January 16, 2024

Wayne State University to administer survey on campus culture and climate

DETROIT – Wayne State University will administer a culture and climate survey to its campus community beginning Jan. 24 that will ask every student and employee to share their opinions and perspectives related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) at Wayne State.

The survey is a follow-up to the university’s 2018 culture and climate campus survey.

“The feedback received from the survey will be used to both measure our progress from 2018 and to inform efforts outlined in the university’s strategic plan to build an inclusive community where every person is valued, welcomed and given opportunities to thrive,” said Donyale Padgett, interim chief diversity officer and an associate professor of communication.

The survey will evaluate many of the same issues as in 2018 for comparison purposes and include new questions regarding topics including respect, policies and procedures, and an evaluation of overall services and support. It will also include a new section with questions for people of specific identities.

“Wayne State is recognized and celebrated as Michigan's most diverse college campus,” said Wayne State President Kimberly Andrews Espy, Ph.D. “Diversity, equity and inclusion are core to our mission and vision, and a strength that attracts and retains outstanding faculty, staff and students. I encourage everyone to participate in the survey so that areas can be identified both that we do well and that can be improved further.”

The Campus Climate Study Committee developed the survey in partnership with Viewﬁnder® Campus Climate Surveys. The survey is being administered by the committee through the Qualtrics survey platform which ensures anonymity and confidentiality. No personal identifiers, such as the respondents name, email address, or department affiliation will be requested.

The survey is expected to take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete. Units are encouraged to allow employees to take the survey while on the job. For those needing access to a computer to complete the survey, Lab B, 2nd floor of the Undergraduate Library is available on the following dates from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.:

Wednesday, Jan. 24
Thursday, Jan. 25
Tuesday, Jan 30
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Thursday, Feb. 1
Tuesday, Feb. 6
Wednesday, Feb. 7
Thursday, Feb. 8
Wednesday, Feb. 14
Wednesday, Feb. 21

Student Disability Services (SDS) is available to students seeking accommodations to complete the survey. If others have questions or concerns, they can contact climatestudy2023@wayne.edu.

Donyale Padgett (left), interim chief diversity officer and an associate professor of communication, and Loraleigh Keashly, chair of the Climate Study Committee and professor in the Department of Communication, played a significant role in leading the launch of the new survey.

The goal is 100% participation.

“The higher the level of participation, the more accurate information we’ll get about how people experience the campus in different areas,” said Padgett. “We strongly encourage people to share their thoughts so that we can make Wayne State a place where everyone feels like they belong. That's what we want.”

The Office of Marketing and Communications has developed a communications plan to promote the survey through university emails, e-newsletters, printed materials and a dedicated website.

Loraleigh Keashly, chair of the Climate Study Committee and professor in the Department of Communication, played a significant role with the 2018 survey and is leading the launch of the new survey. She and Padgett have promoted the survey at in-person meetings with leadership groups around campus.

“Since our last survey, the university has a new president, a new strategic plan and we’ve been through a global pandemic,” said Keashly. “So, I think further study is appropriate and necessary to ensure that Wayne State is doing everything it can to create and maintain an inclusive and welcoming environment.”

To further incentivize participation, those who complete the survey will be able to opt in to a drawing to win prizes. Those interested in participating will be provided with a separate form to share their contact information that will be used for the raffle. Winners will be selected at random and will be notified in March 2024.

The survey will be open for about a month and preliminary results will be shared in spring 2024. Following a deeper analysis of the data, a final report with recommended actions will then be shared.

The 2018 Climate Study reports for students, faculty and staff are available online.