Students’ Attitude and Perception towards Sustainability: The Case of Universiti Sains Malaysia

Sustainability awareness is a vital component in ensuring sustainability initiatives as a global effort for the benefit of future generations, particularly in countries with emerging economies, such as Malaysia. In higher education institutions (HEIs), students play an important role in manifesting the sustainability agenda to the campus community, as well as the rest of the globe. However, there is a scarcity of data on Malaysian students’ attitudes and perceptions towards sustainability. The purpose of this research is to establish a baseline for determining the level of positive attitude and perception among USM undergraduate students in regards to sustainability. A survey using a self-administered questionnaire via Google Forms was conducted with 513 undergraduate students between June 2020 and March 2021. The findings revealed that the students’ level of positive attitude and perceptions of sustainability on campus ranged from moderate to high. The study also observed a strong, positive correlation between students’ attitude and perception. The present study illustrated that “Attitudes Towards Sustainability on Campus” helps to explain 45% of the variance in respondents scores on “Perception of the USM Current Sustainability Program”. It could be summarized that USM students were able to relate sustainability issues to current situations and assumed a positive attitude towards the implementation of sustainability programs at USM. It is intended that the research findings will contribute background information that will reflect the strategies of higher education institutions on sustainability.