Campus Climate Units
The Campus Climate Unit (CCU) provides strategic advice, guidance, direction, and local campus representation in areas related to diversity, equity, and civil rights. The CCU works to create a positive climate within and across our twelve campuses and ensures two-way communication between the CT State administrative offices and the twelve campuses. The CCU also works with the Human Resources Department and the Professional Development Unit to develop and launch diversity, equity, and inclusion orientations, trainings, and conferences. Finally, the CCU leads the biennium campus climate survey and subsequent CT State and campus action plans resulting in the formulation of diversity, equity, and civil rights goals and objectives for CT State.
What is Campus Climate?
At CT State we define “campus climate” as the current attitudes, behaviors and standards of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities and potential. In this context, respect for human diversity is a crucial aspect of campus climate and includes both to the individual experiences of our multiple stakeholders and the quality and interactions between groups on our campuses.
What Does a Climate Survey Assessment Measure?
Campus climate assessments in higher education measure the extent to which all students, faculty, staff and visitors—regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability—feel welcomed, valued and supported in their work, studies or research.
What will happen once the Climate Study occurs?
Every two years CT State will conduct a systemwide campus climate study, which will serve as the starting point for campus-based diversity and inclusion plans.
How Do We Measure Campus Climate?
This project will be comprised of unique surveys for three different populations: staff, faculty, and students.
The undergraduate student survey assesses the institutional diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) climate, campus practices, learning outcomes and the prevalence of sexual assault. Supplemental modules include:
- the classroom climate module
- transfer module
- spirituality module
- intergroup relations model
- and transition to major module.
The staff survey focuses on DEI perceptions and experiences of college and university staff and the faculty survey assesses different dimensions of faculty’s personal and professional lives as a means to understand their experience and unique perspectives of campus climate.
