Nearly a full year after the Campus Climate Survey was made available to the faculty, staff, administrators and students of Binghamton University, the results have been processed and released.
The 45-page report, which was released Wednesday, includes detailed summaries and statistics from the 117-question survey that was distributed in April last year. Survey responses were anonymous, and participation was completely voluntary. Those who completed the survey were eligible to win prizes likes BUC$ and an iPad.
A total of 2,042 people answered the survey, making up 11 percent of the Binghamton University community. 1,136 undergraduate students, 276 graduate students, 478 members of the administration and 152 faculty members responded. The majority of those who participated identified as female, Caucasian and heterosexual.
Questions addressed demographics such as race, gender and citizenship, and asked participants to reflect on campus diversity and episodes of discrimination. They also addressed the availability of resources for students with disabilities and their experiences.
The survey showed that 22 percent of participants — staff, faculty, administration and students— reported experiencing discrimination or harassment in some form on the Binghamton University campus. The most common method of discrimination or harassment sited was verbal, followed by exclusion.
Students said that discrimination or harassment most commonly occurred in classroom settings followed by residence halls. Nineteen percent of students said they had been discriminated against, and over 50 percent said that discrimination was committed by a fellow student.
Administration and faculty said that the majority of the discrimination or harassment reported occurred in their immediate workplace environments. Twenty-nine percent of administration and 32 percent of faculty said they had been discriminated against. Members of the administration said that the majority of discrimination was executed by a supervisor, and faculty said that the majority of discrimination was done by a coworker.
Members of the faculty, administration and student body who identified as disabled reported more harassment than those who identified as non-disabled. Similarly, those who identified as “not exclusively heterosexual” said they experienced more discrimination than those who identified as exclusively heterosexual.
On a scale of one to five, where one meant it was not important and five meant very important, faculty, administration and students all ranked the importance of diversity on campus as more than 4.5.
This survey was the first of its kind to happen at Binghamton University, and organizers said that the need for work is evident but that the University has a strong commitment to progress and creating an inclusive campus environment.