorming sessions with decision-makers and in alignment with the UI GreenMetric Ranking guidelines, and the STARS guidelines, the following recommendations were developed and communicated to the University Sustainability Office:
To increase the knowledge level about sustainability among students by introducing more seminars and workshops about relevant sustainability topics to integrate sustainability in a broader range of courses. To involve students in the sustainability activities by establishing sustainability student clubs, which will increase the students' knowledge about sustainability. To announce more events with a focus on communication with students, staff, and faculty about sustainability to increase the sustainability concern and promote more sustainable behaviors. To provide training sessions and orientation days focusing on sustainability to all campus population and focusing on the new members to improve the sustainability knowledge, awareness, and concern among the campus population. To provide awards and incentives to the campus population for their efforts in creating and obtaining sustainable campuses to increase sustainability behaviors and attitudes. To perform students to students (peers to peers) and students to other campus population sustainable activities and events to increase the knowledge and concern of students. To encourage students to carry out sustainable projects with other campus populations to benefit from their knowledge and experiences in different fields to enhance the sustainability level of students. To hold competitions to reduce energy and water consumption and to minimize waste generation among all campus populations to promote more sustainability behaviors and attitudes among campus populations.
As a result, the following recommendations were initiated:
Announcing 2020 as the year of sustainability. Creating and executing the new concept of sustainability circles that increased the level of engagement of all the university stakeholders, see (Alsyouf, 2020). Establishing two student's sustainability clubs in the university and a sustainability hub in the communication college which had the lowest sustainability level based on the results of this study. New sustainability-related courses have been introduced, and more emphasis has been set on sustainability research. Starting a sustainable garden project inside the campus. More than 30 different sustainability seminars, workshops, forums, and competitions have been conducted in the year 2019.
For more information about these initiatives and improvements, the reader may refer to the Sustainability Office website (https://www.sharjah.ac.ae/sustainabilityoffice)