This webpage addresses questions about the Student Survey on Campus Climate and Community. Questions that are not addressed here may be directed to ocr@northwestern.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thissurveyinitiative will provide Northwestern leadership with a deeper understanding of Northwestern students’ experiences.The survey opened onApril 7,2026and will close May 1, 2026.
After a review of potential vendors,Universityleadership selectedRankin Climate, LLC. Now known as Interwoven Insights, Rankin Climate, LLC has been working withcolleges anduniversitiesformore than25 years and has conducted similar assessments on more than 300colleges and universitiesnationwide.
Allstudents in Evanston and Chicago who areenrolled in springclasses areinvited to complete the survey.
Participation in the survey is completely voluntary.Aside from providing information about primary affiliation at the University, participants do not have to answer any questions and can skip any that they consider uncomfortable.
The surveyseeksto understandstudents’ experiences and perspectives on the University's climate.
Consistent with the University’s Nov. 28,2025resolution agreementwith the federal government,data gathered related to Provision 16 of the agreement will be provided to the federal government.The full survey data will be reviewed byUniversityleadership and will help the institution better understand how students experience the campus environment.
Confidentiality is vital to the success of campus climate research;particularly assensitive and personal topics are discussed. While the survey cannot guarantee complete confidentiality because of the nature of multiple demographic questions, the consultant will take multiple precautionary measures to enhance individual confidentiality and the de-identification of data. No data already protected through regulation or policy (e.g., Social Security number, campus identification number, medical information) is obtained through the survey.In the event ofany publication or presentation resulting from the assessment, nopersonallyidentifiable information will be shared.
Confidentiality in participating will bemaintainedto the highest degreepermittedby the technology used (e.g., IP addresses will be stripped when the survey issubmitted). Rankin Climate has a dedicated Qualtrics online survey platform account. High-endfirewallsystems protect Qualtrics’ servers, and they perform scans regularly to ensure any vulnerabilities are quickly found and patched. Qualtrics uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption (also known as HTTPS) to protect transmitted data. Access to Rankin Climate surveys is restricted and audited for compliance. In addition, Rankin Climate will not report any findings for position or demographic groups of fewer than15individuals to avoid compromising confidentiality. Instead, Rankin Climate will combine relatively small groups to protectparticipantconfidentiality. Additionally, to reduce the chance that participant comments may be connected to their author, Rankin Climate will separate the written comments from all other survey responses, except for general position (e.g., undergraduate student), so the results can be applied to the relevant group. Anyclearly-identifyinginformation will be removed from written comments by Rankin Climate during analysis.
Rankin Climate uses a research data security description and protocol, which includes specific information on data encryption, the handling of personally identifiable information, physical security and a protocol for handling unlikely breaches of data security. The data from online participants will be submitted to a secure server hosted by the consultant. All Rankin Climate analysts have CITI (Human Subjects) training and approval and have worked on similar projects for other institutions.
The consultant has conducted more than 300 institutional surveys and maintains an aggregate merged database. The data from the Northwestern University project will be merged with all other existing campus data stored indefinitely on the consultant’s secure server. No institutional identifiers will be included in the full merged data set held by the consultant. The raw unit-level data with institutional identifiers is kept on the server for six months and then destroyed. The consultant will notify Northwestern of any breach or suspected breach of data security of the consultant’s server.
The consultant will provide Northwestern with a data file at the completion of the project.
Climate encompasses the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of students, as well as the institution’s environment and policies.Research shows that a positive campus climate significantlyimpactsthe success of community members. For instance, students who feel a sense of belonging report higher academic success and persistence.TheStudent Survey on Campus Climate and Communityallowsthe University toidentifyand address these issues, fostering a more supportive and thriving campus environment.
The Enrolled Student Survey, which was conducted in February and March of 2026,is one of a series ofregular surveysadministered by theOffice of Institutional Researchfocused on the undergraduate student experience. It is administered to all enrolled Evanston undergraduate students.
Northwestern’sReport a Concern websiteoffers a variety of resources for reporting concerns about discrimination, sexual misconduct, policyviolationsand other issues.
For questions about the incentive, emailthe Rankin Climate team atnorthwestern@rankinclimate.com. It may take up to30 daysfor you to receive your incentive.