In collaboration with U-M's renowned Graham Sustainability Institute, we implemented this comprehensive study designed to assess sustainability knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes across U-M students, faculty, and staff over time. This groundbreaking effort, known as the Sustainability Cultural Indicators Program (SCIP), is designed to inform educational programs and campus operations at the University, and is an outgrowth of the Community Awareness goal area of the U-M Campus Sustainability Integrated Assessment.
Building on information gleaned from focus groups, questionnaires were designed and administered to samples of university students, faculty, and staff in Fall 2012, 2013, and 2014. The web surveys yielded responses from more than 3,500 students and 1,500 faculty and staff members each year. Questions cover travel and transportation, waste prevention and conservation, the natural environment, climate change, food, and engagement, awareness, and ratings of campus sustainability initiatives. Survey data are supplemented with geographic data covering campus buildings where respondents live, work and study. Current plans call for repeating the survey each fall until 2017.