Campus Climate Survey
2012 Reed College Climate Survey Results
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Purpose of the Survey
To examine the learning, living, and working environment at Reed College.
Project Background Information
The Campus Climate Survey was a project undertaken by the Office for Institutional Diversity to assess the “current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of faculty, staff, administrators, and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities, and potential” at Reed.[1]
Assessing how members of our community experience Reed’s social and academic climate has better enabled us to both develop programs and policies that will increase inclusivity in areas that are shown to be problematic and enhance and replicate programs and policies in areas which are shown to be successfully meeting the needs of the community.
The college contracted Rankin & Associates to help lead this effort. Dr. Rankin has led more than 70 campus climate surveys in her over 35 years in the academy. She is faculty at Penn State University and her research focuses on climate assessment.
Project Scope of the Work
Generally, there are three dominant stages of development for the survey: creating the survey, implementing the survey, and assessing the data and developing strategic actions based on the survey results.
Spring 2012—Creating the Survey Instrument
During this stage the Campus Climate Working Group (CCWG) met weekly to develop the survey instrument. In order to craft the most Reed-specific survey possible, 16 focus groups were created to assist the CCWG in developing the survey questions. Trained facilitators from Rankin & Associates led the focus groups, and the qualitative information gleaned from the groups helped the CCWG further tailor the survey to Reed. Information provided by focus group participants were treated with respect and names of focus group members remain confidential. It is important to note that the focus groups are not the survey and participants of the focus groups were only providing information about their experiences at Reed; they were not speaking on behalf of any group or subgroup of people. It is also important to note that while we were not able to have focus groups on every area of interest to us, we did have qualitative information from many members of our community.
Fall 2012—Implementation of the Survey
Once the survey instrument was completed, it was distributed electronically to all members of the Reed community. For those members of the community who do not have access to an internet-connected computer, we provided a space on campus where the survey could be taken and we provided paper-based surveys.
Spring 2013—Assessing the Data and Developing Recommendations
Following the survey administration, Rankin & Associates assessed the data and facilitated a discussion regarding the development of strategic actions. The Campus Climate Working Group took those recommendations and developed an action-plan. The results of the survey were presented to the entire community.
Campus Climate Working Group (CCWG)
The project was led by the dean for institutional diversity with the help of the members of the Campus Climate Working Group (CCWG). Members of the CCWG signed confidentiality agreements to ensure that sensitive material related to the composition of the focus groups remains confidential. CCWG members are:Santi Alston (Student Life)
Amber Appleton (Human Resources)
Caitlin Bergeon (Office for Institutional Diversity)
Mike Brody (Vice President/Dean of Student Life)
Arthur Glasfeld (Professor of Chemistry)
Doris Hall (Facilities Services)
Connie Helleson (Human Resources)
Charlene Makley (Associate Professor of Anthropology)
Nora McLaughlin (Registrar)
Brian Moore (Student)
Kathy Oleson (Professor of Psychology)
Melissa Osborne (Student)
Sonia Sabnis (Assistant Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Studies & Humanities)
Mike Tamada (Institutional Research)
Michelle Valintis (Human Resources)
Crystal Williams (Chair; Dean for Institutional Diversity)