Abstract
Franciscan universities are well-positioned to promote a sustainable future (Stober, 2024; Sprow, 2025) through community engagement (Sprow & Stober, 2012). This paper describes a Franciscan University’s efforts to implement the Sustainability Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Institutions (SET4HEI). UNESCO leads the SET4HEI initiative in collaboration with other UN Agencies and education experts. SET4HEI maps current and potential future contributions by universities and colleges to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Alvernia University adopted a holistic framework by establishing the Office of Institutional Sustainability (OIS) with a decision-making ability to codify educational and community-based strategies that facilitate healthy environmental systems for collective well-being. This paper includes a description of SET4HEI and addresses three questions. (1) How, and how much is the community contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? And to which ones? (2) What else could the community do in its support for the SDGs? (3) How can the community make its contribution to the SDGs more visible? Examples of students in a cycle of action and reflection are provided.
Presenters
Alicia H. SprowFaculty, Leadership, Alvernia University, Pennsylvania, United States Spencer S Stober
Professor Emeritus, Sciences; Business, Communication, and Leadership, Alvernia University, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education, Assessment and Policy
KEYWORDS
SET4HEI, Sustainability Assessment, Higher Education, Franciscan
