Campus Inclusion Climate Survey: Student Experiences of Inclusion
Students responded to two questions about how well our institution and campus leadership promote inclusion on campus.
Key Findings
- Most students across groups (main campus and ROCE, undergraduates and graduates, BIPOC students) are positive about the promotion of racial/multicultural interaction between different groups on campus as well as the promotion of diversity and inclusion by campus leadership.
- It is notable that whereas our main campus BIPOC students reported a lower average as compared to other students with regard to the promotion of racial/cultural interaction between different groups at the institutional level, they did feel as though promoting diversity and inclusion is important to campus leadership more so than other students.
Where averages are provided for BIPOC students, BIPOC refers to students who selected African American/Black, Asian America, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous/Native American, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and/or Multiracial as one or more responses to “What is your race/ethnicity?” Both undergraduate and graduate students from the main campus and ROCE are included in this group.
"How well does our institution promote racial/cultural interaction between different groups?"
| Main Campus | ROCE | |
|---|---|---|
| I don't know | 35 (7.5%) | 17 (13.5%) |
| Not at all | 42 (9.0%) | 9 (7.1%) |
| Not very well | 95 (20.3%) | 11 (8.7%) |
| Somewhat | 196 (41.9%) | 47 (37.3%) |
| Very well | 100 (21.4%) | 42 (33.3%) |
| Total | 468 | 126 |
Note: Not at all = 1, Not very well = 2, Somewhat = 3, Very well = 4; “I don’t know” responses were not included in the average scores.
Overall mean = 3.63
Undergraduate mean = 3.66
Graduate mean = 3.47
BIPOC mean = 3.51
ROCE mean = 3.7
"How important, in your opinion, is promoting diversity and inclusion to the campus leadership (i.e., president, vice-presidents, Board of Trustees, etc.)?"
| Main Campus | ROCE | |
|---|---|---|
| I don't know | 20 (4.3%) | 5 (3.9%) |
| Not at all important | 15 (3.2%) | 3 (2.4%) |
| Not that important | 28 (6.0%) | 4 (3.1%) |
| Somewhat important | 105 (22.4%) | 30 (23.6%) |
| Very important | 300 (64.1%) | 85 (66.9%) |
| Total | 468 | 127 |
Note: Not at all important = 1, Not that important = 2, Somewhat important = 3, Very important = 4; “I don’t know” responses were not included in the average scores.
Overall mean = 4.41
Undergraduate mean = 4.39
Graduate mean = 4.38
BIPOC mean = 4.55
ROCE mean = 4.47
Summary
There are very few instances where students as a whole disagreed with statements that they feel they belong on campus, feel comfortable being open with their identity or viewpoint on campus, identify the value and promotion of inclusion and multiculturalism on campus, and feel safe. However, there were some notable differences between groups of students; for example, ROCE students reported more positive responses overall, and undergraduate students on the main campus tended to be more positive than graduate students. Student groups based on identities such as race, gender, or sexual orientation also differed. Occasionally, these groups would dip below the overall agreement level, alerting us that work still needs to be done to improve the campus experiences of students within these groups. It is also important to note that within all groups, there were students who disagreed or strongly disagreed with positive statements about the campus climate and a notable percentage of students reported experiencing or witnessing discrimination/bias/harassment on the basis of various identities or statuses.
