Campus Surveys
Online and phone surveys of UMass Amherst students are conducted by the Student Assessment, Research, and Evaluation Office (SAREO). These "Project Pulse" surveys help the administration measure student satisfaction and identify problems that need to be addressed. Some surveys of particular interest to Jewish students are listed below.
Survey of Campus Climate for Jewish Students (Anti-Semitism)
This survey was formerly titled "Anti-Semitism"; but we changed the name in 2008 to reflect a broader range of questions.
These periodic surveys assess the extracurricular, residential, and classroom experiences of Jewish students. The questions have remained fairly consistent since the survey's inception in 1991, although in 2004 some questions were added to explore Jewish students' perceptions of criticism of Israel by professors, other students, and columnists in the student newspaper. (It turns out that 30-40 percent of Jewish students consider any criticism of Israel to be inherently anti-Semitic.) In 2008 we added several questions regarding religious observance.
2008 Campus Climate for Jewish Students (details)
2004 Anti-Semitism (summary)
2004 Anti-Semitism (details)
2000 Anti-Semitism (summary)
2000 Anti-Semitism (details)
1997 Anti-Semitism (summary)
The 1991 and 1994 anti-Semitism surveys are not currently available online.
Please contact us if you would like copies of those surveys.
Spirituality Surveys
According to the most recent Spirituality Survey (Spring 2002), 6.2 percent of under-graduates at UMass Amherst identified their "religious or spiritual orientation" as Jewish. However, it should be noted that the precise number of "cultural" or "secular" Jews who do not identify themselves as Jewish in religious or spiritual terms is unknown.
Spirituality Survey (2002)
Spirituality Survey (1995)
Jewish Life Survey
This one-time survey of Jewish students was sponsored by Hillel and the Office of Jewish Affairs (referred to in the survey by its initial working title, "Program for Issues of Jewish Awareness and Anti-Semitism").
Jewish Life Survey (1996)
