The Fall 2025 climate survey builds on the snap climate survey initiated in Fall 2024. Our community shared their experiences and perceptions concerning the University’s progress toward its strategic initiative to foster an inclusive, people-centered culture.
What is a “snap” climate survey?
A “snap” survey is a brief, internally developed and administered assessment of the community’s experience of the University of Rhode Island (URI) environment at a particular moment—a snapshot—in time. The survey was conducted October 16-November 7, 2025, approximately the sixth through the ninth week of the fall semester. Results were released to the University community in early December, within one month of the survey closing, enabling prompt review of the results and enhancing transparency.
This seven (7)-question survey (not including demographic questions), included six (6) quantitative measures, and one (1) opportunity for qualitative feedback, repeating the questions asked on the 2024 snap climate survey:
- How would you rate your overall experience at URI? (Overall experience)
- To what extent do you agree with the following statement? I have found a community at URI where I feel like I belong. (Sense of belonging)
- How likely are you to recommend the University of Rhode Island to a friend or colleague? (Net Promoter Score)
- I know URI resources I can go to for support if I experience inappropriate behavior. (Knowledge of Support Resources)
- Do you know how to officially report any ageist, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, antisemitic, Islamophobic, or other offensive behaviors and statements at URI? (Awareness of Reporting Channels)
- I am treated fairly at URI without regard to any element of my personal identity (e.g., age, health status/disability, gender identity, race/ethnicity, national origin/citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status, or political affiliation). (Fair Treatment)
- What is one thing you would recommend that the University do to materially improve your experience at URI this year? (Open Feedback)
The 2025 survey also included a few new demographic questions. Specifically, the 2025 survey offered student participants an opportunity to share their commuter and on-campus residential status, clarified the categorization of Graduate School staff with the Division of Academic Affairs, and added the Office of Human Resources, which previously reported to the Division of Administration and Finance until October 2024, after the 2024 snap climate survey data collection period began.
In the future, the University plans to conduct a comprehensive Climate Survey, similar to the 2021 Climate Survey, which will provide more extensive insight into the drivers of University community members’ experiences. Over time, with greater participation from all University constituents, there will be more comprehensive and reliable data on which to base strategic decisions about prioritization of resources and support to foster an inclusive, people-centered culture, informed by the community’s input.
Who participated?
The “snap” climate survey was open to all URI students, faculty, staff, and affiliates (n=19,321). Participants self-selected the category with which they identify. Some participants belong to more than one category, such as full-time staff who are also currently enrolled as students in a degree-granting program. Participants were asked to select their primary role at URI.
We received a total of 3,084 responses, which is 345 more than in 2024. This represents about 16% of the university population. Staff had the highest participation rate at approximately 35%, while the largest growth came from undergraduate students, whose responses increased by nearly 60% compared to last year (from 712 to 1,135). Even with that growth, student responses were much less robust compared to the overall student population with approximately 8% of undergraduate students and 7% of graduate students submitting survey responses. By contrast, roughly 32% of full-time faculty participated in the snap climate survey.
As demonstrated by the following chart of those who provided a role, undergraduate students submitted the majority of survey responses (48%) increased by 10 percentage points from 2024 when 38% of survey participants self-identified as undergraduates, followed by staff (30%), who participated at a lower rate than 2024 when 38% of survey participants identified as staff. University affiliates, individuals connected to the University who are neither students nor employees, are reflected in the category labeled other.
Students: 48%
Students: 8%
How is my data protected?
The survey was completely voluntary, anonymous and confidential. Participants could answer as many or as few questions as they liked. Additionally, to protect confidentiality, the survey inquired only about division or college, not specific unit or department. No login information was required. All members of the University community are encouraged to share their feedback. It takes each of us to foster an inclusive, people-centered culture.
Only survey administrators—a total of 3 employees—in the Offices of Institutional Research and Community, Equity & Diversity—have access to anonymous, disaggregated demographic data. No individually identifiable data is visible to survey administrators. University leaders—President, Provost, Vice Presidents, and Deans—only have access to anonymous, disaggregated data where there are 10 or more responses in any given category.
A Note About Available Resources and Support: No action is taken against any community member or any academic or administrative division for participating or not participating in the climate survey or any other lawful, protected activity. Retaliation is a violation of community standards and is not tolerated at URI. If you believe you have experienced retaliation, the Office of Equal Opportunity is available for consultation. Additional resources are available on our Rhody Report It page, including a link to the confidential ethics reporting hotline.
Respondent Demographics
All dimensions of human difference are important aspects of the diversity each member contributes to the University community. The snap climate survey provided participants opportunities to provide responses regarding many of those aspects of their social identity, including age, disability, religion, political affiliation, socio-economic status, military service, educational attainment levels, race/ethnicity, sex, and sexual orientation, among others. Response rates from underrepresented communities were significantly low. By way of illustration and consistent with the State of Rhode Island’s requirement of certain reporting on the basis of race/ethnicity and sex (see, for example, Annual Legislative Report pursuant to RIGL §16-32-2.1), the following charts demonstrate responses reflecting those demographics overall. Responses from those populations to any specific survey question were notably smaller.
Race/Ethnicity
| What is your race or ethnicity? (select all that apply) n=2,186 | Percentage* | Count |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 1% | 32 |
| Asian | 7% | 152 |
| Black or African American | 9% | 199 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 13% | 282 |
| Middle Eastern or North African | 2% | 48 |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 0.5% | 10 |
| White | 78% | 1,699 |
*Percentage exceeds 100 because participants could select more than one.
Sex**
| What is your assigned birth sex? n=2,245 | Percentage | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Female | 66% | 1,487 |
| Intersex | 0.1% | 3 |
| Male | 31% | 693 |
| Prefer not to say | 3% | 62 |
**With the exception of full, tenured professors, males are underrepresented in every population-students, faculty, and staff-at URI.
Due to low response rates among these and other underrepresented populations, and low participation from the University community overall, only aggregate results by role (student, faculty, staff) are shared with verified members of the University community in an effort to balance individual privacy with institutional transparency.
Why is the University asking for this information and what is the University doing to address the survey findings?
URI is striving for a data-informed, evidence-based approach to assessing access and inclusion that are at the heart of URI’s land-grant mission.
The brevity of the snap survey, including the promptness with which results are available, enables University leaders to address community feedback and monitor the impact of those responsive actions. For example, in response to quantitative and qualitative survey feedback from the 2024 survey, University leaders took steps to highlight support resources and pathways to report concerning behavior. Increased positive responses to those questions on the 2025 survey indicate that those action steps were effective.
Going forward, the University Diversity Council Assessment Committee will work to analyze and amplify survey results. The committee will also host focus groups to learn more about why community members were willing to participate in the survey and why they were not. Those qualitative findings, coupled with the quantitative survey results will be used to develop college and division level action plans to further improve campus climate and culture. Additionally, with two years of survey responses, University leaders can begin to set goals for survey metrics such as belonging or fair treatment.
Survey Results
The URI community can access survey results by population.