The University of California today released the results of a systemwide survey that assessed the learning, living, and working environments — or campus climate — for people who go to school or work in the university system.
The results of the survey — conducted in winter and spring of 2013 at 13 UC locations (10 campuses, the UC Office of the President, the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab) — were presented this morning to UC's Board of Regents.
At UC Santa Cruz, nearly one-third of the faculty, staff, and students took time to fill out the survey. Participation, which was voluntary, was encouraged by campus leaders.
"Overall, I am heartened by our results," UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal said in a message sent to all members of the campus community. He said 83 percent of the UCSC respondents reported being "comfortable" or "very comfortable" with the overall climate on campus; of the remainder, 12 percent gave a neutral response and 5 percent said they felt "uncomfortable" or "very uncomfortable."
In his message, Chancellor Blumenthal summarized some of the key findings in the UCSC data. Additional information about the UCSC responses is posted on the campus's Office for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity web site.
On the academic side of the campus, Blumenthal noted that 75 percent of undergraduates and 79 percent of graduate and professional students said they were comfortable or very comfortable with the climate in their classes. Nearly 90 percent of faculty and post-doctoral scholars said the same thing.
The chancellor, however, said that other results in the campus results from the systemwide survey indicate that there are areas needing improvement. For example, 23 percent of campus respondents said they had experienced some degree of exclusionary, intimidating, offensive, and/or hostile conduct.
"While I've been assured that our results are consistent with survey findings at colleges and universities across the country, I have challenged the campus community to do more," Blumenthal said.
Toward that end, Blumenthal said he has asked the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture, and Inclusion to review the study and campus findings and identify key issues that need our attention and follow-up. The council will take the lead on an action plan with a goal of implementation by late 2014, he said.
