Climate Survey FAQ

College of Engineering Climate Survey FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Why is the College of Engineering doing a climate survey?
    1. The College of Engineering leadership wants to gather information about the perspectives and experiences of the college community pertaining to overall climate, interpersonal experiences, and inclusivity. The climate survey will help us to identify areas of strength and weakness related to inclusive excellence so that we may better direct our future efforts in building an inclusive college.
  2. Why should I do the survey?
    1. Your voice and your experiences are important to us. This survey provides a direct way for you to tell us about what it is like for you to be a member of the College of Engineering community. Furthermore, in order to build a complete and accurate picture of the college climate, we need as many students, faculty, and staff to do the survey as possible. Your responses will directly contribute to our ability to build that picture.
  3. What benefits are there to doing the survey?
    1. Individuals who complete the survey will have the opportunity to enter into a drawing for College of Engineering swag.
    2. Departments and units with the highest responses will earn snacks (e.g., coffee and cookies).
    3. For any academic department that reaches a student response rate of 75% or more, the Chair of that department will have to wear a silly corn hat for a day! If the college-wide student response rate is 50% or more, all of the Associate Deans will wear silly corn hats for a day, and if the college-wide student response rate is 75% or more, the Dean will wear one for a day!
  4. I have experienced harassment, discrimination, or assault and would like to speak to someone about it. What resources are available to me?
    1. For students: 
    2. For faculty and staff: 

  5. Who is running the survey?
    1. The Climate Survey’s content was developed through the College of Engineering Council on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion. The Council is comprised of students (both undergraduate and graduate), faculty, and staff. The process of distributing and managing the survey is being handled by the college’s Engineering and Computing Education Core.
  6. How will the results be used?
    1. The survey results will be reviewed by the College of Engineering Council on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion in order to identify areas of strength in the college that should be supported and grown as well as the ways in which we need to improve in order to reflect our shared value of inclusion. Results will be reported at the aggregate level so individuals will not be identifiable. The Council on Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion will then make recommendations for pursuing inclusive excellence to the College of Engineering Executive Council based on the results.
  7. Do I have to participate?
    1. Participation is completely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you do not have to answer any questions you do not wish to answer. All answers you do provide will help us see a more complete picture of how everyone in the college community experiences the college climate. Your choice to participate or not will have no impact on your relationship with the college.
  8. Will anyone know how I responded to the survey?
    1. No, your responses are anonymous and all data will be kept strictly confidential.
  9. How will the college protect my anonymity?
    1. The survey does NOT ask for any direct identifiers (e.g., name, NUID). We understand some members of our community could be identified based on their unique set of demographic characteristics. Results will be reported at the group level so individuals will not be identifiable. In line with the recommendations put forth by the Nebraska Department of Education, exact values will not be reported for subgroups that contain fewer than 10 people. Only one person, Dr. Markeya Peteranetz, will have access to the full dataset, and all involved with running the survey are committed to protecting the anonymity of all respondents.
  10. This survey is rather long. Do I have to complete it all at once?
    1. No, you can complete part of the survey at one time and then finish later. When returning to finish the survey, be sure to access it again from the same device and browser. If you leave part of it unfinished, you will later receive an email reminder to complete the survey.
  11. How do I access the survey?
    1. Invitations to complete the survey will be sent directly via email. If you did not receive an invitation and would like to participate, contact Dr. Markeya Peteranetz (peteranetz@unl.edu).
  12. I have more questions. Who should I contact?
    1. You can reach out to either Dr. Markeya Peteranetz or the Associate Dean for Faculty and Inclusion.