Developing a quantitative tool for sustainability assessment of HEIs

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Implementation of a sustainability paradigm demands new choices and innovative ways of thinking. The main objective of this paper is to provide a meaningful sustainability assessment tool for make informed decisions, which is applied to higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach -The objective is achieved by developing a quantitative tool for sustainability assessment using a driving force-pressure-state-exposure-effect-action (DPSEEA) framework. The DPSEEA framework considers environmental, social, economic, and educational performance as main dimensions of sustainability. The proposed model is called DPSEEA-Sustainability index Model (D-SiM). The D-SiM is a causality-based model in which the sustainability index (SI) is an outcome of nonlinear effects of sustainability indicators in various stages of DPSEEA. To have an improved understanding of input factors (driving forces) and their impact on sustainability, a simplified empirical model is developed and applied to HEIs to determine the percent contribution of various driving forces on sustainability. Findings -The study reveals that economic development, social equity, and education in sustainability are the major drivers for achieving sustainability in HEI, while health and safety issues, energy requirements, institutional enhancement, and international research and development trends are the less significant driving forces. Originality/value -The indicators connected in DPSEEA framework through causal relationships lead to the quantitative assessment of sustainability, which provides a unique approach for informed decision making.

Sustainability Assessment of Higher Education Institutions in Saudi Arabia

“…For instance, UNESCO declared the United Nations "Decade of Education for Sustainable Development" with the aims of acknowledging education as a basis for SD and embedding SD into systems of education [33]. Numerous universities have initiated a discussion about this concept and the means to integrate it into a university's policies and activities [30]. Universities play a key role in stressing the needs for sustainability within society.…”

“…The concept of sustainability is safeguarded within the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and millennium improvement goals, the European Union's (EU) Sustainable Development Strategy, and several international declarations, initiatives, policies, national laws [29], and the recent United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative. In the last few years, issues of sustainability have turned out to be a major focus; it is necessary to balance protecting the natural environment with improving quality of life for both present and future generations in the third world and the developing economy of the world [30]. However, sustainability cannot be regarded as an end in itself or a point of relation but rather a process that is ongoing [31].…”

Balanced Scorecard For Future Sustainability Of Malaysian Higher Education Institutions

“…It is trying to expatiate that if there is more attention given to effectiveness and efficient uses of BSCI there will be a tendency in SMHEI improvement (Waheed, 2011). Previous researches have been stressed on Malaysian HEI customers and its efficiency.…”

Orçamento, Indicadores e Gestão de Desempenho das Universidades Federais Brasileiras

“…Nesse contexto, a avaliação deve ser compreendida como um instrumento necessário de gestão para mensurar os esforços da organização para conduzir suas ações de maneira dinâmica, buscando resultados eficientes para a instituição (Bartsch, 2011). Convém dizer que, a análise de desempenho por indicadores de investimentos para a qualidade tem sido conduzido tanto pela via da mensuração do desempenho global da instituição quanto pelo critério da sustentabilidade institucional (Lindsay, 1991;Barnetson & Curtright, 2000;Yáber & Valarino, 2002;Maingot & Zeghal, 2008;Azma, 2010;Waheed, 2011).…”