Join the Big 10 DEI Study Collaborative
We’re collaborating with Big 10 Schools to conduct comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Surveys. Sign up this fall and you’ll receive a complimentary benchmarking report, comparing your results with the other Big 10 institutions.
Be a Leader in DEI Efforts
Aattract and retain diverse talent, fulfill your mission to create a more just and equitable society, and stay in compliance with federal regulations.
Benchmark Against Peer Institutions
See how your campus compares to peer Big 10 network schools with a free benchmarking report.
Big 10 Specific Questionnaire
Leverage a questionnaire specifically developed for an institution like yours by practitioners with expertise in your space.
Big 10 Collaborators
Current Cohort
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Past Collaborators
Michigan State University
Lansing, Michigan
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
Ensure anonymity, data privacy, diverse participation, high response rates, and precise and actionable reporting.
So, you’ve been tasked with completing a campus climate survey. Maybe it was prompted by an incident, a new law, some kind of a review or audit, or your purpose is to make your campus environment a more inclusive and safe place for all. You may be inspired by a peer campus undertaking some self-reflection.
The prospect of designing, administering, and reporting on campus climate topics such as sexual misconduct or diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be daunting.
At SoundRocket, you don’t start from scratch, but you do have the flexibility to tailor your study to meet your precise needs. We are where expertise in higher education and survey methodology meet the practice of real world assessment. Our team has experience surveying student (community college, undergraduate, and graduate), staff, and faculty populations.
Interested in Participating in the Big 10 DEI Collaborative?
The first step is scheduling a consultation. We’ll discuss your institution’s needs and provide a more detailed explanation of the program
Our History with Campus Climate Surveys
When SoundRocket was founded in 2004 as the Survey Sciences Group, LLC, its very first data collection was the University of Michigan Student Life Survey, a campus climate survey designed to collect data on alcohol and drug use, mental health, campus safety, and a variety of student life topics in higher education. Since then, we have surveyed millions of students across over 400 campuses in the U.S. and abroad in a variety of collaborations—with standardized and custom survey designs at high response rates.
Our current generation of campus climate surveys (focused on sexual misconduct and diversity, equity, and inclusion) were developed from a partnership with the University of Michigan.
While we have had numerous opportunities to develop a cheap and quick campus climate survey “in a box” that would allow institutions to “check the box” that they have done this work, we have resisted the urge to turn these important studies into a commodity. Our collaborative focus has kept our work solidly driven by evidence and fully through collaborations where we can add value to our collaborator’s higher ed institution.
“In recent years, largely due to the success of our 2015 through 2021 campus climate surveys at U-M, we have seen a significant increase in this part of our business. We are determined to make this a significant area of growth for SoundRocket,” says Scott D. Crawford, SoundRocket’s Founder
View our calendar to schedule a free consultation with our campus climate survey experts.
Common Concerns in Campus Climate Survey Implementation
Anonymity
- Confidentiality of the data collected
- Identifiers attached to individual survey responses
- Data access, misuse, and quality
Response Rates
- Low response rates, industry-wide; more responses reduce bias and increase potential insights
- Representativeness
Expertise
- Campus climate, DEI or sexual misconduct subject matter experts needed
- Survey science experts increase survey and reporting quality
Third-Party Compliance
- Demands from government agencies, accessibility standards
- Evolving conversations around identity and assessment
Time
- An in-house survey development effort may take a year from project start to data collection
- A staff or faculty position is already a full-time job
Benchmarking
- Comparing against national data sources
- Comparing within institution between programs and cohorts
What Do Our Campus Climate Survey Experts Offer?
Experience
Baseline Questionnaires
Custom Collaboration
Data Privacy
Responsive Design
Breadth of Topics
Experience
- An experienced team of survey professionals, ready to go now
- Statistical sampling expertise
- State compliance experience & flexibility
- Decades of experience working in higher education
SoundRocket’s instruments have been developed by campus climate (DEI and sexual misconduct) researchers and professionals in higher ed, and optimized by survey science experts. We have experience fielding surveys at the behest of the Department of Justice and in compliance with statutes in multiple states.
Baseline Questionnaires
- Rigorously tested and ready to go
- Contract to data collection possible in weeks if needed
- Ready for multiple population types (students, staff, faculty, etc.)
Custom Collaboration
- Collaborative style, in partnership with an institution and its staff
- Options for fully customizable surveys, ability to tweak any and every aspect
- Custom study designs—we can support one-time or longitudinal data collections, as needed
At SoundRocket, we are prepared to share our expertise and learn from yours. We will work with you to cross every ‘t’ and dot every ‘i.’
Data Privacy
- Confidential and/or anonymous data collection
- Solutions from sample integrity to managing how data is reported
As a third-party organization, we can better protect data privacy, especially when compared to public universities. SoundRocket serves as a firewall between the campus community and the college or university, to ensure that only aggregated and de-identified data is shared.
Responsive Design
- Using responsive designs to improve quality and efficiency
- Proven methods for improving response rates
We have published on how to get a high response rate (60%+) on campus climate surveys, most recently in collaboration with the University of Michigan; see Applying Responsive Survey Design to Small-Scale Surveys: Campus Surveys of Sexual Misconduct.
Breadth of Topics
- Student conduct, outcomes, experiences, engagement
- Mental health
- Sexual misconduct
- Alcohol and substance abuse
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
- Leadership
- Student life, housing experiences