UW System Campus Climate

Systemwide Survey

In June 2020, University of Wisconsin System Administration contracted with the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) to administer a systemwide campus climate survey that will be of service to all our universities. A small committee of university and UW System Administration representation was assembled to help make decisions on administration of the survey. HERI will work with UW System university partners in administering the Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) Survey online to every student at the 11 comprehensive universities and UW-Milwaukee.

Diverse Learning Environments Survey

The Diverse Learning Environments Survey (DLE) captures student perceptions regarding institutional climate, campus practices as experienced with faculty, staff, and peers, and student learning outcomes. Institutions can use the DLE survey to:

• Evaluate the campus climate – DLE includes measure that specifically focus on aspects related to the climate for diversity, including experiences with discrimination, cross-racial interactions, validation, and sense of belonging.
• Collect information about institutional practices – The survey focuses on connecting diversity efforts with campus practices, including items related to a curriculum of inclusion, student support services, and co curricular diversity activities.
• Assess student learning outcomes – DLE emphasized student learning outcomes as a core component of diversity efforts and the survey includes measures such as the integration of learning, social action, and civic engagement.
• Assess the pervasiveness of sexual assault – The survey includes a set of questions to measure the prevalence of unwanted sexual contact and sexual assault, including questions related to reporting of incidents and satisfaction with the institutional response.
• Assess baseline strengths, identify areas for improvement, and track progress related to diversity efforts for strategic planning and benchmarking – DLE provides a snapshot of the campus climate, institutional practices, and student outcomes that can be used for campus diversity improvement efforts.

Visit HERI’s website at https://heri.ucla.edu/diverse-learning-environments-survey to view the survey instrument and find further information on the DLE.