Now Available: Results of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey

During the fall of 2021, the Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusive Culture, in partnership with the Office of Institutional Research, administered the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) survey created by the Higher Education Data Service Consortium (HEDS). The HEDS survey has 39 questions that include five open-ended questions. The objective of administering the DEI survey was to understand of the extent to which Drexel’s campus climate supports diversity and equity, and to inform and improve support, policies, and practices at their institution related to diversity and equity. The survey was administered to all Drexel faculty, staff, and students electronically between October 11 – November 12, 2021, and a total of 1,810 completed the survey. The survey usually takes less than 15 minutes to complete, and participants’ responses are anonymous.

The call for a climate survey emerged from the recommendations of the Anti-Racism Task Force convened in June 2020. The objective of this inaugural survey was to establish a baseline for how different groups of people experience a sense of belonging at Drexel. This baseline and subsequent surveys, administered every other year, would serve as a key performance indicator and measure for the culture of equity imperative and the success monitoring of University’s commitments towards anti-racism.

Using information gathered from the survey to inform the University’s ongoing efforts towards building a culture of equity should improve the climate and bolster the response rate in coming years.

The survey uses a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, however for the analysis of the responses, the scale has been modified. There are several indicators that are used in the survey to assess the perception and experiences of faculty, students and staff relating to DEI at Drexel University. You can view both the Executive Summary (presenting a few key variables) and the more detailed HEDS comparison report via the Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusive Culture’s SharePoint site (sign in with your Drexel credentials to view).