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UC Irvine Office of Inclusive Excellence

Findings from the U.C.I. Lived Experience Survey

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The UC Irvine Understanding a Culture of Inclusion (U.C.I.) Lived Experience Survey is a comprehensive online instrument used during Winter and Spring 2025 to capture the experiences and perspectives of current students, staff, and faculty. This survey was an essential part of the university’s commitment to fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging.

Introduction

Below is an interactive report detailing the 11 Key Insights from the U.C.I. Lived Experience Survey. The results are categorized according to how positive the responses were: Excellent (the most positive, with more than 85% of respondents providing positive responses), Good, Positive, Inconsistent, and Priority Attention (the least positive, with 50% or below providing positive responses). In this sense, “Priority Attention” refers to challenges that should be prioritized when improving the campus climate.

“Categorical differences” refer to group differences where one group’s results are in a different category than other groups’. For example, when one group has “Good” responses while all other groups have “Excellent” responses. These differences are not necessarily statistically significant but still indicate a visible difference in lived experiences for the given group.

“Further analyses” and “significant differences” refer to results from multivariate models using logistic regression to predict differences in group outcomes based on demographic characteristics. In other words, do the results for a given group differ significantly when compared to a reference group from the same type of characteristics? The reference groups used in these analyses are as follows:

  • Men (compared to Women and Nonbinary individuals)
  • Heterosexual individuals (compared to those who did not identify as heterosexual, including nonresponders)
  • Individuals with no disabilities (compared to those with disabilities)
  • Financially-stable individuals (compared to financially-challenged individuals)
  • White individuals (compared to African American/Black, Asian American/Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, Middle Eastern, Native American, Pacific Islander, or Multiracial individuals)
  • Jewish individuals (compared to those who did not identify as Jewish)
  • Muslim individuals (compared to those who did not identify as Muslim)
  • Politically Conservative individuals (compared to those who identified as Moderate or Liberal)

To use the interactive report, click any piece of information on the list of Key Insights (the insight number, its focus, or its description). This will bring up detailed information for the selected insight, including relevant survey results, a summary of respondents’ feedback provided during the listening sessions, and notable opportunities for UC Irvine based on these responses. Hovering over this detailed information will display a list of groups who provided a “Priority Attention” level of responses, if applicable. To return to the full list of Key Insights, re-click the piece of information you originally clicked (highlighted in blue).

Findings

Anteater Insider Podcast | Lived Experience Survey

What is the Inclusive Excellence Model?

The Inclusive Excellence (IE) model, created by Dr. Williams with the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU), launched the Inclusive Excellence movement in American higher education and beyond. Written in 2005, the monograph Toward a Model of Inclusive Excellence and Change in Postsecondary Institutions has been downloaded more than one million times. Notable institutions using the model include the University of Virginia, University of Missouri, Cal Poly, Rider University, Clemson University, and numerous others. The model was recently adopted to drive the racial equity and achievement agenda for the State of Virginia.

The IE model defines diversity as a comprehensive organizational change effort designed to build:

  • Access and Equity: Increasing access and equity of outcomes for diverse students by building a welcoming community that engages all of its diversity in the service of overall student and organizational learning.
  • An Inclusive, Multicultural Learning Climate: Establishing a multicultural and inclusive campus environment for all students, faculty, and staff. Paying attention to the cultural differences that learners bring to the educational experience and that enhance the enterprise. Establishing a place where all feel welcome, and no one must assimilate to belong.
  • Preparation of Students for a Diverse and Global World: Creating learning opportunities for students and training opportunities for faculty and staff that prepare them to lead in a diverse and global world and, more imminently, in a multicultural community.
  • Diversity Scholarship: The purposeful development and utilization of diversity-focused teaching, learning, scholarship, service, and creative endeavors to drive the diversity knowledge of the institution. Organizationally, IE means establishing an environment that challenges each student to achieve academically at high levels and each member of the university to contribute to that learning and knowledge development.

U.C.I. Lived Experience Survey Frequently Asked Questions

What is the UCI Lived Experience Study?

The Lived Experience Study is a university-wide effort to better understand how students, faculty, and staff experience campus life—across safety, belonging, fairness, well-being, and everyday interactions. It was conducted with an independent research team and designed as a strategic reference to inform reflection, planning, and improvement.

How many people participated?

A total of 9,797 members of the UC Irvine community completed the survey:

  • 5,731 students
  • 1,380 faculty
  • 2,686 staff

The survey was complemented by facilitated listening sessions and open-ended feedback. Results were weighted to reflect campus demographics, providing a strong evidence base across roles and identities.

What did the survey aim to capture? What happens with the information and data collected?

The U.C.I. Experience Initiative & Lived Experience Study supports the institution in emboldening its commitment to inclusive excellence and will help university leaders further foster a learning and working environment. The initiative supports the UC Irvine community along its journey of developing an evidence-based approach and strategy to build equitable practices across the entire university.

