Despite facing off against a blizzard and some initial technical difficulties, approximately 7,600 people at Grand Valley State University made their voices heard during last month’s myGVSU survey.

The myGVSU survey was the fourth campus climate study since 1994 and will help determine what changes should be made to make GVSU a better and more inclusive environment. The survey featured questions on work, student life, campus environment and on-campus bias incidents or prejudice, among other topics.

After what statistics professor and myGVSU study co-chair Neil Rogness called “a rocky start” launching the survey during the early February blizzard and experiencing technology issues as a result of the weather, the myGVSU committee decided to extend the survey an extra week to encourage more responses.

“It was a pretty healthy jump,” Rogness said of the additional week’s response numbers. “It was well worth extending it for a week.”

Ultimately, 45 percent of all faculty, 55 percent of all staff and 24 percent of all students responded to the survey.

“I was extremely pleased with the numbers who responded,” Rogness said.

The results are now undergoing data cleaning for the next month at Sue Rankin and Associates, a data consulting firm in Pennsylvania. A preliminary report is expected to be delivered in early summer with an official report being released in either late summer or early fall.

For more information about myGVSU, visit www.gvsu.edu/mygvsu.

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