Du What Matters: Assessment of Climate for Learning, Working and Living

Defining Climate

Climate on a college campus refers to the ways in which individuals and groups experience membership in the campus community—in other words, what it’s like to be you at Drake. The term encompasses the degree to which you and others feel included or excluded in all aspects of life at Drake—from interpersonal relationships and professional interactions to learning environment and informal conversations. This effort defines climate as the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of employees and students concerning the access for, inclusion of, and level of respect for individual and group needs, abilities, and potential.

Why a Climate Survey?

Drake University values diversity as an institutional strength that encompasses a broad range of human differences. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion acknowledges the role Drake University can play in redressing historic injustices that result in continued marginalization of members of specific groups, and seeks to understand and respond to contemporary calls for inclusivity as necessitated by social justice. Drake University moves past mere tolerance of diversity and creates a culture of inclusion that sees diversity of identities, backgrounds, and ideas as fundamental to our excellence and success as an institution.

Drake’s commitment to equity and inclusion, coupled with our core values including “Generosity of Spirit” compels our community to continue our efforts to become a more welcoming and inclusive campus. Benefits of this effort include:

• Students, faculty, and staff will feel comfortable, safe, and accepted on campus.
• Diverse, intercultural experiences that provide students an excellent educational experience and the preparation for an increasingly heterogeneous workplace and multicultural world.
• A positive work environment for faculty and staff, one where new ideas and diverse perspectives are respected and encouraged.
• An elevated reputation, increasing the value of a Drake degree.

Purpose

You are invited to participate in a survey of students, faculty, staff and administrators regarding the climate at Drake University. Climate refers to the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of employees and students concerning the access for, inclusion of, and level of respect for individual and group needs, abilities, and potential. Your responses will inform our community about your experiences at Drake University and help identify ways to improve the environment for learning, living, and working.

Procedures

Procedures (on-line version)

You will be asked to complete an online survey. Your participation is confidential.

Please answer the questions as openly and honestly as possible. You may skip questions. The survey will take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete and must be completed in one sitting. If you close your browser, you will lose any responses you previously entered. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. Please note that you can choose to withdraw your responses at any time before you submit your answers. The survey results will be submitted directly to web-based survey hosted by the Iowa State University Research Group and accessible to the external consultants (Iowa State University research team). Any computer identification that might identify participants is deleted from the submissions. Any comments provided by participants are also separated at submission so that comments are not attributed to any individual demographic characteristics. These comments will be analyzed using content analysis. Anonymous quotes from submitted comments will be used throughout the report to give “voice” to the quantitative data.

Procedures (paper and pencil version)

You will be asked to complete the attached survey. Your participation is confidential. Please answer the questions as openly and honestly as possible. You may skip questions. The survey will take between 15 and 30 minutes to complete. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate. When you have completed the survey, please return it directly to the external consultants (Iowa State University Research Group) using the enclosed envelope. Any comments provided by participants are also separated at submission so that comments are not attributed to any demographic characteristics. These comments will be analyzed using content analysis. Anonymous quotes from submitted comments will also be used throughout the report to give “voice” to the quantitative data.

Discomforts and Risks

There are no anticipated risks in participating in this assessment beyond those experienced in everyday life. Some of the questions are personal and might cause discomfort. In the event that any questions asked are disturbing, you may skip any questions or stop responding to the survey at any time. If you experience any discomfort in responding to these questions and would like to speak with someone or review relevant policies please contact:

Students

Student Health Center
www.drake.edu/health
515-271-3731
 
Counseling Center
www.drake.edu/counselingcenter
515-271-3864

Faculty/Staff

Employee Family Resources 515-244-6090
800-327-4692
TTY:877-542-6488

Benefits

The results of the survey will inform our community about your experiences at Drake University and help identify ways to improve the environment for learning, living, and working.

Voluntary Participation

Participation in this assessment is voluntary. If you decide to participate, you do not have to answer any questions on the survey that you do not wish to answer. Individuals will not be identified and only group data will be reported (e.g., the analysis will include only aggregate data). Please note that you can choose to withdraw your responses at any time before you submit your answers. Refusal to take part in this assessment will involve no penalty or loss of student or employee benefits.

Statement of Confidentiality for Participation

In the event of any publication or presentation resulting from the assessment, no personally identifiable information will be shared. Your confidentiality in participating will be kept to the degree permitted by the technology used (e.g., IP addresses will be stripped when the survey is submitted). The survey is run on a firewalled web server with forced 256-bit SSL security. In addition, the external consultant (Iowa State University Research Group) will not report any group data for groups of fewer than 5 individuals that may be small enough to compromise confidentiality. Instead, the consultant will combine the groups to eliminate any potential for demographic information to be identifiable. Please also remember that you do not have to answer any question or questions about which you are uncomfortable. The survey has been approved by the Drake University Institutional Review Board.

Statement of Anonymity for Comments

Upon submission, all comments from participants will be de-identified to make those comments anonymous. Thus, participant comments will not be attributable to their author. However, depending on what you say, others who know you may be able to attribute certain comments to you. In instances where certain comments might be attributable to an individual, the Iowa State University Research Group will make every effort to de-identify those comments or will remove the comments from the analyses. The anonymous comments will be analyzed using content analysis. In order to give “voice” to the quantitative data, some anonymous comments may be quoted in publications related to this survey.

Right to Ask Questions

You can ask questions about this assessment in confidence. Questions concerning this project should be directed to:

Erin Lain

Associate Provost, Campus Equity & Inclusion/Associate Professor of Law

erin.lain@drake.edu

515-271-2040

Questions regarding the survey process may be directed to:

Kevin Saunders

Director of Institutional Research and Assessment

kevin.saunders@drake.edu

515-271-1984

Questions concerning the rights of participants:

Research at Drake University that involves human participants is carried out under the oversight of an Institutional Review Board. Questions or problems regarding these activities should be addressed to:

Institutional Review Board

irb@drake.edu

515-271-3472

PLEASE PRINT A COPY OF THIS CONSENT DOCUMENT FOR YOUR RECORDS, OR IF YOU DO NOT HAVE PRINT CAPABILITIES, YOU MAY CONTACT THE RESEARCHER TO OBTAIN A COPY

If you agree to take part in this assessment, as described in detail in the preceding paragraphs, please click on the “Continue” button below. By clicking on the “Continue” button, you will indicate your consent to participate in this study.