Ithaca College President La Jerne Cornish announced Oct. 3 that the college will conduct an online campus climate survey that will be released in two weeks. Cornish said in the announcement that the survey will ask campus community members to share their concerns about the college environment, which will guide the college’s mission to increase equity and inclusion.
Cornish said a committee of students, staff and faculty led by the Center for Equity, Inclusion and Belonging has been working with the consulting firm Rankin Climate to develop the survey.
The campus climate survey website explains that the college chose to work with this outside firm because individuals are more likely to share their honest views about the campus environment if they are reporting to an external group. Cornish said the partnership with Rankin Climate will provide full confidentiality and transparency for the survey respondents.
The results from the survey will help the college determine which programs are effectively serving the campus community and will bolster and replicate elements from those programs. The results will also help the college identify areas for improvement and develop future programs and policies to promote inclusivity.
The most recent campus climate assessment was in 2016. Cornish said the college intended to conduct the next survey by 2020, but the survey was delayed until Fall 2023 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the campus climate website, the survey will collect information from the campus community in October and November. After the survey closes, Rankin Climate will data code the responses in December and analyze them in January and February 2024. The information will be used to develop a report and data dashboard in March 2024, which will be presented to the campus community in April and May 2024.
Cornish said that she wants to reach or surpass the 46% response rate from 2016 and that she hopes campus community members will share their perspectives.
“This is your chance to make a difference in IC’s future, your opportunity to make positive, lasting changes and to help create a more inclusive campus,” Cornish said.