The initiative sought to understand the lived experience of current students, staff, and faculty, while offering opportunities for community-building and dialogue. The insights gathered during the first half of the initiative will inform the development of five-year strategic inclusive excellence plan, designed to strengthen the university’s ability to create an environment that is inclusive and excellent for all.

The survey sought to understand a wide range of experiences related to community, culture, equity, and inclusion within UC Irvine. It explores the campus community’s feelings of belonging, perceptions of fairness, experiences while on and around campus, student services, and potential mistreatment or discrimination. The survey also assessed overall campus community satisfaction.

The study was conducted to gain a clearer, evidence-informed understanding of campus experiences in a complex national and higher education environment. It was not designed to assign blame or evaluate individuals or units, but to support thoughtful, forward-looking decision-making.

The data collected from this survey will be used to evaluate and improve campus programs and policies. The information gathered throughout this initiative will go on to:

  • Establish a statistical baseline for measuring inclusivity in a way that can be repeated across time to establish progress toward goals.
  • Inform the development of OIE strategic inclusive excellence plan and be used to create and refine policies, program, initiatives, and services. The strategic plan timeline will be available soon.
  • Provide insight into key climate issues that warrant additional assessment or intervention.
Who conducted the survey?

To design, lead, and implement this project, UC Irvine retained a neutral third party, the Center for Strategic Diversity Leadership and Social Innovation (CSDLSI), based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Founded in 2009 by Dr. Damon A. Williams, CSDLSI’s mission is to empower leaders with the strategies, tools, and resources required to advance the shared and ongoing work of creating more inclusive environments and communities. CSDLSI’s Inclusive Excellence approach focuses on leading institution-wide Inclusive Excellence change efforts.

CSDLSI specializes in:

  • Social Climate and Culture Research and Evaluation, such as organizational climate and culture research; campus climate studies with mass survey instrument development and administration; comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis; and formal written evaluations with detailed recommendations.
  • Organizational Change Management and Strategic Planning, including leading organizational redesign and change management efforts; designing vertical and lateral diversity organizational structures; developing diversity planning and accountability strategies; and establishing strategic faculty and staff hiring and retention programs.
  • Professional Development and Training (both in person and online) designed to focus on capability building, strategic diversity leadership development, and current Inclusive Excellence research and best practices.

For more information about the Center and its work, visit their website at DrDamonAWilliams.com.

Who is Dr. Damon A. Williams?

Serving as the center’s Chief Catalyst, Dr. Williams is an award-winning scholar, educator, speaker, strategist, consultant and social-impact leader with over 22 years of experience working with more than 1,000 colleges and universities, schools, health care organizations, corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies.

Dr. Williams is the author of the best-selling books Strategic Diversity Leadership: Activating Change and Transformation in Higher Education and The Chief Diversity Officer: Strategy, Structure, and Change Management. He is one of the original architects of the Inclusive Excellence concept in American higher education.

Dr. Williams previously served as Senior Vice President for Programs, Training and Youth Development at Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Headquarters. Prior to that, he served as the Associate Vice Chancellor, Vice Provost and CDO at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Williams was honored as the youngest and the first Black recipient of his boarding school’s highest honor for leadership and service, Western Reserve Academy’s Waring Prize of Leadership.

To learn more about Dr. Williams and the work of CSDLSI, please visit DrDamonAWilliams.com.

What did the survey ask?

The UCI Lived Experience Survey was an online questionnaire fielded to current students (undergraduate and graduate), staff, and faculty. To create a demographic profile of the UC Irvine campus community, the survey asked for information such as race, religion, gender, disability, etc. The survey also asked students, staff, and faculty about their experiences at UC Irvine, including whether they feel like they belong, have experienced discrimination or bias, and more. Many of these questions used a scale of “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” Finally, the survey offered an option to write in stories of relevant experiences and other thoughts.

How confidential was participation in the survey?

Any research, including campus climate surveys, conducted by CSDLSI is completely confidential and secure. Each participant’s identity is masked from UC Irvine, although the consultants running the survey were able to see whether a participant was designated as a student, staff, or faculty member. No identifying information was attached to their responses, and the data was aggregated before being shared with the university. Only the CSDLSI research team has complete access to the data.

The survey was designed to protect respondents’ privacy, ensuring that their responses cannot be traced back to them. CSDLSI enforces stringent privacy, confidentiality, and ethical research practices in all activities, going beyond minimum accepted requirements. Additionally, the team maintains strict data protection operations including secure data systems, access control, monitoring, and support.

What should the campus take away overall?

The study does not capture every individual experience, and no single set of findings can fully reflect the complexity of campus life. Taken together, however, nearly 10,000 responses provide a valuable, evidence-informed picture of shared patterns and areas where focused attention can help strengthen consistency, trust, and collective success.

Who can I contact for more information?

For more information about the survey, please contact the Office of Inclusive Excellence email at inclusion@uci.edu