UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The deadline for students, faculty and staff to participate in the Penn State Community Survey is Friday, March 6. In 15 minutes, community members at every Penn State campus can provide feedback that will help create a welcoming and inclusive environment at Penn State and help the University identify strengths and opportunities for growth in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion.
While participation among staff members is high, we need to hear from more students and faculty to include a range of perspectives that reflect the greater community across Penn State’s campuses, according to Karen Vance, assistant vice provost for institutional research.
Students, faculty and staff received a final reminder email from “pennstate@hedsconsortium.org” on March 3.
The following are a few answers to frequently asked questions about the survey:
- How can I encourage participation among students or colleagues? To help drive participation, faculty and staff can consider setting aside class, meeting or sports practice time and students can reach out through their clubs and networks to encourage peers and colleagues to take the survey.
- Why should I take the survey? Each area across the University will develop action plans to address the feedback of students, faculty and staff members in their respective areas. This is an opportunity to share your thoughts and perspectives of diversity, equity and inclusion — every student, faculty and staff member has an important role to play in creating an inclusive environment. Survey results will be used to align diversity and inclusion efforts with Penn State’s Strategic Plan.
- Where can I find my survey link? For your unique survey link, search “HEDS Consortium” in your Penn State inbox, spam folder or deleted messages for an email from “pennstate@hedsconsortium.org” sent on Feb. 3, Feb. 11, Feb. 24 and March 3.
- How can I win a prize? Community members who submit the 15-minute survey by March 6 will have a chance to win an Amazon or Starbucks gift card ranging from $10 to $50. After submitting a survey entry, a separate form will be available to register for a gift card. These entries are not attached in any way to survey responses.
- How will my privacy be protected? Protecting the privacy of survey respondents is Penn State’s priority. A third party, the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium, is administering the survey and they will provide Penn State with a data file of responses stripped of individual identifiers such as names, IDs, and email addresses. University leaders (e.g., executives, deans, directors, managers) do not receive any data. All summary reports will use only aggregated, or grouped, data. For more information about confidentiality, visit communitysurvey.psu.edu/confidentiality.
Visit communitysurvey.psu.edu for more information. If you have additional questions, reach out to project co-chairs Sonia DeLuca Fernández, associate vice provost for educational equity, and Karen Vance, assistant vice provost for institutional research, at communitysurvey@psu.edu.