- What is campus climate?
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Campus climate is the shared atmosphere and daily experience of life at the university. It reflects the attitudes, behaviors, standards and practices that shape how people feel on campus, including the level of respect for individual needs, abilities and potential.
Respect is a core value at UMass Lowell. Campus climate includes both individual interactions and the systems and policies that influence those interactions. A healthy climate is one in which equity, transparency, fairness, safety and inclusion are valued so that all members of the community can fully engage and thrive.
- Why is a positive climate important?
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- Positive experiences and positive perceptions of campus climate are closely linked to successful outcomes.
- For students, research shows that how they experience their campus environment affects their learning, development and sense of belonging. Students do better in environments where they feel respected, treated fairly and free from discrimination.
- For faculty and staff, climate affects satisfaction, productivity and well-being. Studies of workplaces show that discrimination and unfair treatment are associated with negative job attitudes and stress, while healthy environments support professional growth and commitment.
Creating a health campus climate is important for everyone who studies, teaches or works at UMass Lowell.
- Why is UMass Lowell conducting a climate survey?
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To strengthen campus climate, the university needs an honest picture of what people are experiencing. The climate survey gathers information about how students, faculty and staff perceive the campus environment, where they feel supported and where they encounter barriers.
Survey results help identify patterns across groups and departments, highlight strengths to build on and point to areas that need attention. This evidence supports planning, resource allocation and concrete actions to improve policies, practices and everyday interactions across the university.
UMass Lowell conducted its first university wide climate survey in November 2022 and is now conducting a second survey to track progress and guide next steps.
- Who is conducting the survey?
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The Campus Community Survey is sponsored by the Council for Social Justice and Inclusion (CSJI) in partnership with the Office of Data Analytics and Institutional Research (DAIR) and the ADVANCE Office of Faculty Equity & Resilience (OFER) team.
The first community survey in 2022 was administered by Insight Viewfinder. The second survey will be administered by Regina Villa Associates, an independent consulting firm that will manage survey distribution, data collection and initial analysis.
UMass Lowell students, faculty, staff and administrators will each receive a personal survey link so that they can complete the survey at a convenient time.
- Why was there an external vendor selected?
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Working with an independent firm helps create conditions where people feel comfortable sharing their honest experiences. An external administrator offers expertise in survey design and analysis and provides distance from the institution that can increase trust and response rates.
Some members of a campus community may feel hesitant to respond fully to a survey administered directly by their own institution. When an independent organization manages the process, it reduces concerns that individual responses could affect a person’s standing at the university and increases the credibility of the findings.
- How is a respondent's confidentiality protected?
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Protecting confidentiality is essential to the success of the climate survey.
The survey will ask some demographic questions so that patterns and gaps can be understood, but it does not ask for names or university identification numbers. The survey administrator keeps individual responses on secure servers. UMass Lowell employees do not have access to individual survey responses.
Reports shared with the university summarize results in aggregate form. Data for very small groups will not be reported separately to ensure individuals are not identifiable. Any information that could reveal a person’s identity in open text comments will be removed before results are shared.
Participation is voluntary, and respondents may skip any questions they do not wish to answer.
- Does sharing student emails to Viewfinder for survey invitations violate FERPA?
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No. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA permits schools to share information from student records with organizations that are conducting certain studies on behalf of the institution, as long as appropriate safeguards are in place.
UMass Lowell provides the survey administrator with student email addresses only for the purpose of sending survey invitations and reminders. The administrator is required to protect this information and to use it only for the community survey. Individual survey responses are not shared with the university in a way that identifies campus members.
- What will be done with data from the results?
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The Chancellor and senior leaders are committed to using the community survey data to guide action, not simply to report findings.
Results will inform university and departmental plans to strengthen campus climate. Examples include identifying practices that are working well and should be expanded, removing barriers that groups may encounter, improving communication and support and aligning resources with demonstrated needs.
Findings will be shared with the campus community in accessible formats. Units across the university will be encouraged to use the data to inform their own planning and to track progress over time.
- Are Regina Villa Associates (RVA) surveys accessible?
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The university is committed to providing an accessible survey experience for all participants. The climate survey will be offered on a platform that meets or exceeds Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 standards for accessibility. The survey is designed to work with commonly used screen readers and other assistive technologies.
There are no required questions, and navigation is simple and consistent throughout. If you encounter any accessibility concerns or need an accommodation to complete the survey, you may contact the Office of Disability Services, Office of Equity and Inclusion or the Equal Opportunity and Outreach office for support.
- Will the survey be offered only in English?
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The community survey will be available in English and Spanish. Participants can choose their preferred language at the beginning of the survey.
- What is the timeline?
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Each community survey cycle includes several phases:
- Development or refinement of questions and selection of the survey administrator
- Campus readiness activities, including communication and outreach
- Survey administration, inviting participation from all students, faculty and staff
- Analysis of results and follow up focus groups or conversations as needed
- Sharing of findings with the campus community
- Planning and implementation of actions in response to the findings
UMass Lowell completed its first survey cycle with data collection in late 2022 and result dissemination and strategic planning during 2023. The second survey will allow the university to assess progress and refine next steps.
- How were the survey questions developed?
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The survey questions were developed collaboratively by the Community Survey Team, Data Analytics and Institutional Research and the ADVANCE Office of Faculty Equity and Resilience team.
The questions draw on research about campus climate and on input from campus stakeholders. They are designed to capture experiences across many dimensions, including respect, fairness, safety, opportunity, workload, leadership, support and sense of belonging.
