Libraries Climate Survey

Q: What is a climate survey?

Q: Why are we conducting a climate survey?

Q: Is the Climate Survey Project Team writing the survey questions?

Q: Who is administering the climate survey?

Q: What is the University Libraries Committee (ULC)?

Q: Will my responses be anonymous?

Q: Can I download the Survey Information Sheet provided by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA?

Q: When will the survey be administered?

Q: How will the results from the survey be shared?

Q: How will the results be used?

Q: What is a climate survey?

A climate survey is a tool used to measure organizational culture in key identified areas. These areas may include employee satisfaction, organizational communication, innovation, diversity and more.

Q: Why are we conducting a climate survey?

Staff are our most valuable resource, and their workplace satisfaction is key to achieving many of our strategic goals. Administering a climate survey will allow the Libraries to measure employee satisfaction, employee engagement and workplace climate in order to provide a more holistic view of the Libraries’ employee perspective.

Q: Is the Climate Survey Project Team writing the survey questions?

The questions will come primarily from the survey tool selected by the Project Team, Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA. The survey will include additional questions on themes identified as pertinent to the Libraries by the University Libraries Committee (ULC). Themes will include, but are not limited to, job satisfaction, diversity, inclusivity and communication.

Q: Who is administering the climate survey?

We know that your information and feedback are important and we want to provide the safest way to gather this data. Therefore, the survey will be administered by the third-party vendor, the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA.

Analysis of the results will be conducted, in addition to HERI, by the University Libraries Committee (ULC). The Chair of the ULC, Sidury Christensen, Ph.D., will play an active role in in survey analysis. 

Q: What is the University Libraries Committee (ULC)?

The ULC is a university-standing committee comprised of appointed faculty representatives from each academic college, as well as one undergraduate student representative and one graduate student representative. The Dean of Libraries and the AD for Collections serve as ex-officio members. Reporting to the provost, with recommendations from the Committee, the ULC "provides direction and advice to the Dean of Libraries related to policies and procedures for the operation of the University's libraries and the development of collections and internal library information technology resources."

For the purpose of the Libraries Climate Survey, the Dean of Libraries and the AD for Collections will not participate in the survey-question recommendation and data analysis.

Q: Will my responses be anonymous?

Yes. Please review the Confidentiality and Privacy document provided by the administrator of the survey, Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA.

Q: Can I download the Survey Information Sheet provided by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA?

The Survey Information Sheet provided by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, which includes the purpose of the survey, procedures, potential benefits, risks and discomforts of the survey, confidentiality, contact information and participant rights can be downloaded by clicking the link below.

Q: When will the survey be administered?

The survey will be administered from Monday, Feb. 11, to Monday, Feb. 25. Please note that the invitation email, the survey link, and reminder emails will be sent directly by Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, not the Project Team.

Q: How will the results from the survey be shared?

The anonymous and de-identified* results of the Climate Survey will be shared with the University Libraries Committee for data analysis. The Dean of Libraries will receive the results report from Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA and recommendations from the University Libraries Committee based on analysis of the qualitative data. The Chair of the ULC, Sidury Christensen, Ph.D., will play an active role in survey analysis. 

The anonymous and de-identified* results report and recommendations will be shared and available for all staff.

*Results will be de-identified by removing identifiable demographics by HERI that can identify a particular participant. At least five participants must select a demographic before that demographic is displayed on the delivered data report. For example, at least five participants must choose “Female” as gender for data to be categorized as “Female” responses. All questions on the Climate Survey, including demographic questions, are optional.

Q: How will the results be used?

The results will be used to inform strategic decisions, support strategic goals, and inform recruitment and retention of employees.

Additionally, the results:

• are essential to facilitating development and organizational change 
• allow us to focus on needs and leverage its strengths 
• inform us on which actions will create problems for the employees
• provide management with employee feedback (both positive and negative) on the internal health of UTSA Libraries
• measure the impact of current programs, policies and procedures 
• can be used to motivate employees and improve job satisfaction