In Fall 2018 the Organizational Health Index was completed by 4,209 University of Arizona employees (33% response rate). Results were shared with campus leaders who identified key areas for improvement. Then, a strategic initiative was created to address these topics and form next steps for campus. In the spring of 2019, Our Best Work Environment (OBWE) Strategic Plan Implementation Initiative 5.1A held 19 Praxis workshops with 247 faculty and staff in attendance. The process was informed by the Effective Academic Governance report derived from the Harvard COACHE survey (Wellundemo & Mathews, 2015). Through this process it was indicated that there was an interest for the University of Arizona to create our own internal survey to regularly assess work environment with a focus on motivation, leadership, and fostering a respectful workplace.
An OBWE Subcommittee Assessment Team was tasked with developing and piloting a survey instrument for University of Arizona Stakeholders (particularly employees) to replace the organizational health index as a measure of workplace climate.
- The Assessment Team met for the first time in early February, 2020 to generate/review a list of currently administered UArizona climate surveys in order to identify commonalities/gaps and to make recommendations based on current practice at external institutions. Based on this analysis, the committee agreed that the tool that best matched our needs was the Virginia Tech Campus Climate Survey.
- An adapted version of the Virginia Tech Campus Climate survey (i.e., language was changed to be university specific) was manually entered into Qualtrics and shared with a variety of UArizona employees that comprised six focus groups.
- Comments were summarized and were implemented in a revised version of the survey that the committee recommended for piloting and were shared with the Assessment Team at a final meeting in April 2020.
- Piloting of the survey was paused due to COVID-19 related issues.
Read the full OBWE Assessment Team Summary.
In Fall 2020 the strategic initiative funding for OBWE was swept in light of COVID-19 financial changes. The climate survey was moved to the Office of Diversity and Inclusivity in Fall 2020 and was discussed, reviewed, and edited by a group of faculty and staff through a committee led by Lucas Schalewski. This committee included representatives from colleges, Human Resources, Faculty Affairs, and HSI Initiatives. However, implementation of the survey continued to be paused in light of COVID-19. In the Spring of 2023, the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs resumed the project with a focus on faculty. The Climate Survey developed by the OBWE team and reviewed by the ODI committee was updated and then shared with the Faculty Senate Career-track Faculty Ad-Hoc Group, the University Initiatives Office, and the Faculty Affairs team. Surveys are being separately developed specifically for staff and will be implemented in 2024.
In the Fall of 2023, faculty are being invited to participate in the University of Arizona Faculty Climate Survey. The purpose of this survey is to better understand perspectives and experiences of faculty in their professional journeys. A comprehensive report of the 2023 Faculty Climate Survey, will be available soon in the Faculty Affairs Data and Reports website.
To read more about the University of Arizona Campus Climate Survey assessing the student experience visit this website.