IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v8y2016i1p59-d61919.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Students’ Assessment of Campus Sustainability at the University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Author

Listed:
  • Ismaila R. Abubakar

    (College of Architecture and Planning, University of Dammam, P.O. Box 2397, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia)

  • Faez S. Al-Shihri

    (College of Architecture and Planning, University of Dammam, P.O. Box 2397, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia)

  • Sayed M. Ahmed

    (College of Architecture and Planning, University of Dammam, P.O. Box 2397, Dammam 31451, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Higher education institutions are major drivers of change in achieving environmental sustainability both within college campuses and beyond campuses in communities at large. However, achieving campus sustainability is not possible without the involvement of students as one of the major stakeholders of a university. Based on survey of 152 students of the College of Architecture and Planning, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, this study explores students’ assessment of campus sustainability components: curriculum and research; campus operations; and community involvement. The results show that even though the students indicate a great deal of awareness and concern about campus environmental sustainability, they lack interest and willingness to participate in initiatives towards achieving sustainability. Apart from some sustainable landscaping and waste recycling practices, there are few sustainability initiatives in transportation and energy and water conservation on the campus. Offered courses and student projects have also been reported to have modest focus on sustainability. The article concludes by highlighting the roles of incorporating sustainability into campus operations, and training university students in promoting environmental sustainability in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

