CDSJ survey going to Academic Affairs
eginning in mid-October, all faculty, staff
and graduate employees within Academic Affairs will receive a climate
survey in the mail from the Academic Affairs Community, Diversity
and Social Justice (CDSJ) Team as part of its ongoing organizational
assessment.
The
confidential survey asks questions related to work environment and
experiences regarding issues of community, diversity and social
justice. The purpose of the survey is to identify areas of strengths
and weaknesses in order to inform the team's efforts to improve
the climate around those issues within Academic Affairs.
An
important concern for the team is obtaining a high response rate
to the survey. According to team member John Reiff, director of
Community Service Learning, "This is a great opportunity for
faculty, staff and graduate employees to voice their opinions and
shape changes in Academic Affairs. UMass has surveyed undergraduates
for years regarding their perceptions of climate, but this is the
first time faculty, staff and graduate employees will be surveyed.
The greater the participation rate, the more compelling the results."
The
survey includes the same questions used in surveys conducted last
spring and summer in three other executive areas - the Chancellor's
Area, Administration and Finance and University Advancement - and
adds questions specific to Academic Affairs, including several open-ended
questions. To maintain confidentiality, the survey data will be
aggregated before it is reported to assure respondents cannot be
identified.
The survey will be administered by the Student Assessment, Research
and Evaluation Office (SAREO).
The
Academic Affairs CDSJ Team will use the survey results along with
other data in developing its assessment of the environment within
Academic Affairs. The survey results and other aspects of this assessment
will be made available through meetings and public presentations
throughout Academic Affairs in the spring and fall of 2003.
Questions
should be addressed to members of the Academic Affairs CDSJ Team:
Ana Dubrovsky, Phelix Hanible, Bryan Harvey, Anne Herrington (Chair),
Linda Hillenbrand, Riki Hing, Bailey Jackson, Mathew Ouellett, Susan
Pearson, Maureen Perry Jenkins, John Reiff, Janet Rifkin, Linda
Slakey, Jamie Slavet, Martha Stassen and Cleve Willis.
Details
are available online (www.umass.edu/ohr/cdsj_main.htm)
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