To affect meaningful change in any organization of Marquette’s size and complexity, leaders need input from across the institution, representing a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences. After all, at the core of Marquette’s mission is a commitment to fostering a culture of inclusiveness and respect for all.
Enter the Campus Climate Study. Conducted every five years, this quantitative look at the university’s learning, living, teaching, research and working environments provides an opportunity to measure how the university can best live up its ideals.
Marquette is currently undertaking its third Campus Climate Study, which asks students, faculty and staff about attitudes, behaviors and perceptions of inclusiveness across campus.
The Campus Climate Study’s executive committee says the survey data is taken seriously by administrators to improve the working and learning conditions for all members of our community.
Completing the survey online takes about 15 minutes, and all responses are anonymous. Results of the survey will be shared in August, with specific action items identified in late fall. Marquette leaders seek honest feedback, so steps have been taken to maximize anonymity for those who participate.
Ultimately, feedback will help inform Marquette’s 2031 Strategic Plan, Guiding by Mission, Inspired to Change. The survey is closely tied to two of the core themes of the Strategic Plan: “Thriving Students” and “Healthy Campus.”
“The campus climate study is a crucial initiative in the strategic plan,” says Alix Riley, chief academic effectiveness officer and co-lead of strategic plan implementation. “In the fall, the results will be used to inform the direction of the strategic plan’s priorities of fostering well-being and belonging for all students and creating a campus environment for faculty and staff that encourages well-being and a sense of belonging.”
Previous surveys, conducted in 2015 and 2020, led to material change. Feedback from the 2020 survey helped inform Marquette’s Student Success Initiative, an effort to create a frictionless academic support environment for students “from first day to final destination,” according to Dr. John Su, vice provost for academic affairs and student success.
In the 2020 survey, students detailed needs that echoed data collected in Marquette’s first-year student survey and the graduating student survey, helping the university successfully shape its strategy.
“Students expressed how important it is to feel that their academic advisors care about their progress here at Marquette, which helped to guide the development of our current advising best practices,” Su says. “Some other students expressed the desire to bring a range of academic support services together and make them more readily accessible, which along with student focus groups shaped the vision for our Lemonis Center for Student Success.”
Marquette’s Employee Resource Groups — which aim to cultivate community, networking and employee support and retention on campus — trace back to the 2015 study.
“While some employee affinity groups had already grown organically, the 2015 Campus Climate Study provided hard data to show that certain subcommunities within Marquette reported less of a sense of belonging at Marquette due largely to experiences of isolation and alienation within the greater cultural milieu,” says Dr. Jacqueline Black, director for Hispanic initiatives and diversity and inclusion educational programming.
This data sparked conversation about the need for greater investment in cultivating a positive campus climate environment for underrepresented groups. A formal structure, funding and support were created for previously established groups and to launch new ones. There are currently eight active ERGs on campus; while the model is based on common background or interest, in the spirit of inclusivity, any employee can join any ERG.
For this year’s survey, participants can complete a separate form to enter for the chance to win prizes, including men’s basketball and theater tickets, free coffees and Marquette swag bags, but this survey is not tied to answers from the Campus Climate Survey.
Demographic questions are also optional. Participants only need to identify themselves as an undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty member or staff member. All other questions can be skipped if they cause discomfort.
The survey was built using Qualtrics’ software, which allows Marquette to minimize the collection of personal data through an anonymous survey link. The anonymous survey link does not collect identifying information, such as name, email address or IP address.
More information is available on the Campus Climate Study website.
