Sustainability Assessment Tools in Higher Education Institutions

2013 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Sustainability Assessment Tools

scholarly journals Assessing the Impacts of Higher Education Institutions on Sustainable Development—An Analysis of Tools and Indicators

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Findler ◽  
Norma Schönherr ◽  
Rodrigo Lozano ◽  
Barbara Stacherl
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Organizational Boundaries ◽  
System A ◽  
Sustainability Assessment Tools

Many higher education institutions (HEIs) have started to incorporate sustainable development (SD) into their system. A variety of sustainability assessment tools (SATs) have been developed to support HEIs to systematically measure, audit, benchmark, and communicate SD efforts. In recent years, stakeholders have increasingly asked HEIs to demonstrate their impacts on SD. These impacts are the direct and indirect effects an HEI has outside of its organizational boundaries on society, the natural environment, and the economy. This study analyzes to what extent SATs are capable of measuring the impacts that HEIs have on SD. A mixed-method approach, using descriptive statistics and an inductive content analysis, was used to examine 1134 indicators for sustainability assessment derived from 19 SATs explicitly designed for application by HEIs. The findings reveal that SATs largely neglect the impacts HEIs have outside their organizational boundaries. SATs primarily use proxy indicators based on internally available data to assess impacts and thus tend to focus on themes concerning the natural environment and the contribution to the local economy. Updating existing SATs and developing new ones may enable HEIs to fully realize their potential to contribute to SD.

Are distance higher education institutions sustainable enough? – A comparison between two distance learning universities

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis-Alberto Casado-Aranda ◽  
Sandra Sofia Caeiro ◽  
Jorge Trindade ◽  
Arminda Paço ◽  
David Lizcano Casas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Resource Saving ◽  
Sustainable Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Sustainability Assessment Tools

Purpose Universities are continually transforming its structure and governance in response to the new social, environmental and economic challenges. Particularly, there has recently been a growing academic interest for measuring sustainable practices of higher education institutions (HEI) aiming to monitor and reduce their carbon emissions, as well as transform them into more sustainable organizations. More recent studies began to focus also on the sustainable performance of distance education Universities. So it became crucial to evaluate their sustainability practices through sustainability assessment tools with the aim of improving their sustainability performance and boosting their role as agents of academic, social and economic change. The purpose of this study is to assess and compare holistically sustainability implementation in two similar distance learning universities and to evaluate their advantages and disadvantages. Design/methodology/approach One of the most rigorous and internationally used sustainability assessment tools was used – the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System, to evaluate and compare sustainability implementation in two distance universities, one from Spain and another from Portugal: the Madrid Open University and Universidade Aberta. Indicators of both universities were compared and ways of improvement in both universities were widely discussed. Findings The results of this research show that there is a similar pattern in both universities. Both have low performance in campus operations and low levels of community participation but good performance in sustainability courses and programmes offer. The results of both institutions were compared and allowed a learning process for improvement. Originality/value This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of sustainability assessment tools in particular when applied to distance universities at the time that offers new paths to carry out improved sustainable practices in crucial areas of interest such as research, administration, education and resource-saving. This research also highlights the value of distance learning universities and their ability to be more sustainable after the advent of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Modifiable Campus-Wide Appraisal Model (MOCAM) for Sustainability in Higher Education Institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuf A. Adenle ◽  
Edwin H. W. Chan ◽  
Yi Sun ◽  
C.K. Chau
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Campus Sustainability ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Sustainability Assessment Tools ◽  
Hierarchy Process

Institutions of higher education across the globe have commenced the appraisal of their sustainability performance via the utilization of various existing campus sustainability assessment tools. A comprehensive review of these existing tools reveals insufficient utilization of weighting methods and theoretical approaches that allow for the monitoring, review, and enhancement of the appraisal process and tools. Social media and spatial-based indicators usage are also deficient in the existing tools. This paper addresses these research gaps and develops a Modifiable Campus-wide Appraisal Model (MOCAM) for a comprehensive spatial-based information and assessment framework for policymakers, local authorities, and campus planners in countries with unknown campus sustainability status. In this model, the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) approach was utilized to identify environmental-dimension indicators with campus-wide and spatial-based attributes. The Twitter social media platform, Elastic stack, and Python Library were used for the extraction and analysis of local stakeholders’ user-generated content for the identification of localized indicators. The analytic hierarchy process was used for the determination and analysis of the attribute level of importance and weights. The model also broadens the application of symbolic interactionism by translating it from the predominant field of social science to sustainable campus appraisal.

scholarly journals Sustainability Assessment and Benchmarking in Higher Education Institutions—A Critical Reflection

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Caeiro ◽  
Leyla Angélica Sandoval Hamón ◽  
Rute Martins ◽  
Cecilia Elizabeth Bayas Aldaz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Whole School ◽  
External Impact ◽  
Whole School Approach ◽  
Impact Of Higher Education

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) play a crucial role in implementing practices for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). This implementation should be done in different dimensions according to a holistic and whole-school approach. Different tools have been adapted and developed to assess this integrated approach. The aim of this research is to critically reflect the existing tools to assess and benchmark ESD implementation and to discuss their applicability in two case studies. Two public Universities in Southern Europe, with headquarters in the capitals of Portugal and Spain were selected to assess and compare the integration of ESD according to a whole-school approach—Universidade Aberta in Portugal and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain. After a critical analysis of the existing tools based on literature review and a list of criteria classified by experts, two tools were selected to be applied in the case studies. The online Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System Reporting Tool was used in Universidade Aberta and Green Metrics tool was used in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. The tools were complemented with focus group with key-actors in both universities. The results obtained allowed to identify the need to define a common objective of the assessment tools and limitations they still have. The tools need improvements on their development namely to integrate the external impact of Higher Education Institutions on sustainability, to integrate participatory processes and to assess non-traditional aspects of sustainability. This research hopes to contribute to the continuous research about the usefulness of these assessment and benchmarking tools as drivers to HEIs improve their sustainability performance and their role as agents of changes.

Higher education institution sustainability assessment tools

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heloisa Cronemberger de Araújo Góes ◽  
Alessandra Magrini
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Sustainability Assessment ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
International Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Sustainability Assessment Tools ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to gather elements to propose a sustainability assessment tool (SAT) to be used in higher education institutions (HEIs) in Brazil and the related program to be created for SAT dissemination and HEI monitoring, publication of results and benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach The characteristics of eight SATs were identified, seven of which are applied through widely known international programs to identify aspects to be considered in the definition of the Brazilian model. Findings In Brazil, stakeholders usually do not know how HEIs develop their potential to contribute with the construction of a sustainable development model. There currently is an international trend, which Brazil must join, to assess HEI sustainability through SATs. The comparison between different international SATs and respective programs yields some recommendations for a Brazilian model, such as definition of their purpose, types of questions to be used, the possibility to apply SATs to HEI sub-units, means of dissemination and others. Research limitations/implications The research limitation is the difficulty to obtain information allowing a deeper understanding of sustainability-related activities developed by Brazilian HEIs. Practical implications This paper provides a base on which to construct SAT and program models tailored for Brazil. Originality/value This is the first paper that stresses the importance of adopting a SAT tailored for Brazil, by comparing and discussing models that may be used for that purpose.

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