The University of Wisconsin sent out a campus climate survey Tuesday afternoon to learn more about students’ experiences on campus.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion LaVar J. Charleston sent an email to students containing the survey. The university last conducted a campus climate survey in 2016.
According to Charleston’s email, the survey is designed to measure how people with different identities and backgrounds experience UW. The email also gave students the opportunity for the chance to win one of twenty-five $100 prizes for completing the survey.
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Questions in the survey included, “This semester, how often do you feel connected to your peers?” and “How much do you feel your comments and questions are respected in your classes by your teaching assistants?”
Other questions in the survey focused on identity, such as, “This semester, how often have you felt expected to represent the point of view of your identity (e.g., your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, socioeconomic status, country of origin, etc.) in your classes?”
The survey also asked students what policies they would suggest to make UW more inclusive.
Diversity, Equity and Education Achievement Communications Director Mary Carr Lee said a task force made up of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion leaders on campus will review the results and produce a report of the results and compare them to the 2016 responses.
In 2016, the survey reported LGBTQ+ students, disabled students and students of color were all less likely to find people on campus they felt comfortable socializing and studying with on campus. These groups also felt UW was not committed enough to diversity initiatives at the time of the survey.
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Lee said there isn’t an exact timeline for when the next Campus Climate Survey will go out, but there are plans to regularly poll students on these issues.
Finally, Lee said that after feedback from students about the 2016 survey, modifications were made to the questions and format for the 2021 survey.
According to the Office of the Provost’s website for Academic Planning and Institutional Research, there was a 21% response rate for the 2016 survey.
Anyone with questions regarding the survey can contact UW Survey Center Project Director Nathan Jones through the email address [email protected].
