Sarina Lotlikar

UW–Madison officials shared results today from the university’s first ever campus-wide climate survey, pledging to use the findings to make the campus more welcoming to all students.

The survey found that while most students view the climate at UW–Madison positively, that’s not true for everyone. In particular, students from historically underrepresented and disadvantaged groups report experiencing a less favorable campus climate than majority students.

“We must insist and ensure that every student on our campus is free from harm, feels a strong sense of belonging, and is treated with respect. Anything less is unacceptable,” says Chancellor Rebecca M. Blank. “We are working very hard to address these disparities, but this effort will require everyone’s involvement.”

In the fall of 2016, all undergraduate, graduate, professional and non-degree-seeking students were invited to take the survey of nearly 200 questions; 8,652 students did, a 21 percent response rate. The full results are available at diversity.wisc.edu/climate/survey.

Among the key findings:

About four out of five students report feeling very or extremely safe, welcome and respected, and 70 percent feel like they belong very or extremely often.