University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
PA-5: Assessing Diversity and Equity

UW Oshkosh conducted a comprehensive campus climate survey in 2016.

Findings informed the Campus Strategic Planning process. Major Findings These are major themes that stood out during the analysis of the survey results. Campus community members are invited to read the entire report and share their own interpretation with University administration. Demographics  Student and employee demographics differed most in terms of ethnic minority and gender minority composition. Sixteen percent of student respondents and ten percent of employees reported belonging to an ethnic minority. Three percent of students and one percent of employees reported belonging to a gender minority. Experiences of Exclusionary, Harassing, Intimidating, Offensive, or Hostile Conduct  More than half of the student respondents and a third of employee respondents indicated having experienced some type of exclusionary, harassing, intimidating, offensive, or hostile conduct such as being stared at, ignored or excluded, fearing for one’s safety, feeling intimidated or bullied, being the target of derogatory remarks, or getting a poor evaluation due to a hostile classroom or work environment.  Experiences of such behavior increased for members of gender, sexual and ethnic minorities, individuals with physical or psychological disabilities, and individuals with lower income.  Negative experiences increased further for individuals who identified in more than one minority groups.  Gender minority participants reported the most experiences with exclusionary, harassing, intimidating, offensive, or hostile conduct.  Few students or employees reported experiences or observations of exclusionary, harassing, intimidating, offensive, or hostile conduct to University officials.  Of those who did report the behavior, substantial portions felt that the reports had not been handled appropriately. Sexual Harassment and Assault  Substantial portions of student and employee respondents noted fearing sexual harassment. Among both employees and students, the most commonly reported sources of such fears were other students.  Small percentages of students and employees had experienced sexual assault.  Few of those employees and students who had experienced sexual assault reported the incident through University channels. 6 Campus Climate Study Employment Practices and Job Satisfaction  Twenty-six percent of employee respondents reported that they had observed unfair hiring practices, and 19% had observed unfair promotional practices. These represented an increase from those reported in the 2008 survey.  Areas of most dissatisfaction for employees included the existence of unwritten rules and insufficient transparency, resources, availability of family leave, equitable compensation and workload. Perceptions of Campus Climate  The ways students and employees assessed the 21 items related to campus climate (including adjustment to life at UW Oshkosh, representation, support and community, understanding between diverse people and groups, efforts on the part of the University to build connections and foster understanding, and so on), varied depending on ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, home environment, student status (non-traditional, in particular), disability, and income.  In relation to such criteria and to satisfaction with UW Oshkosh, gender, sexual, and ethnic minority students and employees often reported experiencing the climate more negatively.  Employees viewed campus climate criteria more negatively than did students. Employees identifying as University staff reported the most dissatisfaction on campus.  Students reported greater comfort with their departments and classes than they did with their residence halls.  Student employees reported high levels of satisfaction with their on campus jobs, but some still felt singled out, isolated, or marginalized.  While many students reported feeling comfortable with others in the classroom, some wanted more training for instructors in treating diverse people respectfully and discussing sensitive and controversial subjects.  In terms of resources and opportunities available, a substantial portion of students were dissatisfied with housing in terms of meeting the needs of diverse people, weekend activities, food options, and the availability of personal care facilities.  Students who saw themselves least represented in campus events and leadership included gender, sexual, and ethnic minorities, non-traditional students, students from urban areas, disabled students, and students whose incomes were less than $30,000.  When asked about factors that affected their attendance at University events, approximately 25% of student respondents and 10% of employee respondents did not see diversity initiatives as relevant to their study or work.

Shared via campus announcements, student newspaper, on the web at http://www.uwosh.edu/acad-supp/our-programs/campus-climate-study, and in a video available here https://www.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/preview/partner_id/1660922/uiconf_id/34965351/entry_id/0_hlokodbn/embed/auto?&flashvars[streamerType]=auto.