Results of WSU climate survey released

Results+of+WSU+climate+survey+released

The results of an October WSU climate survey have been released by Wichita State University.

Students, faculty members, staff members and administrators at WSU participated in the survey that aimed to “perceive the current state of diversity at the University and to improve the climate at WSU.”

1559 current students and 703 faculty and staff members completed the survey, equating to 14 percent of the WSU population.

Highlighted below are portions of the “key findings” section of the survey analysis.

82 percent of current students  and 73 percent of faculty and staff indicate being at least somewhat satisfied with their experience overall. 

Two-thirds of respondents think WSU has addressed diversity-related issues somewhat or very effectively.

“Most faculty and staff are somewhat or very satisfied with inclusiveness/diversity and the culture/atmosphere at WSU. Roughly half agree or strongly agree that recruitment efforts reflect a commitment to achieving and maintaining diversity among students and employees. Among faculty/staff, benefits, professional development, and salary are the only areas where more than 25 percent report being dissatisfied to any degree.”

Few respondents have personally experienced, witnessed, or heard about incidents of discrimination/harassment at WSU. At most, 12 percent report harassment of themselves pertaining to any topic, with verbal comments about sex or gender expression/identity being the most common; students witnessing or experiencing other students making negative comments about women or non-native English speakers is not uncommon.

“Verbal comments make up the bulk of experienced or witnessed incidents of harassment/discrimination; most regard them as not worth reporting.”

Of respondents who have an opinion about the accessibility of WSU for disabled people, half or more rate WSU as good or very good. Parking is the only area rated as poor or very poor by more than 15 percent.

More than three-quarters have never witnessed or heard about violent harassment/discrimination (physical harm, threats, property damage). Although most who experienced or witnessed harassment did not think it was worth reporting, those who reported such incidents had varying levels of satisfaction with WSU’s response. The proportion of students unsure of how to report such incidents is more than twice that of faculty/staff.

Read full results: Full Climate Survey Analysis