April 27, 2015

Survey shows majority satisfied with SVSU campus climate

Students, faculty and staff at Saginaw Valley State University reported high levels of general satisfaction with SVSU’s campus climate during a survey conducted last November and December.

Campus climate is defined as “the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of faculty, staff, administrators, and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities, and potential.”            

The level of comfort experienced by faculty, staff, and students is one indicator of campus climate, and 82 percent of survey respondents reported they were “comfortable” or “very comfortable” at SVSU.

The survey also explored attitudes and experiences related to a number of issues, including academic success, diversity, work-life balance, and pathways to promotion.  Members of historically under-represented groups (women, ethnic minorities, LBGQ individuals) expressed lower levels of satisfaction in certain areas.  Consistent with national data, 24 percent of SVSU respondents said they personally had experienced exclusionary, intimidating, offensive or hostile conduct.

Based on the findings, SVSU’s campus climate team will develop recommendations and action items to make SVSU more welcoming for all members of the campus community.

Participation in the survey was high among all three employee groups, administrative/professional staff (55 percent), faculty (51 percent), and support staff (93 percent). SVSU also saw 17 percent of undergraduate students participate. In all, 2,358 members of the campus community completed the survey.

Rankin and Associates, a firm that specializes in assisting campuses and organizations in assessing their environments for learning and working, worked with SVSU on administering the survey and analyzing the data. Sue Rankin led three presentations on the findings: Thursday, April 23 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Curtiss Hall seminar rooms, and Friday, April 24 at 9 a.m. in the Ott Auditorium in Gilbertson Hall.  

Copies of the executive summary and the full report are posted svsu.edu/climatesurvey.