Frequently Asked Questions

Campus climate reflects “community members’ attitudes, perceptions, behaviors, and expectations around issues of race, ethnicity, and diversity.” [1] Though initially focused on understanding perceptions and experiences of minoritized students (women in STEM, students of color generally, and Black students in particular),[2] increasingly research on campus climate encompasses a multi-dimensional environmental perspective involving multiple groups (faculty, students, administrators, and staff) and aspects of difference, such as race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, ability status, and more.

[1] Hurtado, S., Griffin, K. A., Arellano, L., & Cuellar, M. (2008). Assessing the value of climate assessments: Progress and future directions. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 1(4), 204–221.

[2] Griffin, K. (2018). Addressing STEM Culture and Climate to Increase Diversity in STEM Disciplines. Higher Education Today.

Every undergraduate, graduate and professional student who is enrolled, and staff/faculty member who is employed and resides within the United States at the time of the survey will be eligible to participate. All respondents must be at least 18 years old to complete the questionnaire. To adhere to international privacy laws in China, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, we are limiting survey participation to students, faculty, and staff who are physically located in the US.

UIHealth employees will not be participating in the survey at this time.

No. Participation in this survey is not required, but your participation is highly encouraged. Full participation provides the university with a more comprehensive understanding of community members’ perceptions and experiences at UIC.

Yes. All eligible participants in the student, staff, and faculty surveys will be included in a random drawing to win various prizes. Winners will be notified after the data collection is completed via email. Incentives include 30 $50 Amazon e-Cards for students, 10 $50 Amazon e-Cards for staff, and 10 $50 Amazon e-Cards for faculty.

Terms & Conditions for Prize Drawing:

To be eligible for the $50 gift card drawing, participants must complete the survey. Only one entry per person is allowed. The winner will be selected at random and notified via email by December 18th, 2024.

The odds of winning depend on the total number of entries received. Gift cards are non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash. Survey responses must be submitted by November 26, 2024.

Your response to the survey can help improve your experience at UIC as well as that of your friends, students, and colleagues. This is an opportunity for all parts of the university to share their experience and help us assess whether our university’s values of diversity, equity, and inclusion are reflected in the daily experiences at UIC.

The Fall 2024 survey will be a comprehensive campus-wide initiative aimed at gauging our campus climate and evaluating whether our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evident in the daily experiences of the university community.
This survey aims to establish a baseline across all colleges and administrative units, helping us identify our strengths and areas for improvement as a university. Your participation will contribute to a thorough understanding of perceptions and experiences across every college and unit at UIC.

SoundRocket, an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based survey research organization, is conducting this survey. SoundRocket is an independent organization specializing in conducting web-based surveys in higher education settings. Your participation and the responses you share are strictly confidential and will only be shared in aggregate outside of the primary research team.

UIC hired SoundRocket to assist us with the survey to allow for confidentiality and to align with similar surveys at other University of Illinois System schools.

The survey will launch October 10, 2024.

The campus climate survey data will be used to understand and address the critical campus issues identified by our students, faculty, and staff. Once the data are analyzed by the external survey vendor, the results will be disseminated to the campus. A representative team will be charged to help recommend post-survey actions to the Chancellor and other university leaders.  Colleges and other campus units will also be able to use the campus climate data to refine their own goals and initiatives.

UIC employed SoundRocket, a survey research firm, to assist with administration of the survey. The other U of I system campuses used the same vendor and survey template. A team comprised of staff from the Office of Institutional Research and the Office for Diversity, Equity & Engagement made modifications to the survey template based on feedback from students, faculty and staff from across the campus.

SoundRocket develops and delivers innovative, science-guided survey methodologies and services to the global community of social science researchers and those who rely upon such research. More about SoundRocket.

Yes. Your participation and responses will be strictly confidential and will not be part of any academic, medical, employment or disciplinary record. No individually identifiable information will be reported. This survey is completely voluntary. You do not have to participate in this survey. If you choose to participate, you may skip any question and you may exit the survey at any time.

To ensure confidentiality of data, this survey is being conducted by SoundRocket, a survey research firm located in Ann Arbor, MI. SoundRocket is not affiliated with the University of Illinois Chicago.

Your identity will not be linked to the data that UIC receives from SoundRocket. SoundRocket will break the link with any identifiable data to protect your confidentiality prior to providing any data to UIC. SoundRocket will use a unique identifier to identify you during the course of the study—to ensure that only those eligible participate, and to allow you to leave and return if you wish. Once the study is completed, that link will be broken.

To protect your privacy, no one at UIC will know who completes the Fall 2024 survey. However, we are very sensitive to the possibility that aggregated reports of survey data could unintentionally identify university community members who belong to unique or small demographic groups in their college or unit.

To overcome this challenge, in any report generated from the campus climate assessment, we will report for groups only where 15 or more people are represented in a demographic group. However, the data for this demographic will be reflected in the primary, all campus report for the entire university. This approach allows us to balance understanding the unique perspective of small demographic groups, while also safeguarding confidentiality and privacy.

This survey was reviewed by the IRB and received an exemption. A copy of the exemption letter is available here.

A personalized link will be sent to your email address. This link is individual to you and cannot be shared.

Yes.

Yes, you can skip any question that you do not want to answer.

About 12-15 minutes

If you are interrupted while taking the survey and need to close your browser, you may click on the survey link again and pick up right where you left off.

If you have any questions about this survey, would like assistance, or need accommodation to complete the survey, please contact us via email at support@soundrocket.com.

If you would like to speak to someone at UIC about this study, please contact Jess Joslin, the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Diversity Initiatives, at joslin@uic.edu.