- Office of the President
- Current Initiatives
- WSCUC Accreditation Reaffirmation
- Financial Sustainability
- 2024-25 Colleges Reorganization
- Leadership Searches
- President's Equity Council
- Other Initiatives
- Faculty and Staff Housing
- Affinity-based Student Success and Resource Centers
- Post-COVID Opportunity Scan
- Partnership for University Latine/x Success & Opportunity (PULSO)
- Review of Low Degree Conferring (LDC) Programs
- Scaling Career Services Task Force
- SWEET
- Working Professional Recruitment and Service Task Force
- Future Directions strategic planning
- Messages from the President
- Happy Holidays & Save the Dates for Spring!
- WSCUC Accreditation Update & Offsite Review
- Fall Recess and Thanksgiving
- Concerns About Safety and Well-Being of Our Campus Community
- Post-election Support Resources
- Update on Leadership Searches
- Announcing Leadership Change
- Findings on 2024 belong@csueastbay Campus Climate Survey
- Join us for Science in the Park October 5
- AVÀÇ Participates in 2024 Ballot Bowl: Voter Registration for November Elections
- President’s Budget Reduction Update
- Invitation to AVÀÇ HSI Summit on September 27th
- Joint message from President and Senate Officers regarding College Reorganization Consultation Plan
- The 2024 Fall Convocation recording is now available
- Campus update – MPP position eliminations
- Administrator/Staff Reduction FAQ
- Update on Budget and Deficit Reduction Initiatives
- Announcing Interim Leadership for AY24-25
- Announcing Our New Mascot
- Provost Search Update
- Update: AVÀÇ Accreditation Reaffirmation Visit Spring 2025
- Ribbon-cutting for the Queer United Student Success Center
- Progress Update: Future Directions SMART Actions
- Announcing launch of Provost search
- Title IX and DHR Update
- Upcoming Communications: Stay Tuned for Important Updates
- Title IX Updates
- 2023 Messages
- Happy Holidays from President Sandeen
- Future Directions SMART Action Update-Year One
- Statement Condemning Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
- A Message of Gratitude and Reflection
- Update on the Concord Center
- Update on Faculty-Staff Housing Task Force
- Update on Childcare Task Force
- College of Health Decision
- Updates on Leadership Searches
- CSU Directive on Low Degree-Conferring Programs
- I Stand with Immigrants
- Next Steps on the Working Professionals Task Force
- Next Steps on the Scaling Career Services Task Force
- Reminder of Support Resources Available Following Escalation in Middle East
- Welcome/Welcome Back to AVÀÇ
- State of California Title IX Audit Report
- Cozen O'Connor Assessment Report
- Mildred GarcÃa Appointed 11th CSU Chancellor
- Conclusion of Cozen O’Connor Assessment
- CSU Presidential Review Criteria
- A message from Interim Chancellor - President Sandeen Triennial Review
- Recreation and University Union - Proposed Fee Increases
- 2023 Budget Principles
- Financial Stability Process Memo
- Deep Dive into Future Directions
- CSU Budget Reallocation Update
- Letter to Our Campus Community: The Death of Tyre Nichols
- Announcing new Working Professional Task Force
- Announcing new College of Health Implementation Task Force
- Announcing new Scaling Career Services Task Force
- Support for Lunar New Year Tragedy
- Title IX/DHR Update
- 2022 Messages
- Kathleen Wong(Lau), Ph.D. Named University Diversity Officer
- Reimagining the Concord Campus Update
- Staff Wellness, Enrichment and Engagement Team (SWEET)
- Sharing the Reimagining the Concord Campus Task Force report
- Upcoming Title IX Organizational Assessment visit
- Recent DACA Decision and Our Response
- AVÀÇ Accreditation Reaffirmation Visit Spring 2025
- Chancellor Koester Message Regarding Title IX Assessment
- With Renewed Commitment to Serve Our Black Community Members
- A Message from Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester
- Staff Salary Equity Study
- Diversity Office Update
- Near-Final Future Directions Draft for Feedback
- Evelyn Buchanan Appointed Vice President for University Advancement
- Applied Sciences Center Receives Full Donor Funding
- Myeshia Armstrong appointed Vice President for Administration & Finance
- Grand Opening of Student Success Centers on Thursday, March 17
- A message from President Sandeen regarding CSU Trustees' acceptance of Chancellor Castro's resignation
- Walt Jacobs, Ph.D., named Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
- Professor Enrique Salmón appointed as AVÀÇ Inaugural Tribal Liaison
- AVÀÇ Title IX Responsibilities to Our Community
- AVÀÇ to return to scheduled course delivery Monday, Jan. 31
- AVÀÇ named to #CaliforniansForAll College Corps
- Welcome to Spring Semester 2022
- Update on the Beginning of Spring 2022 Semester
- CSU to Require Vaccination Boosters
- 2021 Messages
- With gratitude, from President Sandeen
- Telecommuting program to begin January 2022
- My Story, My Truth Assessment Results
- Launching Our Future Directions Strategic Planning Initiative
- In Support of Our DACA Students
- CSU COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Students, Faculty and Staff
- Updated University Guidance on Face Coverings at AVÀÇ
