Campus Diversity Climate Surveys
Campus Diversity Climate Survey 2023
The Campus Diversity Climate Survey pertains to diversity, inclusion, and overall environment from the perspective of faculty, staff, and students. These surveys were administered in 2017 and 2020 and will be used as benchmarks to assess changes over time. This study will measure perceptions of climate, including inclusiveness, friendliness, cooperation, support, and opportunities for career advancement and academic success.
Fall 2023 Campus Diversity Climate Survey Schedule
- Survey Launches: Tuesday, September 5.
- Survey Closes: Monday, October 2.
A summary report will be made available in December 2023. Colleges may also request reports for their students, faculty, and staff, given a sufficient response rate.
Campus Climate Survey 2020
The Campus Climate Survey in 2020 pertained to diversity, inclusion, and overall environment from the perspective of faculty, staff, and students. Our first climate survey that took place in 2017 was used as a benchmark. This study measured perceptions of climate, including inclusiveness, friendliness, cooperation, support, and opportunities for career advancement and academic success, and also compared to the original survey two years before.
The full reports can be found here: 2020 Diversity Climate Surveys
Campus Climate Survey 2017
In 2017, the President’s Advisory Council on Diversity conducted Baylor’s first campus climate survey administered by the Survey Research Laboratory. In addition to the survey, SRL conducted 14 focus groups with faculty, staff, and students in 2016 to help determine the key issues that should be included in the survey instrument.
Separate survey instruments were used for faculty, staff, and students to ensure that the key components would be specific for each group. The full reports can be found here.
Summary of Survey Findings
The faculty, staff, and students at Baylor University each reported having generally positive perceptions of the campus climate.
Faculty
- Faculty were most satisfied with the climate in their primary department/unit and with their job in general, and least satisfied with the climate in their school or college, although the differences are small.
- Perceptions of professional work environment and fairness & resource allocation are most important to ratings of overall campus climate for faculty. Both of these areas are considered strengths for Baylor.
- Among faculty, promotion decisions, opportunities for career advancement, and allocation of space and equipment received low satisfaction ratings.
- Other findings indicate that women and nonwhite faculty perceive gender and race discrimination as larger problems than do white male faculty. They also are less satisfied with their professional work environment and the diversity of the student body.
Staff
- Among staff, there was little variability in perceptions across dimensions of campus climate, indicating staff are equally positive about all aspect of overall climate.
- Perceptions of inclusion and personal identity and professional work environment were most important to staff ratings of overall campus climate. While the former is a strength, the latter is an area of concern.
- Among staff, professional work environment is strongly related to satisfaction with the institution’s overall climate, pointing to an obvious area for improvement. In particular, staff are not satisfied with their opportunities for advancement, having a say in shaping their work environment, being recognized for their contributions, and do not have confidence that they can file a complaint without negative consequences.
Students
- Students rated the overall climate at Baylor University to be good and indicated that they would strongly recommend Baylor to other students.
- Perceptions of belonging and satisfaction with diversity were most important to student ratings of overall campus climate. The former is an overall strength for Baylor, while the latter is an area of concern.
- The results of the student survey reveal one consistent finding that Baylor Administration could address—African American students and students who do not identify as Christians consistently give lower ratings to the climate at Baylor. African American students are the only group whose rating of overall campus climate falls beneath the threshold that distinguishes strengths from areas of concern. Similarly, overall climate is an area of strength for Christian students, but not for agnostics or students with no specific religious identity. Although belonging is important to overall climate and is an area of strength overall, for African American students and non-Christians, it is an area of concern. Satisfaction with diversity is an important correlate of overall climate and is an area of concern for all students. In particular, students are not satisfied with the diversity in academic settings and residence halls. In addition, they do not rate Baylor high on inclusiveness or political/ideological diversity.
All results from the 2017 Campus Climate Survey can be accessed below:
Baylor Academic and Work Environment Survey: Executive Summary