Human Resources

The results of the Campus Survey will help University leadership better understand how staff and faculty experience the working environment at Wesleyan—its culture, benefits, management, communications, and more. What we learn from this survey will enhance our efforts to create a community that is built on trust, collegiality, and open-mindedness. We are conducting this first study to establish a baseline, with the intent to measure our progress on a regular cycle.

ModernThink LLC is an independent research and consulting firm that specializes in workplace excellence. In addition to important insights on the working environment at Wesleyan, ModernThink will provide the University with higher education benchmark data on how our working environment compares to similar colleges and universities across the nation.

The survey measures 10 core dimensions reflecting managerial and organizational competencies specific to colleges and universities and consists of 60 core questions. Wesleyan’s survey committee worked in consultation with ModernThink to include additional questions specific to our work.

The survey statements solicit feedback on a broad range of topics focused on the following themes:

• Collaboration
• Communication
• Confidence in senior leadership
• Diversity, inclusion, and belonging
• Faculty and staff well being
• Faculty experience (faculty only)
• Job satisfaction and support
• Mission and pride
• Performance management
• Professional development
• Supervisors/department chairs effectiveness

As a faculty or staff member of the University, your voice matters. This is a significant opportunity for you to share your ideas, opinions, and solutions by participating in both the survey and the action planning that will follow. Higher response rates give a more accurate picture of Wesleyan.

Yes, participation is completely voluntary.

Faculty and staff members employed with the University as of July 1, 2022, are invited and encouraged to participate in the survey.

Eligible faculty and staff members will be invited via email to take the survey hosted on ModernThink’s secure website. The survey is available beginning on October 10 through October 21.

You will receive an email from ModernThink providing you with a unique username and password along with instructions to complete the survey.

You may take the survey at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from work or from home. Internet access is required. Employees taking the survey can use the same workstation, if each person properly logs into, and out of, the survey.

The online survey should take approximately 20 minutes to complete. If you are unable to complete the survey after you begin, you will have the option to save your responses and access them later.

The survey consists of statements that participants respond to using a five-point agreement scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Sometimes Agree/Sometimes Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Additionally, there is a Not Applicable response option. The survey also includes a section on benefits and open-ended questions.

There are several demographic questions at the end of the survey (Gender Identity, Age, etc.). Respondents are encouraged to provide responses; however, you have the option of skipping any of the demographic questions. To minimize the time needed to complete this section, employment information such as job classification, salary range, tenure status, and years of service range will have been preloaded.

The purpose of the survey is to get honest feedback. Wesleyan is using an external partner (ModernThink) to administer the survey. It is web-based and automated with a secure internet connection.

Each person will receive an email invitation from ModernThink to participate in the survey. Once you click on the survey link, you will go directly to ModernThink’s website. Wesleyan has no access to this website. Your responses will be submitted directly to ModernThink’s database, and all processing will be done by ModernThink. You will not be asked your name on the survey. The email will include unique password information for each user. This information is stored on the ModernThink server.

This information is for access only and will not be linked to your individual survey responses.

The information you share will be strictly confidential, and personal data will be shared with the University in aggregate form.

No. The survey will be completed on ModernThink’s private server. The email address is only used to access the survey and to ensure that only one survey is completed per employee. Emails are purged from ModernThink’s system once the survey project has been completed.

The demographic information (i.e., Gender, Age, etc.) will help ModernThink and the University better understand the patterns and themes in the survey data. As the confidentiality of your responses is critical, ModernThink will not report your individual demographic data and group demographic data will only be reported when there are five or more respondents in a particular group. Although the demographics are an optional component of the survey, you are strongly encouraged to provide this information. To minimize the time needed to complete this section, employment information such as job classification, salary range, tenure status, and years of service range will have been preloaded.

Your answers will be stored each time you select the SAVE & CONTINUE button at the bottom of a survey page. If you get interrupted, you can come back to the survey. You will need to log on to the ModernThink survey site to re-access the survey. To protect your confidentiality, you will not be able to access the survey after you click the SUBMIT button on the last page of the survey.

For technical questions or problems with the survey site please contact ModernThink at (888) 684-4658 or surveys@modernthink.com, M–F, 9 am–5 pm ET. After hours, leave a message and your call will be returned as promptly as possible.

Questions regarding the survey can be directed to:

• Anne Laskowski, Chief of Staff and Director of Strategic Planning
• Lisa Brommer, Associate Vice President for Human Resources
• Liz Flood, Senior Project Manager, Modern Think at (888) 684-4658 or lflood@modernthink.com.