Survey Terms and Definitions
The following terms and definitions are used throughout the Campus Climate Survey on Diversity and Inclusion. Each page has a link so that you can return to this list if you have any questions about the terms or their definitions while completing the survey.
Administrators: University employees who serve in senior leadership roles that inform campus policy and practices at a high level, such as Deans, Directors, Provosts, Vice Presidents, and the President at the University
Campus Climate: Current attitudes, behaviors, and standards held by members of the campus community regarding how inclusive and welcoming the campus is for individuals from various backgrounds and experiences
Disability: Term used to describe a person who has a physical, cognitive/mental, sensory, emotional or developmental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities
Ethnicity: A group of people who share a common heritage and/or ancestry; ethnic groups may also share a common language and religion
Faculty Member: University employees who typically teach in classroom settings
Gender Identity: A person's sense of being male, female, neither or both. It is personally defined (vs. being defined by how others see you)
Inclusion: State of feeling/believing/perceiving that one is included and embraced in a given community; an inclusive environment is one in which all individuals are respected regardless of how they identify (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, citizenship status, disability, etc.)
Non-Native English Speakers: People for whom English is not the first language they learned as a child
Privilege: Refers to an exclusive right granted on the basis of social status, heritage, sex, religious background, sexual orientation, etc.
Racial Identity: A socially constructed classification based on generalized physical features such as skin color, hair type, shape of eyes, physique, etc.
Racial/Ethnic Profiling: The use of an individual's race/ethnicity (or the individual's assumed race/ethnicity) as justification for an arrest, a traffic stop, etc.
Racial Tension: Term used to describe the perception of a strained relationship between people of different racial backgrounds
Resident Authority: Term used to describe someone who has been put in a position to speak for an entire demographic. Making someone the "resident authority" or spokesperson incorrectly assumes that individuals of the same background all think and act alike.
Sexual Orientation: Term which describes one's emotional, physical and sexual attraction to another person; this is inclusive of, but not limited to, those who define themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, or asexual
Socioeconomic Status: Refers to one's status or sociological classification based on income level, wealth, occupation, and educational background
Staff Member: University employees who typically work with students outside of classroom settings; however, some staff may not work with any students
Students: University students who are enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree seeking program. While some students may work at the University, thier primary engagement with the university in learning in classroom settings
Transgender: Term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the social expectations for the physical sex they were born with