- Looking Forward to Seeing Everyone Again
- Looking forward beyond COVID-19
- CSU to require immunization against COVID-19
- If one of us, then all of us: A statement asking for grace, compassion and togetherness
- Housing Task Force Report
- Post-COVID opportunity scan
- COVID-19 One Year Later
- Establishment of Affinity-Based Student Success Centers
- Welcome to Spring 2021 Semester
- Our Role in Preserving Our Democracy
- A Greeting from President Cathy Sandeen
- 2024 Campus Climate Assessment
- My Story My Truth
- Freedom of Speech & Expression
- Title IX/DHR
- Reporting and Options
- Support Services
- Confidentiality
- Title IX Coordinator
- Events & Involvement
- Resources for Students
- Resources for Staff and Faculty
- Resources for Pregnant and Parenting Students
- Help a Friend
- Education & FAQs
- Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation (DHR)
- Policies and Procedures
- notice-of-non-discrimination-2024-25.pdf
- Cozen O'Connor Title IX and DHR Assessment
- Student Complaint Form
- NAGPRA & CalNAGPRA
- In the News
- Presidential History
- Downloadable Images
Frequently Asked Questions about the Campus Climate Assessment
Many students, faculty and staff cite “community” as one of the strongest values at AVÀÇ. The university seeks qualitative and quantitative to benchmark this concept, as well as the idea of belonging. This type of assessment is globally called a climate survey, although we have retitled the project so it is not confused with university-wide sustainability efforts.
The idea to conduct a campus climate survey originated from interested students, faculty and staff who believed data from such a survey might be useful in planning for the future and improving the climate, or sense of belonging, at AVÀÇ.
Susan Rankin, Ph.D. of Rankin & Associates Consulting, which is serving as the outside consultant for AVÀÇ climate survey, defines campus climate as, “the current attitudes, behaviors, standards and practices of employees and students of an institution.” The climate is often shaped through personal experiences, perceptions and institutional efforts.
The Climate Survey Working Group (CSWG) is charged with conducting AVÀÇ’s assessment of belonging. After a review of potential vendors, the committee selected Rankin & Associates Consulting to conduct the survey, and the firm reports directly to the committee. Although the CSWG will regularly update AVÀÇ about its progress, the committee—in consultation with Rankin & Associates—is solely responsible for the development, implementation and interpretation of the survey and its results.
Susan Rankin (Rankin & Associates Consulting) is the consultant working directly with us on this project. She is faculty member emerita of Education Policy Studies and College Student Affairs at The Pennsylvania State University and a senior research associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education. She has extensive experience in institutional climate assessment and institutional climate transformation based on data-driven action and strategic planning. Rankin has conducted multi-location institutional climate studies at more than 200 institutions across the country. She developed and utilizes the Transformational Tapestry model as a research design for campus climate studies. The model is a “comprehensive, five-phase strategic model of assessment, planning and intervention, designed to assist campus communities in conducting inclusive assessments of their institutional climate to better understand the challenges facing their respective communities” (Rankin & Reason, 2008).
Rankin’s research maintains that positive personal experiences with campus climate and positive perceptions of campus climate generally equate to successful outcomes. Example successful outcomes include positive educational experiences and healthy identity development for students, productivity and sense of value for faculty and staff, and overall well-being for all.
In reviewing efforts by other universities to conduct comprehensive climate studies, several best practices were identified. One was the need for external expertise in survey administration. The administration of a survey relating to a very sensitive subject like campus climate is likely to yield higher response rates and provide more credible findings if led by an independent, outside agency. Members of a college community may feel particularly inhibited to respond honestly to a survey administered by their own institution for fear of retaliation.
It is important in campus climate research for survey participants to “see” themselves in response choices to prevent “othering” an individual or an individual’s characteristics. Some researchers maintain that assigning someone to the status of “other” is a form of marginalization and should be minimized, particularly in campus climate research which has an intended purpose of inclusiveness. Along these lines, survey respondents will see a long list of possible choices for many demographic questions. However, it is reasonably impossible to include every possible choice to every question, but the goal is to reduce the number of respondents who must choose “other.”