2024 CT State Campus Climate Survey Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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.

As we close out our first year as an institution, there is no better time to pause and reflect. This specific campus survey has two purposes:

1. To set a baseline that helps us understand how our students, faculty and staff are feeling about our institution.
2. To provide data for campuses and CT State as a whole, to develop action plans and processes that enhance a sense of belonging among our students, faculty and staff.

The campus DEI/Equity teams provide information to and advise the Campus Climate Unit (CCU) on the status of local diversity, equity and civil rights. The CCU at CT State provides centralized advocacy, coordination, direction and representation in areas related to diversity, equity and civil rights. The unit works with different sources on campus to foster communication across all 12 campuses. Find your local campus DEI/Equity coordinator. 

It is administered by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI). More information about HERI can be found on their website at https://heri.ucla.edu.

A healthy or positive campus climate survey is necessary to understand and improve the overall experience of the CT State community. The quality of interactions between numerous groups, such as students and faculty, can facilitate the beneficial shaping of the campuses. Conducting a campus climate survey at CT State originated from students, faculty and staff who expressed interest in learning how to improve the overall climate and experiences of attending CT State. Regular climate surveys are also mandated by the state to accurately provide data on the occurrences and responses to sexual misconduct. At CT State, we believe a truly equitable campus is free of sexual harassment and misconduct.

Measuring and monitoring the climate of a given campus requires a collaborative effort that can be engaged in a variety of ways by various stakeholders. At CT State, the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) works with campus DEI coordinators and their local teams to offer a range of regular events, education and training, and cultural experiences. They also identify opportunities for collaboration, expose gaps in inclusion and equity, and receive and distribute resources from the Campus Climate Unit and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

The data from each question received after the survey is completed will be carefully analyzed. We will review the answers to each question and compare them among all participants.

All students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in this survey. All members of the CT State system deserve a place where they can feel safe spending their days (and even evenings), a place they can feel proud to work and study, whether they are students, faculty or staff. The surveys were chosen to capture data from each unique stakeholder group.

You can expect to begin receiving messages about the survey during the first week of April. The survey will be administered on April 8 and remain open throughout the month. All HERI surveys nationwide must be closed by the end of April to benefit from the insights of national data against which to judge norms, allowing us to conduct benchmarking against similar institutions and compare our results with our peers. Systemwide results will be delivered to CT State in the summer (preliminary results will arrive in May and be finalized in July). They will then be distributed to each campus so that the Campus Equity Teams can develop a diversity action plan, which is slated to roll out in the fall.

The survey results will give a good indication of how well students, faculty and staff across CT State campuses feel included. These results can help us find better ways to respond to the needs that were reported/shared.

Without the students, faculty and staff taking the time to complete the climate survey, no true change can happen. All participants in this survey are truly appreciated and one response can make a difference.

The survey can be found via an email that all CT State students, faculty and staff have received. Each person will receive a personal link to take the survey. You can search for the survey with the title CT State Climate Survey.

This survey is a great opportunity for community members to engage in dialogue on what equity, diversity and inclusion truly are and how much impact they have on college campuses. For specific details on the climate survey being conducted or issues you run into while taking the survey, you may contact your campus Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion coordinator.

Spreading the word is important as it helps individuals participating in the survey to be ready when the survey arrives as well as understand how crucial they are for any changes happening at the college. The best way to spread the word is by speaking to other students, faculty and staff about the survey and referring them to this FAQ page.

Yes, along with CT State leadership, the DEI Equity Team will work with local campus DEI committees to assist with implementing intervention recommendations after the data has been studied/reviewed.

We understand how important a participant’s time is and that many participants have outside factors that they need to focus on while at work or school, so this survey can be taken at any time through the link provided in the school email portal.

Climate surveys are extremely important for the college's overall growth so yes, other climate surveys will be conducted in the future. However, this first survey will be where your voice matters right now, so taking the time to be a part of it is important.

If there are current issues you feel need to be addressed on your campus before, during or after the survey takes place, please speak with your Guided Pathway advisor or a faculty or staff that you trust. They can point you to different important resources on your campus that can help with the specific problems you may experience. Systemwide, the CT State DEI office includes the Campus Climate Units as well as the Office of Equity & Civil Rights, Disability and Accessibility Support and Title IX. We work closely with campus CARE Teams and deans to address a wide variety of concerns. Contact any of us or another advisor/faculty/staff you trust.

Each campus has a DEI/Equity coordinator who serves as advisor and liaison to the CT State DEI office. They also coordinate committees that will review and direct action for student action plans. They will review and make recommendations to the CEO on faculty and staff numbers. Dr Khristian Kemp-Delisser, Director of Campus Climate and Dr Sara Nightingale (Eastern CT State University) will work with the campus equity teams to develop action plans.

Each campus CEO will work with members of the CT State Faculty Senate to commission a group on each campus to review and respond to the results of the faculty and staff surveys. We have also contracted with ATD (https://achievingthedream.org/) to offer help with data analysis and plan development.

No. No metadata, IP addresses, or other identifiable information will be shared with CT State or the CSCU. This ensures the highest level of data protection and confidentiality for the respondents. At the beginning of the planning process, campus DEI committees will receive final reports, including qualitative comments, from the vendor (HERI).

Campus DEI coordinators/committees will have “real-time” access to the response rates. They are best positioned to monitor completion rates and then propose strategies to encourage survey completion.

The main committees reviewing student data will be the campus DEI/Equity committees. Each campus has its own charter, structure and membership. This project provides a unique opportunity to bring attention to the work of these teams and a chance to join them if you are so inspired.

This effort to gather a baseline of data for our DEI/Equity committees follows the work that began in the fall of 2023. A number of interventions have been completed thus far to enable this step.

A summary of those previous steps:

CT State provided the names and email for every “active status” student, faculty and staff member under contract/registered for the Spring 2024 semester to the third party administering the survey. The decision to use a third party to dispense the survey and handle the data produced stems from faculty/staff/students expressing distrust or dissolution with the merger process. The climate survey attempts to measure one’s feeling of belonging at CT State.

 We recognize that there is still great potential for our campus plans to benefit from the data shared by our community. Every voice really does matter and we have already acknowledged those plans would need to include internal “checks and balances,” including additional focus groups targeting folks who we know may have been underrepresented and who’s experience we would like to unpack or explore further in a more qualitative way that preserves depth and context as opposed to the high-level composite or thematic answers that one produces from a quantitative survey.

CT State uses a variety of methods to ensure that research conducted on or on behalf of our campus communities will protect our faculty, students and staff.

These methods include:

• There is only one way to participate in this survey: You must click on the link that was uniquely created for you. Please do not share or pass along a link that someone else received. The unique link makes your answers confidential, not anonymous.
• A small amount of trusted CT State agents within IT, Human resources, and DEI can identify the names and emails of the individuals we provided to HERI. Only names and emails were provided, which are considered “directory information.”
• The contract between HERI and CT State was thoroughly reviewed and approved by the CT Attorney General’s Office. HERI was required to agree to the strictest standards to keep your data secure and to only allow qualified and relevant campus affiliates or HERI researchers to access the data. Additionally, the CT State IRB Director has approved the use of the tool and methods.
• All new employees to the system must receive training on workplace ethics around data treatment and recognizing bias.
• POST-SURVEY: HERI will provide reports of the data, including comparisons and recommendations that apply across the system and on campuses. These reports will only share responses and perceptions that have been scrubbed of identifying information. Additionally, the answers to written short answer responses are not immediately released to CT State; they are sequestered as HERI conducts its analysis of the quantifiable data. When the qualitative data is released, it will have been stripped of specific names or identifiable information.