Campus Climate Surveys

Campus Climate Survey 2023

The Campus Climate Survey is designed to measure perceptions of respect, cooperation, diversity, belonging, accessibility, and support among the University community, as well as opportunities for career advancement and academic success. It was administered to faculty, staff, and students early in the fall 2023 semester by the Office of Institutional Research.

Based on feedback from previous surveys – which now serve as benchmarks – the University has taken several positive steps forward, such as implementing recommendations made by the Commission on Historic Campus Representations, continuing support of the McNair Scholars Program, and launching several Employee Resource Groups and an Ombuds to Staff position.

The 2023 Campus Climate Survey report is available via the link below, and colleges may request specific reports for their faculty, staff, and students, provided confidentiality will not be compromised by sharing the information.

Takeaways from the 2023 distribution include the following:

• Response rates were down across all three groups, with the biggest decline among students, who had a response rate of less than ten percent.
• Among all three groups surveyed, Baylor’s overall campus climate continues to rank as Very Good/Good for more than 70 percent of respondents.
• Only 47 percent of non-resident faculty rated the climate as Very Good/Good, which is more than 20 points lower than resident faculty.
• Both faculty and staff responses indicate a lack of diversity within their campus units, and Baylor’s receptiveness to different ideologies has been identified as an area of concern.

The 2023 Campus Climate Survey report is available online.

Campus Climate Survey 2020

The Campus Climate Survey in 2020 pertained to diversity, inclusion, and overall environment from the perspective of faculty, staff, and students. Our first climate survey that took place in 2017 was used as a benchmark. This study measured perceptions of climate, including inclusiveness, friendliness, cooperation, support, and opportunities for career advancement and academic success, and also compared to the original survey two years before. 

The 2020 Campus Climate Survey report is available online. 

Campus Climate Survey 2019

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, administration of the Campus Climate Survey for the 2019-2020 academic year was interrupted. Students were unable to be surveyed, and although faculty and staff received it, their responses could not be fully analyzed. In subsequent years’ reports, some faculty and staff insights from 2019 have been included to aid in longitudinal understanding of the campus climate.

Campus Climate Survey 2017

In 2017, the President’s Advisory Council on Diversity conducted Baylor’s first campus climate survey administered by the Survey Research Laboratory. In addition to the survey, SRL conducted 14 focus groups with faculty, staff, and students in 2016 to help determine the key issues that should be included in the survey instrument.

Separate survey instruments were used for faculty, staff, and students to ensure that the key components would be specific for each group. 

Summary of Survey Findings

The faculty, staff, and students at Baylor University each reported having generally positive perceptions of the campus climate.

Faculty

• Faculty were most satisfied with the climate in their primary department/unit and with their job in general, and least satisfied with the climate in their school or college, although the differences are small. 
• Perceptions of professional work environment and fairness & resource allocation are most important to ratings of overall campus climate for faculty. Both of these areas are considered strengths for Baylor. 
• Among faculty, promotion decisions, opportunities for career advancement, and allocation of space and equipment received low satisfaction ratings.
• Other findings indicate that women and nonwhite faculty perceive gender and race discrimination as larger problems than do white male faculty. They also are less satisfied with their professional work environment and the diversity of the student body.

Staff

• Among staff, there was little variability in perceptions across dimensions of campus climate, indicating staff are equally positive about all aspect of overall climate. 
• Perceptions of inclusion and personal identity and professional work environment were most important to staff ratings of overall campus climate. While the former is a strength, the latter is an area of concern. 
• Among staff, professional work environment is strongly related to satisfaction with the institution’s overall climate, pointing to an obvious area for improvement. In particular, staff are not satisfied with their opportunities for advancement, their voice in shaping their work environment, and their recognition for their contributions. They also do not have confidence that they can file a complaint without negative consequences.

Students

• Students rated the overall climate at Baylor University to be good and indicated that they would strongly recommend Baylor to other students.
• Perceptions of belonging and satisfaction with diversity were most important to student ratings of overall campus climate. The former is an overall strength for Baylor, while the latter is an area of concern. 
• The results of the student survey reveal one consistent finding that Baylor Administration could address—African American students and students who do not identify as Christians consistently give lower ratings to the climate at Baylor. African American students are the only group whose rating of overall campus climate falls beneath the threshold that distinguishes strengths from areas of concern. Similarly, overall climate is an area of strength for Christian students, but not for agnostics or students with no specific religious identity. Although belonging is important to overall climate and is an area of strength overall, for African American students and non-Christians, it is an area of concern. Satisfaction with diversity is an important correlate of overall climate and is an area of concern for all students. In particular, students are not satisfied with the diversity in academic settings and residence halls. In addition, they do not rate Baylor high on inclusiveness or political/ideological diversity.

All results from the 2017 Campus Climate Survey can be accessed below:

• Baylor Academic and Work Environment Survey: Executive Summary
• Baylor Academic and Work Environment Survey: Faculty
• Baylor Academic and Work Environment Survey: Staff