Suggested Citation

  • Ismaila R. Abubakar & Faez S. Al-Shihri & Sayed M. Ahmed, 2016. "Students’ Assessment of Campus Sustainability at the University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:59-:d:61919
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/1/59/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/1/59/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gisela Cebrián & Mercè Junyent, 2015. "Competencies in Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring the Student Teachers’ Views," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-19, March.
    2. Anthony Coy & Allison Farrell & Katharine Gilson & Jody Davis & Benjamin Le, 2013. "Commitment to the environment and student support for “green” campus initiatives," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 3(1), pages 49-55, March.
    3. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    4. Gillian Bowser & Ulrike Gretzel & Elizabeth Davis & Mark Brown, 2014. "Educating the Future of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-10, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abolfazl Dehghanmongabadi & Şebnem Hoşkara, 2018. "Challenges of Promoting Sustainable Mobility on University Campuses: The Case of Eastern Mediterranean University," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Gaydaa Al-Zohbi & Maura A. E. Pilotti, 2023. "Contradictions about Sustainability: A Case Study of College Students from Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    3. Sharifah Nurlaili Farhana Syed Azhar & Noor Adelyna Mohammed Akib & Suzyrman Sibly & Saidatulakmal Mohd, 2022. "Students’ Attitude and Perception towards Sustainability: The Case of Universiti Sains Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-17, March.
    4. Habib M. Alshuwaikhat & Ismaila R. Abubakar & Yusuf A. Aina & Yusuf A. Adenle & Muhammad Umair, 2017. "The Development of a GIS-Based Model for Campus Environmental Sustainability Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-23, March.
    5. Aroub Alnasser & Nsreen Musallat, 2022. "Food Sustainability Knowledge among Saudis: Towards the Goals of Saudi Vision 2030," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Raghad Almashhour & Fatin Samara, 2022. "Evaluating Livability Perceptions: Indicators to Evaluate Livability of a University Campus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-31, September.
    7. Habib M. Alshuwaikhat & Yusuf A. Adenle & Bilal Saghir, 2016. "Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Rosa María Brito & Columba Rodríguez & José Luis Aparicio, 2018. "Sustainability in Teaching: An Evaluation of University Teachers and Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Adel Alshammari, 2025. "Assessing campus sustainability in Saudi universities: faculty perspectives and institutional challenges—a case study of three leading universities," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    10. Muhammad Waqar Ashraf & Faisal Alanezi, 2020. "Incorporation of Sustainability Concepts into the Engineering Core Program by Adopting a Micro Curriculum Approach: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-11, April.
    11. Mohammad A. Alsharif & Michael D. Peters & Timothy J. Dixon, 2020. "Designing and Implementing Effective Campus Sustainability in Saudi Arabian Universities: An Assessment of Drivers and Barriers in a Rational Choice Theoretical Context," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-23, June.
    12. Hua-Yueh Liu & Hsi-Chieh Lee, 2022. "The Carbon Inventory of the Reuse Phase’s Life Cycle: The Example of the Reconstruction of a Zero-Carbon Campus on an Unused Military Camp," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, January.
    13. Bakioglu, Gozde, 2024. "Selection of sustainable transportation strategies for campuses using hybrid decision-making approach under picture fuzzy sets," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    14. Sadia Akhtar & Kashif Ullah Khan & Fouzia Atlas & Muhammad Irfan, 2022. "Stimulating student’s pro-environmental behavior in higher education institutions: an ability–motivation–opportunity perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4128-4149, March.
    15. Walter Leal Filho & Claudio Ruy Portela de Vasconcelos & Paula Ferreira & M. Madalena Araújo & Alessandra Berenguer & Nadjacleia Almeida & Bárbara Fritzen Gomes & Joácio Morais Júnior & Ciliana Regina, 2023. "Perceptions of the academic community on the performance of sustainable development initiatives in higher education," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(5), pages 3896-3912, October.
    16. M. Mujiya Ulkhaq & Reinu S. George Joseph, 2024. "Students’ attitudes towards campus sustainability: a comparison among three universities in Sweden," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(6), pages 16289-16313, June.
    17. Dolores Gallardo-Vázquez & José A. Folgado-Fernández, 2020. "Regional Economic Sustainability: Universities’ Role in Their Territories," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-21, March.
    18. Jiawen Wang & Minghui Yang & Petra Maresova, 2020. "Sustainable Development at Higher Education in China: A Comparative Study of Students’ Perception in Public and Private Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-19, March.
    19. Ragab Rabeiy & Saud Almutairi & Ahmed Birima & Lamyaa Kassem & Ayman Nafady, 2023. "A Cross-Sectional Study of Knowledge, Practice, and Management of Solid Waste Segregation in Higher Educational Institutes: A Case Study in KSA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-16, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fengtao Guo & Joseph Lane & Yushan Duan & Joseph P. Stoltman & Olga Khlebosolova & Hao Lei & Weiguo Zhou, 2018. "Sustainable Development in Geography Education for Middle School in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-27, October.
    2. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Christoph Mischo, 2019. "Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Issa Ibrahim Berchin & Ana Regina de Aguiar Dutra & José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, 2021. "How do higher education institutions promote sustainable development? A literature review," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 1204-1222, November.
    4. Gemma Tejedor & Jordi Segalàs & Ángela Barrón & Mónica Fernández-Morilla & M. Teresa Fuertes & Jorge Ruiz-Morales & Ibón Gutiérrez & Esther García-González & Pilar Aramburuzabala & Àngels Hernández, 2019. "Didactic Strategies to Promote Competencies in Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, April.
    5. Primiano Di Nauta & Enrica Iannuzzi & Michele Milone & Claudio Nigro, 2020. "The Impact of the Sustainability Principles on the Strategic Planning and Reporting of Universities. An Exploratory Study on a Qualified Italian Sample," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    6. Paun, Dorothy, 2018. "Corporate sustainability reporting: An innovative tool for the greater good of all," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 61(6), pages 925-935.
    7. Alfonso Rodriguez-Dono & Antoni Hernández-Fernández, 2021. "Fostering Sustainability and Critical Thinking through Debate—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-24, June.
    8. Habib M. Alshuwaikhat & Yusuf A. Adenle & Bilal Saghir, 2016. "Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-16, August.
    9. Julia Lohmann & Jennifer Breithecker & Ulrike Ohl & Petra Gieß-Stüber & Hans Peter Brandl-Bredenbeck, 2021. "Teachers’ Professional Action Competence in Education for Sustainable Development: A Systematic Review from the Perspective of Physical Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-26, December.
    10. Moataz Elmassri & María Luisa Pajuelo & Abdulhadi Ali Alahbabi & Ahmed Mohamed Alali & Moufak Alzitawi & Hamdan Hussain & Khaled Alnabhani & Tariq Elrazaz, 2023. "Student Perceptions of Pedagogical Approaches to Integrating the SDG 8 into Business School Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-22, September.
    11. CHEN, Helen S.Y., 2020. "Designing Sustainable Humanitarian Supply Chains," OSF Preprints m82ar, Center for Open Science.
    12. Denise Ravet, 2011. "Lean production: the link between supply chain and sustainable development in an international environment," Post-Print hal-00691666, HAL.
    13. Mara Del Baldo, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in Italian SMEs: the experience of some “spirited businesses”," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(1), pages 1-36, February.
    14. Michael Howes & Liana Wortley & Ruth Potts & Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Julie Davidson & Timothy Smith & Patrick Nunn, 2017. "Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    15. Parnphumeesup, Piya & Kerr, Sandy A., 2011. "Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3591-3601, June.
    16. Chin-Shan Lu & Kuo-Chung Shang & Chi-Chang Lin, 2016. "Examining sustainability performance at ports: port managers’ perspectives on developing sustainable supply chains," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(8), pages 909-927, November.
    17. Kebede, Yohannes, 1993. "The Limits to Common Resource Management: The Bypassed Commons or Commons without Tragedy," MPRA Paper 662, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 01 May 1993.
    18. John Stanley & Janet Stanley, 2023. "Improving Appraisal Methodology for Land Use Transport Measures to Reduce Risk of Social Exclusion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, August.
    19. Nora Mzavanadze, 2009. "Building A Framework For National Sustainable Development Assessment And Application For Lithuania: Sustainability In Transition," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(01), pages 97-130.
    20. Pishchulov, Grigory & Trautrims, Alexander & Chesney, Thomas & Gold, Stefan & Schwab, Leila, 2019. "The Voting Analytic Hierarchy Process revisited: A revised method with application to sustainable supplier selection," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 166-179.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:1:p:59-:d:61919. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.