The Smart Campus Environmental Initiative Relevance Scale: An item response theory approach to community-informed sustainability management (dataset)

Description

Universities increasingly need systematic, transparent methods to integrate community-perceived relevance into environmental management and decision-making. This study developed the Smart Campus Environmental Initiative Relevance Scale (SCEIRS) and used calibrated item positions to structure a cumulative planning pathway. The 31-item instrument covered six dimensions: Water, Air, Energy, Waste, Social, and Technology. It was administered to students, administrative staff, and faculty members at two Brazilian public universities, yielding 320 complete responses. We examined the internal structure through full-information item factor analysis and calibrated items using Item Response Theory. The findings identified a strong general component of perceived relevance, high internal consistency, and meaningful differences in item locations and measurement information. The calibrated metric distinguished initiatives receiving affirmative endorsement at lower latent positions from those requiring higher levels of perceived relevance. The proposed Basic, Developed, and Advanced levels translated the item ordering into a cumulative pathway from broadly recognized priorities to a diversified intermediate agenda and a more selective set of initiatives at higher positions on the continuum. The SCEIRS enables managers to identify where community recognition is already broad and where communication, participation, or institutional learning may be required. It therefore complements technical indicators, audits, and performance measures by providing a transparent, community-informed basis for environmental priority setting in smart campuses.

Institutions

• Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina

  Santa Catarina, Florianópolis

Categories

Funders

• Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Estado de Santa Catarina

  Santa Catarina, Florianópolis

Licence