UC to conduct nation’s largest campus climate survey
September 25, 2012 •
The University of California, in what is believed to be the largest survey of its kind ever conducted, will ask students, faculty and staff about their experiences with diversity and inclusion at work and on campus.
The confidential survey will be administered on a location-by-location basis between October 2012 and February 2013, with final results available in spring 2013.
The data will be used to assess the learning, living and working environments — or campus climate — for people who go to school or work at UC. The ultimate goal: to help UC develop or change policies and programs to foster a more welcoming, inclusive and healthy campus environment for students, faculty and staff.
The study has been developed collaboratively by UC locations and UC President Mark Yudof’s Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture and Inclusion. No other university system the size of UC is believed to have attempted a climate survey that polls the entire campus community, said Jesse Bernal, UC interim diversity coordinator.
“UC is committed to creating a positive environment for our students, staff and faculty,” Bernal said. “In order to do that, we need to know what the climate is like now. That’s why we’re undertaking this enormous and important survey to gather the data.”
All UC locations will participate, including UCOP; UC’s 10 campuses; medical centers at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UCLA, UC San Diego and UCSF; the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The UCOP survey will be open from Friday, Nov. 2, to Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. UCOP employees will receive an email invitation from Executive Vice President Nathan Brostrom on Nov. 2 with instructions on how to participate. Paper surveys are also available upon request from Jesse Bernal at jesse.bernal@ucop.edu.
“The more participation we have, the better data we gather and the better we can respond to the needs of our students and personnel,” Bernal said. “We’ll be working with our campus communities to ensure the best turnout possible for the survey.”
Campus climate encompasses the experience of people and groups. The quality and extent of these interactions determines a healthy campus climate, according to Susan Rankin, a Pennsylvania State University education professor whose consulting firm, Rankin & Associates, is working with UC to design and administer the survey.
See the UC Newsroom website for the complete story, including a list of dates when the survey will be administered at each UC location.
