By Wynn Calder, Richard Clugston and Thomas Rogers
With support from the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation, ULSF has
developed the Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), a
survey instrument designed to assist students, faculty members,
staff and administrators in determining the extent to which their
college or university is sustainable in its teaching, research,
operations and outreach. Academic institutions vary considerably
in how they approach sustainability: some concentrate on minimizing
their ecological impact through changes in operations; others
emphasize faculty and curriculum development; etc. The ULSF assessment
of sustainability at a college or university asks representatives
to give their impressions of their institution's accomplishments
on eight critical dimensions of sustainability: 1. Mission and
Purpose of the Institution, 2. Curriculum, 3. Scholarly Activities,
4. Institutional Values and Practices within its Ecological and
Social Systems, 5. Institutional Operations, 6. Faculty Development
and Rewards, 7. Institutional Support and Student Life, and 8.
Outreach / Partnerships. The instrument draws on the impressions
of knowledgeable members of an academic community to determine
priorities for more precise research and action to promote sustainability
on campus.
In constructing the questionnaire, we envisioned both an assessment
instrument and a teaching tool. In other words, by its very design
and content we wanted the SAQ to instruct its users on the meaning
of sustainability in higher education. We also intended the SAQ
process to stimulate conversation and debate within institutions
on the path to sustainability. "Sustainability" implies
that the critical activities of a college or university are ecologically
sound, socially just, economically viable and humane, and that
they will continue to be so for future generations. We sought
to encompass a definition of sustainability that included social
and economic, as well as environmental dimensions.
In the process of designing the SAQ, we tried to determine the
basic characteristics of colleges and universities fully committed
to sustainability. Certain essential dimensions kept recurring
as we tested various draft questionnaires with different campus
representatives and sustainability advocates. Though approaches
to "greening" higher education do vary considerably,
we feel the institution must be implementing meaningful practices
in the following eight areas to be demonstrating significant progress
toward achieving sustainability:
- The written statements of the mission and purpose of the institution
and its various units express their philosophies and commitments.
The descriptions of learning objectives and public relations
materials of the various schools, departments, programs or offices
thus would express prominent and explicit concern for sustainability.
- The college or university would appropriately incorporate
the concepts of sustainability into all academic disciplines
and in liberal arts and professional education requirements.
Likewise, a firm grounding in basic disciplines and critical
thinking skills is essential to pursuing a sustainable future.
Institutions committed to sustainability often prominently feature
certain topics in their course offerings, e.g. Globalization
and Sustainable Development; Environmental Philosophy; Nature
Writing; Land Ethics and Sustainable Agriculture; Urban Ecology
and Social Justice; Population, Women and Development; Sustainable
Production and Consumption; and many others.
- Sustainability is integrated into faculty and student research
(including such areas as renewable energy, sustainable building
design, ecological economics, indigenous wisdom and technologies,
population and development, total environmental quality management,
etc.)
- A major shift from the current academic paradigm lies in
a conscious reflection of the role of the institution in its
social and ecological systems. Students learn about the institutional
values and practices in this context. For example, all graduating
students would understand:
a. how the campus functions in the ecosystem (e.g. its
sources of food, water, energy, endpoint of waste and garbage)
and its contribution to a sustainable economy.
b. how the institution views and treats its employees (such
as student, staff, faculty involvement in decision-making,
their status and benefits, etc.).
c. the basic values and core assumptions present in the
content and methods of the academic disciplines.
- Since research and teaching are the fundamental purposes of
academic institutions, knowledge of sustainability is a critical
concern in the hiring, tenure and promotion systems. We would
expect the institution to:
a. reward faculty members' contributions to sustainability
in scholarship, teaching, or campus and community activities.
b. provide significant staff and faculty development opportunities
to enhance understanding, teaching and research in sustainability.
- The institution has an "ecological footprint." In
its production and consumption the institution should follow
sustainable policies and practices: for example, CO2 reduction
practices and the use of emission control devices; sustainable
building construction and renovation; energy conservation practices;
local food purchasing program; purchasing and investment in
environmentally and socially responsible products; and many
others. Furthermore, these operational practices are integrated
into the educational and scholarly activities of the school.
- Institutional support and student life services would include
certain practices, such as:
a. new student orientation, scholarships, internships and
job placement counseling related to community service, sustainability
and/or justice issues;
b. an Environmental or Sustainability Council or Task Force,
an Environmental Coordinator or Curriculum Greening Officer;
c. regularly conducted environmental audits;
d. prominent public, student and staff celebrations of sustainability
on campus (for example, lectures, conferences, Earth Day
celebrations, etc).
- The institution would engage in outreach and forming partnerships
both locally and globally to enhance sustainability. The college
or university would support sustainable communities in the surrounding
region and relationships with local businesses that foster sustainable
practices. The institution would also seek international cooperation
in solving global environmental justice and sustainability problems
through conferences, student/faculty exchanges, etc.
Through our consultation and design process, we explored short
and long versions of the instrument with different blends of quantitative
and qualitative measures. In order to keep the SAQ primarily qualitative
and impressionistic, we decided not to include a rating/scoring
system. The goal of the assessment exercise is to provide a comprehensive
definition of sustainability and a snapshot of a college or university
on the path to sustainability. We determined that a rating/scoring
system would make the instrument prematurely quantitative and
difficult for most to complete without extensive research. It
might also turn away prospective users.
We are currently distributing the SAQ widely and are working
intensively with a small set of colleges and universities using
the SAQ as a catalyst for institutional change. Representatives
from various schools active in the development of the SAQ are
interested in having us visit them and work with the SAQ. ULSF
is planning site visits in which students, staff, faculty and
administrative leaders will complete the questionnaire and determine
areas needing greater attention: they would set priorities for
pursuing sustainability at their schools.
To accompany the SAQ, we are developing a set of in-depth resources
on the various dimensions of sustainability. For each of the eight
dimensions listed above, a wealth of qualitative and quantitative
resources exist that can assist institutions in extensive assessment.
ULSF has already developed a lengthier version of the SAQ and
compiled a reference list. We envision that campus representatives
will begin the assessment exercise by filling out the Standard
Form, gaining an overall picture of their institution's commitment
to sustainability. They can then refine this picture by completing
the Long Form, or going into the priority areas they have identified
and exploring more detailed quantitative measurements or guides
to implementation. This phase of the project consists of organizing
the considerable number of in-print and online resources available
on each of the eight dimensions of the SAQ-and for each subpoint
of the eight-into a comprehensive guide to implementing sustainability
on campus.
Eventually, we intend to develop a self-assessment/strategic
planning protocol on the worldwide web for use by institutions
pursuing sustainability. ULSF can reach only a small number of
institutions in person. The worldwide web will make the SAQ and
companion materials more widely available to interested individuals
and institutions and enable them to engage in their own self-assessment
processes. For each dimension and sub-dimension the user could
search for resources (such as green purchasing guides, sustainability
curricula, and auditing approaches) and link to other sites (like
Second Nature's Starfish, Campus Ecology, and the Harvard Committee
on the Environment) to access more information or tools.
We recognize that the task of developing a comprehensive, reliable,
and valid instrument is formidable. While we've made considerable
progress toward our goal, we know that any such work rests firmly
on the principle that indicators need to be constantly monitored,
evaluated and improved. Thus, we are hopeful that the SAQ will
be used as a foundation for continued research and collaboration.
We encourage you to contact ULSF at 202-778-6133 if you are interested
in receiving the SAQ and exploring a workshop on its use at your
institution.
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