2016 Campus Climate Survey

Information retrieved from the 2016 University of Michigan Student Campus Climate Survey on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The University of Michigan (U-M) conducted a random sample survey of 3,500 students.

The survey captures information and perceptions that can be grouped into six key areas: Demographics, Climate, Institutional Commitment & Inclusive and Equitable Treatment, Fair Treatment, Intergroup Interactions and Discrimination.

Results of the 2016 University of Michigan Student Campus Climate Survey on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:

Overall, both undergraduate and graduate students report being satisfied with the climate at the U-M (both generally and as it relates to DEI). They report that, for the most part, they believe the U-M is committed as an institution to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Students also report feelings of being valued, and that they belong at U-M. They are also reporting that they are both growing, and thriving at the university. In general, students report that they interact in meaningful ways across a variety of social identities. However, these positive experiences with the U-M campus are not equally distributed across all students.

The majority (72%) of students are satisfied with the campus climate on the Ann Arbor campus. They also experience the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) elements of the climate in positive ways.

However, U-M students vary in the way they experience campus climate as a result of their social identities.

Females and underrepresented minorities have less positive experiences on campus than males and majority students, respectively. Additionally, underrepresented students at both the undergraduate and graduate level experience the DEI elements of the campus climate in less positive ways.

Students identifying as LGBTQ+, not born in the U.S., those with a disability and first-generation students also are less satisfied with the climate than their counterparts who do not identify as such. African American/Blacks are the least satisfied with the climate, followed by Hispanic/Latino/as, Other and Asian American/Asians in comparison to Whites, who are the most satisfied.

Discrimination:

Approximately one in six U-M students report that they felt discriminated against in the past 12 months. Undergraduate underrepresented minority students are more likely to report feeling being discriminated against.

The social identity group differences in the likelihood of students reporting they felt that they had been discriminated against at U-M in the past 12 months is striking. For instance:

• Undergraduate students are 16% more likely than graduate students to report feeling discriminated against.
• Female students are 14% more likely than male students.
• LGBTQ+ students are 123% more likely than heterosexual students.
• Students with a disability are 287% more likely than those without a disability.
• First-generation students are 86% more likely than non-first-generation students.
• African American/Black (519%), Hispanic/Latino/a (132%), Asian American/Asian students (86%), and
• Other students (63%) are all more likely than White students to report experiencing discrimination.

Together the findings clearly reinforce the need for a systematic institutional effort to address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion if all members of the U-M student body are to experience the same positive experiences that are enjoyed by the majority of students.

The results indicate that:

- Female students are 52% more likely than male students to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied.

- LGBTQ+ students are 59% more likely than heterosexual students to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied.

- Students not born in the U.S. are 23% less likely than students born in the US to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied.

- Students with disabilities are 145% more likely than students without a disability to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied.

- First-generation students are 127% more likely than other students to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied.

- With respect to race, African American/Black students are significantly more likely to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied with the climate than all other ethnicities. Hispanic/Latino/a students are significantly more likely to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied with the climate than White, and Asian American/Asian students. Asian American/Asian students are significantly more likely to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied with the climate than White students and less likely than students in the other racial categories. White students are less likely to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied than students in all of the other racial categories.

- White students are 331% less likely than African American/Black students and 75% as likely as Hispanic/Latino/a students to report feeling neutral, unsatisfied, or very unsatisfied.

2016 University of Michigan Student Campus Climate Survey on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2018, from http://diversity.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/DEI-STUDENT-REPORT-FINAL.pdf