Shenandoah University strives to educate and inspire individuals to become critical, reflective thinkers. An aspect of making this a reality is ensuring the institution has created an inclusive environment characterized by respect of diverse cultures, experiences and perspectives, and equitable access for all students, faculty and staff. The campus climate survey is designed to evaluate the experience of all Shenandoah University community members and assist the institution in determining the necessary steps to create an environment of compassion, responsibility, advocacy and justice.
Dear members of our Shenandoah University community,
One of the defining features of our Shenandoah University community is respect for diversity, in both experience and opinion. It’s the basis of our PRIDE (President’s Representatives on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity) Committee, as well as abundant Inclusion, Diversity and Equity efforts across the university. PRIDE has now recommended that members of the university offer additional perspectives through the university’s second Campus Climate Survey.
Participating in this survey is an opportunity to use your voice to speak volumes on behalf of our university community.
You can complete the survey, created to best suit the Shenandoah community’s needs, in less than 20 minutes. Your answers will assist in helping PRIDE and the university itself understand the diverse perspectives and experiences of faculty, staff and students. By completing the survey, you will also assist Shenandoah in meeting our Strategic Plan goals for building a world-class learning environment, and deepening and expanding the university’s commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Survey participants will not be identifiable as individuals, and all answers will remain confidential. Additionally, results will only be reported in group form through findings presented by the university’s Office of Institutional Research. The survey will be followed by focus group discussions informed by the survey, as well as actions that support an equitable and inclusive campus climate.
This survey has been designed to provide us all with a better picture of our university community. Please complete the survey by Tuesday, Nov. 15, knowing that it will only help Shenandoah continue growing better and brighter with every successive year. Thank you.
Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D.
President, Shenandoah University
What is campus climate?
Campus climate is defined as the current attitudes, behaviors, standards and practices of employees and students of an institution that influence the access for, inclusion of and level of respect for individual and group needs, abilities and potential.”
Why the implementation?
Shenandoah’s 2025 Strategic Plan outlines several themes, one of which is to Build/Create A World Class Learning Environment. In order to do this effectively, the institution has identified a need to deepen and expand our commitment to inclusion and diversity. We will launch our second campus climate survey with 2 main goals:
- Gather information to adequately understand the diverse perspectives and experiences of faculty, staff and students.
- Utilize survey results to inform action-focused outcomes to improve the Shenandoah community.
Why is my participation important?
Your participation is vital in helping us create an inclusive space for all cultures and people. Participating in the survey allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the perspectives at the institution, which can deepen our ability to foster educational and inspirational opportunities.
What is the timeline?
Survey Released
All members of the Shenandoah Community were able to access the campus climate survey from October 1 to November 15, 2022.
Survey Closed
The last day to take the survey was November 15, 2022.
Results Analyzed
Data received from the survey will be analyzed beginning December 2022.
How are the survey questions developed?
The PRIDE (President’s Representatives on Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity) Committee was created in 2018. This group of voices from across the institution, led by both Student Life and Academic Affairs, is a collaborative model for addressing inclusion and diversity campuswide. After review of our 2018 campus climate survey and research and review of other campus climate survey models, PRIDE recommended survey questions and design to Institutional Research. Through this partnership, a survey was finalized to best suit the needs of the Shenandoah community.
Is the survey confidential?
The purpose of the survey is to receive candid feedback from participants. Confidentiality is essential to ensuring this can occur. The survey is 100% voluntary and all questions are optional.
The survey includes a wide range of demographic questions, allowing results to be broken out into multiple categories. When understanding campus climate, it is vital that we are able to break results down into categories that will allow us to understand how the experiences of our community members might differ according to their race, religion, sexual orientation, and more. Analyzing the results will provide data that will allow us to better serve the campus community as a whole as well as populations with specific needs.
Be assured that you will not be identifiable as an individual; all of your answers will remain confidential and the results will be reported in group form only.
Who will have access to my responses?
All responses to this survey will be kept confidential. Institutional Research will be the only ones to collect, review and analyze the data.
How much time will it take to complete the survey?
The survey is approximately 35 questions and will take about 15-20 minutes to complete. Students, Faculty, Staff, and Administrators will receive an email with their participation link.
What will happen after the results are submitted?
The purpose of the Campus Climate Survey is to identify ways to deepen and expand Shenandoah’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. The President’s Representatives on Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (PRIDE) Committee will assess the findings provided by Institutional Research. Next, PRIDE will host focus groups in the Spring semester of 2023 to further understand the campus climate based on areas of inquiry from the survey results. This information will be used to identify and prioritize action-focused initiatives necessary to support an equitable, inclusive campus climate.
How will the community be informed of the ongoing initiatives based on survey results?
A report highlighting significant results will be released and this website will contain up-to-date information. The report will include areas of strength, areas of improvement, recent initiatives that support the findings, and the future direction and initiatives that will be implemented.
Who can I contact with questions about the survey?
For technical assistance
Teresa Masiello | tmasiell@su.edu
For project-related questions
Michele Pye & Ashley Smeltzer-Kraft | diversity@su.edu