Stakeholders Perceptions of a Universal Sustainability Assessment in Higher Education

The progress of sustainability within higher education has steadily increased in focus over the last decade and has increasingly become a topic of academic research. As institutions investigate, implement and market sustainability efforts, there is a myriadof sustainability assessment methodologies currently available. This assortment of standards being used by institutions do not help students and faculty assess the level of sustainability uniformly between institutions. A universal framework was proposed for facilitate stakeholder’s review of comparing sustainability assessments in higher education. This research reviews the creation of the framework and results from testing in an online environment. The lack of data collected during the testing phase provides some anecdotal evidence regarding what stakeholder consider important in terms of sustainability within higher education and may also indicate that there is no need for a universal sustainability assessment in higher education to be used directly by stakeholder

Is Higher Education Economically Unsustainable?

As students continue to review the sustainability of higher education institutions, there is a growing need to understand the economic returns of degrees as a function of a sustainable institution. This paper reviews a range of international research to summarize the economic drivers of higher education attainment. Although the cost inputs to higher education are fairly well understood, the economic return of a degree is not. Students misperception of economic returns coupled with a dynamic definition of employability create the framework for unsustainable debt loads for graduates. This paper proposes three metrics that can be used to assess the economic sustainability of students graduating higher education that can be used to supplement the broader definition of sustainability within higher education

Validating the Need to Include the Economic Returns of Graduates as a Metric of a Higher Education Institutions Level of Sustainability

Higher education institutions play an important role in sustainability, in their own management and operation, in research and education, and in the undergraduate and graduate degrees they deliver. Often ignored, economic sustainability and future perspectives of students are important indicators too. The research presented in this paper validates that a student’s post-graduation economic performance should be part of a higher education institution’s metric for sustainability. The data collected in this research, as well as in other research, shows that almost 90% of respondents agree that economic metrics should be considered part of a higher education institutions level of sustainability. While there is no doubt about the economic gains of higher education, the results indicate that students utilizing a manageable 8% repayment of economic debt would be in debt for decades after graduation, further supporting the need for institutions to inform their stakeholders before such a life changing commitment

Pilot Testing of Multiple Behavioral Health Screening Devices in the Primary Care Setting

The United States’ healthcare system is currently the most expensive in the world. While there are many contributors to high healthcare costs, one of the major sources has been identified as comorbid behavioral health disorders. To address this, many healthcare systems are moving toward a more integrative approach that combines medical and behavioral health services in the same location. To ensure the success of these integrated care systems, the screening and detection of behavioral health concerns by medical providers has been the focus of much research. The purpose of this study was to pilot test two new behavioral health screening tools and examine how they influenced medical provider behavior in regards to detection, referral, and intervention of behavioral health concerns, as well as satisfaction of providers and participants who completed the screening tools. Two medical providers that operated in a community health center were recruited to use the screening tools in their practice for eight weeks. Data were collected for three time periods: a) one month prior to use of the screening tools, via electronic health records, b) during the eight weeks in which the screening tools were used, via self-reports and electronic health records, and c) for six weeks after the screening tools were discontinued, via self-reports and electronic health records. Results indicate that the screening tools had mixed results in regard to influencing provider behavior and satisfaction with the screening tools. Analyses suggest that behavioral health concerns may have been missed by medical providers, and that further investigation is needed within systems of care to better understand how medical providers respond to behavioral health concerns mentioned during an appointment

Stakeholders perceptions of a universal sustainability assessment in higher education - A review of empirical evidence

The progress of sustainability within higher education has steadily increased in focus over the last decade and has increasingly become a topic of academic research. As institutions investigate, implement and market sustainability efforts, there is a myriad of sustainability assessment methodologies currently available. This assortment of standards being used by institutions do not help students and faculty assess the level of sustainability uniformly between institutions. A universal framework was proposed for facilitate stakeholder\u27s review of comparing sustainability assessments in higher education. This research reviews the creation of the framework and results from testing in an online environment. The lack of data collected during the testing phase provides some anecdotal evidence regarding what stakeholder consider important in terms of sustainability within higher education and may also indicate that there is no need for a universal sustainability assessment in higher education to be used directly by stakeholder

Validating the Need to Include the Economic Returns of Graduates as a Metric of a Higher Education Institutions Level of Sustainability

Higher education institutions play an important role in sustainability, in their own management and operation, in research and education, and in the undergraduate and graduate degrees they deliver. Often ignored, economic sustainability and future perspectives of students are important indicators too. The research presented in this paper validates that a student’s post-graduation economic performance should be part of a higher education institution’s metric for sustainability. The data collected in this research, as well as in other research, shows that almost 90% of respondents agree that economic metrics should be considered part of a higher education institutions level of sustainability. While there is no doubt about the economic gains of higher education, the results indicate that students utilizing a manageable 8% repayment of economic debt would be in debt for decades after graduation, further supporting the need for institutions to inform their stakeholders before such a life changing commitment.Climate Design and SustainabilityArchitectural Engineering +Technolog