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Data will provide insight on feelings of safety, support and belonging
Beginning this week, students, faculty and staff at Central Michigan University are invited to share their perspectives on university life and experiences interacting with the Mount Pleasant community in the 2026 Campus Climate Survey. The survey will examine the experiences of the various communities served by CMU, which includes satellite campuses and regions throughout Michigan, as well as online students, faculty, and staff.
“CMU aims to create a caring and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive, pursue their goals, and feel seen and supported,” said Shawna Patterson-Stephens, vice president for University Engagement and Student Affairs. “This survey is designed to help us identify the places where we are delivering successfully on that aim, and where we may have opportunities for change and growth.”
Students will have opportunities to weigh in on student services, their classroom interactions and broader community-based interactions. Faculty and staff can provide insights on issues which influence their experiences as well, including support services, hiring practices, policies and professional development.
Both groups, students and employees, will be asked to share their thoughts on campus culture, safety, belonging, ability to report and receive support for harassment and other discriminatory behavior, and interactions with communities within the greater Mount Pleasant area.
The surveys will be sent out Wednesday, October 14, to all students, faculty and staff — including those who engage with CMU primarily through online modalities.
While the effort to produce and launch the Campus Climate Survey was led by the UESA division, multiple individuals and teams contributed to the development of the survey tool.
“We solicited membership for the planning committee from numerous employee and student groups, including the Academic Senate and the SGA, and we had 17 individuals from a variety of areas who actively participated in the development of the survey questions,” Patterson-Stephens said.
In addition, the survey development sub-committee worked with each of CMU’s employee bargaining units to secure their engagement and support for the survey. Their discussions included how data would be collected, stored and stewarded to protect the privacy of survey participants.
“The Climate Survey Review Team developed the survey instrument to reflect the lived experiences of students, faculty and staff in a way that is authentically CMU while also protecting their privacy,” Patterson-Stephens said. “Faculty and staff survey submissions will remain anonymous, and student responses will be kept confidential — no identifiable information will be shared. The team took great strides to ensure the anonymity of survey participants.”
Once data are collected, a staff member from the Office of Academic Planning and Analysis and a designated faculty union representative will be the only individuals with access to the full data set; any request for data from the survey will be carefully vetted, and data will be cleaned of all personally identifiable information before it is shared.
Beginning October 14, students will receive a personalized email with an individualized link to the student survey, and faculty and staff members will receive an email with a link to begin the employee survey. Surveys will be sent to individuals’ cmich.edu email addresses.
“CMU conducted its last campus climate survey in October 2023, and reports for that employee climate survey and student climate survey are available on the UESA website," Patterson-Stephens said. “By conducting the survey biannually, we are collecting longitudinal data that helps to build a more accurate picture of our institutional climate. It is a chance to measure, in real time and over time, if we are doing what we say we do at CMU.”
In addition to the 2023 climate data, members of the Climate Survey Review team can access several decades’ worth of data from a variety of previous student and employee surveys.
“Ultimately, this data will help us hold ourselves accountable to the environment we aspire to offer our students and our employees,” Patterson-Stephens said. “It’s an opportunity to measure our capacity to sustain success while identifying and making plans to address areas for growth."
