In the Fall of 2022, the first University of Louisiana at Lafayette Campus Climate Survey was administered by Viewfinder® Campus Climate Surveys. The survey period opened on October 17, 2022, and closed on November 15, 2022. Extensive editing of the original survey supplied by Viewfinder® was conducted by the 2021-2022 Diversity Advisory Council, to align the survey questions with our institutional structure and to ensure the inclusion of survey questions related to populations of interest to the university. The final survey questions were reviewed and approved by President Savoie.
Two separate surveys were conducted; one for students and one for employees. A marketing campaign to encourage participation in the survey was supplemented by various incentives, some donated by various departments across campus and purchased through the Diversity and Inclusion fund; this was to secure the highest rate of participation possible. The response rate for the Viewfinder® Campus Climate Survey for Students was about 5% for students and nearly 28% for employees. The university has also obtained Additional Reports from Viewfinder®, including the Benchmark Data Reports, the Custom Comparison Data Report, and the Institutional Diversity Analysis Report; these reports will supplement the survey results, helping the university to establish benchmarks and to examine how our students and employees responded to the survey compared to other institutions.