Frequently Asked Questions

What is a “campus climate”?

Campus climate refers to “the current attitudes, behaviors and standards of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities and potential” (Hurtado, 1992; Rankin, 2001). The climate is often shaped through personal experiences, perceptions and institutional efforts.

Why is a positive climate important?

Previous research shows that positive personal experiences with campus climate and positive perceptions of campus climate generally equate with successful outcomes. Example successful outcomes include positive educational experiences and healthy identity development for students, productivity and sense of value for faculty and staff, and overall well-being for all.

Why is Smith conducting climate surveys?

• Support Smith’s mission to provide an exceptional environment for learning, living and working.
• Bolster Smith’s goal to be an inclusive community
• Understand and address the needs of historically underserved and underrepresented members of our community
• Surface the experiences of all members of our community
• Provide Smith College with a comprehensive data guide and assess current strategies of inclusion, diversity and equity planning
• Provide comprehensive data to support the creation of new action items to improve the campus climate

Who will be conducting the surveys?

The surveys will be conducted through a collaboration between the Office for Equity and Inclusion, the Office of Institutional Research, and the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles. HERI will aid with development and implementation. The Office of Institutional Research and the Office for Equity and Inclusion will be responsible for interpretation of the survey and its results.

How were the questions developed?

The student Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) survey, HERI Staff Climate Survey (SCS), and HERI Faculty Survey were developed and administered by the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

CIRP is a national longitudinal study of the American higher education system. CIRP is now the nation’s oldest and largest empirical study of higher education—involving data of approximately 1,900 institutions—and is considered the most comprehensive source of information on college students.

Why do some demographic questions contain a very large number of response options?

It is important in campus climate research for survey participants to “see” themselves in response choices to prevent “othering” an individual or an individual’s characteristics. Some researchers maintain that assigning someone to the status of “other” is a form of marginalization and should be minimized, particularly in campus climate research which has an intended purpose of inclusiveness. Along these lines, survey respondents will see a long list of possible choices for many demographic questions. However, it is reasonably impossible to include every possible choice to every question, but the goal is to reduce the number of respondents who must choose “other.”

What is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process for this study?

The primary investigators from Smith for the IRB process are Lidia Ortiz Zamora, Inclusion and Research Analyst, and Floyd Cheung, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion. An IRB application will be separately submitted for the students, staff, and faculty population. Once approved, the surveys will be administered.

What will be done with data from the results?

Although we believe the survey process itself is informative, we have sought and received commitment from the President and senior leaders that data will be used to plan for an improved climate at Smith. For example, data will inform Racial Justice Action Planning for All Units and equity and inclusion strategic planning more generally.

What is the response rate goal?

Target participation in the survey is all students, faculty and staff at Smith. Every response matters and is valuable in providing the most beneficial feedback and results.

How is a respondent’s confidentiality protected?

Confidentiality is vital to the success of campus climate research, particularly as sensitive and personal topics are discussed. While the survey cannot guarantee complete confidentiality because of the nature of multiple demographic questions, HERI and the Office of Institutional Research will take multiple precautionary measures to enhance individual confidentiality and the de-identification of data. No data already protected through regulation or policy (e.g., Social Security number, medical information) is obtained through the survey. In the event of any presentation resulting from the assessment, no personally identifiable information will be shared.

The college will not report any group data for groups of fewer than five individuals, because those “small cell sizes” may be small enough to compromise confidentiality. Instead, the college will combine the groups or take other measures to eliminate any potential for demographic information to be identifiable. Identifiable information submitted in qualitative comments will be redacted. Participation in the survey is completely voluntary, and participants do not have to answer any question and can skip any other questions they consider to be uncomfortable.

What protections are in place for storage of sensitive data?

HERI will provide Smith with the data files in the summer of 2023. Data will be stored on the Office of Institutional Research Office’s secure server.

Why is this a population survey and not a sample survey?

Surveys will be administered to all faculty, staff and students at Smith. Climate exists in micro-climates, so creating opportunities to maximize participation is important as well as maximizing opportunities to reach minority populations. Along these lines, random sampling may result in us “missing” particular populations where numbers are very small (e.g., Native American faculty). Since one goal of the project is inclusiveness and allowing invisible “voices” to be heard, this sampling technique is not used. In addition, randomized stratified sampling is not used given we do not have population data on most identities. For example, Smith collects population data on gender and race/ethnicity, but not on disability status or sexual orientation. So a sample approach could miss many groups.

What is the timeline?

The initiative will include three phases of data collection. The student Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) survey implementation in November; HERI Faculty Survey Implementation in December, and the HERI Staff Climate Survey (SCS) implementation in Spring 2023. Smith will obtain all survey data from HERI in the summer of 2023, when data analysis will begin. Reporting of results will begin Fall 2023.

Feedback

Your questions and comments are very important as we move through this process. Please share by contacting Floyd Cheung, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion.