Shippensburg University’s Climate Survey Working Group (CSWG) will be launching a survey at the end of October to assess the social climate of SU and identify successful initiatives, uncover challenges facing the community and develop strategic initiatives to build on successes and address challenges, according to Carlesha Halkias executive director of the office of social equity.
The results of the survey will be used to determine how the university can move forward on issues mentioned in the survey, including sexual assault. Focus group feedback had already suggested solutions to challenges that SU has been working on. Ranking and Associations Consulting, which supports CSWG’s work, recommended the first-year seminar that was already an initiative at play.
“I don’t think anything that comes out of the climate survey is going to be a surprise necessarily. What it will do is help figure out how we can best move forward and support student success,” Halkias said.
The survey will be sent to everyone on campus, including faculty and staff. There are different aspects and targeted groups that will prompt the person taking the survey into different question groups tailored toward them. It should not take more than 20 minutes to complete the survey.
Because the survey is anonymous, the survey must be completed once it is started because there is no information collected to log in.
The survey helps the university fulfill one of president Carter’s themes for this year, which is accountability.
“In order for students to be successful, it is absolutely critical and incumbent upon them to share what their needs are to let us know what’s working and what isn’t and to let us know what we can improve upon,” she said.
The results of the survey will be available around May, and the community will be provided a copy of the results. A timeline will then need to be determined to decide what should be done with the information collected from the survey.
At the end of the survey, participants will be linked to a raffle to win prizes including a GoPro, iPad mini, gift cards, flex, bookstore credits and cap and gown incentives.
The survey will be sent via email on Oct. 23 and end around Nov. 20 unless there is not enough data collected.
This is the first climate survey conducted by the university, and has been in the making for two and a half years.
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