Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Global Sustainability and Development Congress , Kayseri, Türkiye, 15 - 16 Ekim 2025, ss.298-304, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
This study examines how the concept of sustainability is
defined and institutionalized within higher education, tracing its evolution
from an environmental management concern to a comprehensive paradigm of
governance and transformation. Drawing on qualitative content analysis, the research
systematically evaluates sustainability definitions from 81 universities,
classifying them by thematic focus, conceptual depth, and the degree of
integration between innovation and governance. The findings reveal that most
universities still frame sustainability through environmental and economic
dimensions—emphasizing energy efficiency, resource optimization, or climate
responsibility. Yet a growing number of institutions articulate a more
transformative understanding, linking sustainability with ethical leadership,
data-driven decision-making, stakeholder participation, and digital learning
cultures. This shift indicates that sustainability is no longer confined to operational
performance but is gradually emerging as a framework for institutional identity
and strategic coherence. By situating these findings within contemporary
theoretical models such as University 5.0 and the learning organization
framework, the study argues that sustainability in higher education should be
conceived as a dynamic interplay between governance capacity, cultural
adaptation, and innovation potential. The analysis underscores that a truly
sustainable university is not defined merely by ecological outcomes but by its ability
to integrate ethical governance, digital transformation, and participatory learning
into its core structures. Consequently, the study positions the sustainable
university as a learning-ethical-digital-governance-based model, offering both
theoretical and empirical insight into the ongoing redefinition of sustainability
within global higher education.