CECE Graduate School Survey

The CECE graduate school survey measures graduate students’ perceptions of their graduate programs. Specifically, the CECE graduate school survey measures the degree to which graduate students perceive their graduate program environments to be characterized by the following:

1. Cultural familiarity
2. Culturally relevant knowledge
3. Cultural community service
4. Meaningful cross-cultural engagement
5. Cultural validation
6. Collectivist orientations
7. Humanized educational experiences
8. Proactive philosophies
9. Holistic support

For additional information about the core CECE indicators, please visit our CECE model page.

CECE Graduate School Survey Modules

Institutions are now able to add modules to the standard CECE surveys. These optional modules cover a wide range of topics related to inclusion, equity, and success. Specifically, topics include institutional diversity, engagement with diversity, culturally relevant high-impact practices, culturally relevant and responsive pedagogy, social justice leadership and activism, and culturally responsive support systems. Descriptions of the available modules are below.

Institutional Diversity

This institutional diversity module is designed to measure issues related to representation of diversity and environmental challenges. These include the following:

• The representation of women, people income from low- backgrounds, and people of color.
• Experiences in the climate, such as experienced prejudice, discrimination, and isolation.
• Views about the institution’s commitment to diversity and responsiveness to climate problems.

Also available for the community college, four-year college, staff, and faculty surveys.

Engagement with Diversity

The engagement with diversity module focuses on graduate students’ experiences with learning activities that foster learning and development around diversity and inclusion. These include the following:

• Participation in discussions about inequality.
• Meaningful engagement with people from different identity groups.
• Engagement in discussions about the benefits of diversity.
• Completion of course evaluations that consider diversity in the classroom.

Also available for the community college, four-year college, staff, and faculty surveys.

Campus Environments and Mental Health*

The campus environments and psychological well-being module captures the psychological stressors and related issues that students experience within the context of the college campus. This module measures the following:

• The degree to which respondents experience a range of mental health challenges.
• The extent to which exposure to prejudice and stereotypes in the campus environment their psychological well-being.
• The degree to which respondents view their lives as stressful, including the degree to which they perceive their lives to be unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded.
  Perceptions related to the institution’s effort to decrease stressful events in a way that reflects commitment to promoting a positive campus climate and heathy well-being.
• Respondents’ likelihood of seeking professional psychological resources on campus, and the degree to which they believe they have access to effective supports.
• The degree to which students have access to mental health services that are based in culturally relevant and holistic approaches, focusing on the degree to which the culture at the institution is proactive in providing humanized psychological services.

Also available for the community college, four-year college, staff, and faculty surveys.

Sexual Misconduct*

The sexual misconduct module is designed to measure participants’ perceptions of their institution’s commitment to eliminating sexual misconduct, its culture around sexual misconduct, and opportunities to engage in activities and utilize resources that help minimize sexual misconduct. This includes the following:

• Views about the institution’s commitment to eliminating sexual assault.
• Opportunities to learn about the relationship between systemic oppression and sexual assault.
• Opportunities to understand personal biases and cultural norms that contribute to a culture that is conducive to sexual misconduct.
• Opportunities to engage in activities to reduce sexual misconduct on campus and in society.
• Access to information and resources related to sexual misconduct.
• Knowledge and behavior regarding the reporting of sexual assault.

Also available for the community college, four-year college, staff, and faculty surveys.

Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy

This module is designed to capture graduate student participants’ perspectives about how well instructors engage culturally relevant and responsive practices in their classrooms. The module encompasses the following:

• Faculty creation of welcoming and inclusive classroom environments
• Faculty engagement of diverse voices in the curriculum
• Faculty ability to facilitate difficult dialogues related to diversity

Also available for the community college and four-year college surveys.

Social Justice Leadership and Opportunities

The social justice leadership and opportunities module measures the degree to which graduate students engage in opportunities that foster social justice oriented leadership development. These include the following:

• Programs to learn about systemic oppression.
• Activities that teach the value of marginalized voices.
• Programs that advocate for underserved populations.
• Programs that integrate the interests of diverse communities into their fabric.
• Experiences building coalitions to resist oppression and advocate for equity.

Also available for the community college and four-year college surveys.

Culturally Responsive Support Systems

The culturally responsive support systems module is designed to measure graduate students’ experiences with faculty and staff who make efforts to provide holistic, proactive, and humanized support. This includes the following:

• Ways in which educators who engage in behaviors to show they care about and are committed to the success of the student.
• Ways in which faculty and staff who proactively connect students to important resources.
• Ways in which educators go above and beyond the call of duty to support students.

Also available for the community college and four-year college surveys.

Culturally Relevant and Responsive Mentoring

This module is designed to capture graduate students’ views about mentoring within their graduate programs and on the larger campus. Topics in this module include:

• Availability of culturally validating mentoring.
• Access to holistic and proactive mentoring relationships.
• Experiences with caring and committed mentors.

Also available for the faculty survey.

Culturally Engaging Research and Scholarship

The culturally engaging research and scholarship module is designed to capture information about graduate students’ access to robust opportunities to engage in research and produce scholarship in their graduate programs. Topics in the module include:

• Equity in opportunities to learn about research and develop research skills.
• Opportunities to participate in the execution of culturally relevant research projects.
• Support to engage in culturally relevant writing and publishing activities.

Also available for the faculty survey.