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Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Guidelines for Developing a Tool for China

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  • Yawei Du

    (School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
    Department of Management in the Built Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Monique H. Arkesteijn

    (Department of Management in the Built Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Alexandra C. den Heijer

    (Department of Management in the Built Environment, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands)

  • Kun Song

    (School of Architecture, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China)

Abstract

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in both early and mature stages of sustainable development (SD) have been moving toward sustainability. Methods for assessing SD have been developed from global and regional contexts to support sustainability efforts. The purpose of this paper is to formulate guidelines as input to develop a sustainable assessment tool (SAT) for China based on the current SD stage of Chinese HEIs. Through desk research, SATs were selected and analyzed. Fifteen SATs consisting of more than 1000 indicators included in the analysis and based on components for developing SATs were identified, and then the components were selected and discussed through an online workshop engaging a 34-people Chinese research team, in order to formulate the guidelines for Chinese HEIs. The findings reveal that the emphasis of SATs mainly results from their contexts, purposes and stages, backgrounds or focus. Chinese HEIs are in the early SD stage, and the multiple purposes and components of SATs are identified to support local sustainability efforts. Having a clear understanding of the current SD stages of SATs and selecting the components accordingly would enable them to fully reach their potential in practice, especially in the case of early SD HEIs.

Suggested Citation

  • Yawei Du & Monique H. Arkesteijn & Alexandra C. den Heijer & Kun Song, 2020. "Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Guidelines for Developing a Tool for China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-30, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:16:p:6501-:d:397885
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Fakhra Yasmin & Shengbing Li & Yan Zhang & Petra Poulova & Ahsan Akbar, 2021. "Unveiling the International Students’ Perspective of Service Quality in Chinese Higher Education Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Guorui Chen & Li Cheng & Foyuan Li, 2022. "Integrating Sustainability and Users’ Demands in the Retrofit of a University Campus in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    5. Esneider Gutierrez-Rivera & Manuela Escobar-Sierra & Jorge-Andrés Polanco, 2023. "Characterizing Organizational Sustainability in Catholic Schools: A Cross-National Study Applying Text Mining," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    6. Ting Zhou & Rob Law & Patrick C. Lee, 2021. "Exploring Sustainable Measurements of Academic Research: How Do Faculty Members in Teaching-Oriented Universities of China Evaluate Good Research in Tourism and Hospitality?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-20, October.
    7. Yunbo Wang & Xiuping Duan & Ziyi Chen, 2022. "Pathways to the Sustainable Development of Quality Education for International Students in China: An fsQCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Yawei Du & Qing Ye & Hongjiang Liu & Yuting Wu & Fenghua Wang, 2023. "Sustainable Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions: Developing Two-Hierarchy Tools for China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-22, July.

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