CWC Survey Administration at CU System Office

For more information on the Campus and Workplace Culture Survey, visit https://www.cu.edu/campus-and-workplace-culture-survey

Glossary

Department Groups

The system office survey administration established eight (8) groups of departments for the purpose of reporting survey results with enough employees to report data without revealing any individual responses.

  • Advancement
  • Budget & Finance includes Budget & Finance, Risk Management, State & Federal Relations,Treasurer, University Controller
  • Employee Services includes CU Health Plan Administration
  • Office of Digital Education (ODE)
  • Office of the President includes Chief of Staff, Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI), Regent Operations, University Relations, Academic Affairs
  • Procurement Service Center (PSC)
  • University Information Systems (UIS)
  • University Counsel & Internal Audit

 

Age

Employee age is calculated as of 10/1/2021 based on each employee's date of birth.

 

Disability Status

Employees – Employee Services maintains data on disability status in compliance with state and federal laws. HCM Disability Status is self-reported by employees in the HCM employee portal (my.cu.edu), formerly known as HRMS. The question is shown below as it is presented to employees in the portal.

You are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Autism,
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, or HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision,
  • Cancer
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or hard of hearing
  • Depression or anxiety
  • Diabetes
  • Epilepsy
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, or irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual disability
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Nervous system condition for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson's disease, or Multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Psychiatric condition, for example, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, or major depression

CWC Survey Disability Status is self-reported by employees in the survey. The question is shown below as it is presented to employees in the CWC Survey.

As a campus, we lack reliable data on how many employees identify as having a disability. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), an individual with a disability is a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities such as breathing, eating, sleeping, walking, talking, manual tasks, etc. This information is important for determining what kind of resources are needed to support our campus community.

  • Learning disability or ADHD
  • Mobility or sensory disability (e.g., prosthetic, spinal cord injury, hard of hearing, low vision, etc.)
  • Chronic mental health condition (e.g., depression, PTSD, anxiety, etc.)
  • Chronic medical condition (e.g., cystic fibrosis, diabetes, chronic pain, etc.)
  • Other disability or chronic condition

 

Hire Date

Employee hire date is calculated as of 10/1/2021 based on each employee's date of hire. Based on Original Hire Date, so breaks in service may not be reflected in the calculation.

 

Sex and Gender

Sex, gender identity, and gender expression are different, but all three are protected classes. Currently, data collection at CU asks about an individual’s sex. Both student and employee data regarding sex are self-reported by the individual. At present, student data systems allow for a non-binary option while employee data systems are limited to binary options (female or male) and leaving the selection blank (reported as unspecified).

  • Binary Options Reported as either female or male, with no selection reported as unspecified.
  • Non-binary While non-binary is a specific gender identity, it's also often used as an umbrella term for individuals who don't identify within the traditional male or female gender binary. Non-binary identities may include, but are not limited to agender, bigender, demigender, genderfluid, pangender, and genderqueer.

 

Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation

The CWC Survey asks participants about gender identity and sexual orientation with the question below. Possible responses include Yes, No, and Prefer Not to Answer.

Are you a member of a historically marginalized identity pertaining to sex assigned at birth, gender identity, or sexual orientation identity? This includes, but is not limited to, gay, lesbian, pansexual, bisexual, asexual, intersex, transgender, non-binary, fluid, genderqueer, and agender.

 

Race and Ethnicity

The University of Colorado and all other educational institutions that participate in federal student aid programs are required to submit race and ethnicity data to the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).Employee data regarding race and ethnicity are self-reported by the individual.

Race and ethnicity in IPEDS and the US Census are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. Race and ethnicity are considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic or Latino origin asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race or races, all respondents are categorized by membership in one of two ethnicities, which are “Hispanic or Latino” and “Not Hispanic or Latino.”

Both student and employee data regarding race and ethnicity are self-reported by the individual.

  • Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
  • American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community attachment.
  • Asian or Asian American: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  • Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
  • Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
  • Two or More Races: A person categorized as Two or More Races selected multiple race categories. Regardless of the selections, if they self-identified with more than one race options, they are categorized here.
  • White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
  • Not Specified

 

Aggregations

Students of Color /People of Color /BIPOC

This category is an aggregation of multiple race and ethnicity categories, including all options other than White. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) is another term for Students of Color that include the same aggregation of non-white options.

Underrepresented Minority (URM)

The term Underrepresented Minority, or URM, is a term used often in higher education to identify a group of people by a demographic category, often race/ethnicity, in comparison to peers or geographic area. URM is often defined as a group whose percentage of the population at an institution is lower than their percentage of the population as a comparison group. The comparison group may be a department, school/college, university peer institutions, the state, or even the national population.

 

Political Affiliation

The CWC Survey asks participants about political party affiliation. The question related to political party affiliation from the survey is provided below.

As per University of Colorado Regent Law, political affiliation and political philosophy are included among the protected-class categories.

The next questions ask about your political views on economic and social issues using a scale of liberal to conservative, and also about which political party you affiliate with. We ask about political philosophy and affiliation in order to assess the type of campus culture people are experiencing based on where they fall on the political spectrum.
  
 If you decide not to answer one or more of these questions, you may choose the option "Prefer not to answer."

Question: What is your political party affiliation?

Possible responses include:

  • Republican
  • Democrat
  • Independent
  • Unaffiliated
  • Other
  • Prefer not to answer

 

Political Philosophy

The CWC Survey asks participants about political philosophy. The questions from the survey are provided below.

As per University of Colorado Regent Law, political affiliation and political philosophy are included among the protected-class categories.

The next questions ask about your political views on economic and social issues using a scale of liberal to conservative, and also about which political party you affiliate with. We ask about political philosophy and affiliation in order to assess the type of campus culture people are experiencing based on where they fall on the political spectrum.
  
 If you decide not to answer one or more of these questions, you may choose the option "Prefer not to answer."

Question 1: Where would you place yourself on this scale in terms of economic issues?

Question 2: Where would you place yourself on this scale in terms of social issues?

Possible responses include:

  • Very liberal
  • Liberal
  • Slightly liberal
  • Moderate
  • Slightly conservative
  • Conservative
  • Very conservative
  • Don't know/Not sure
  • Prefer not to answer

 

Veteran

A veteran includes people who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. The veteran category is not limited to those actively receiving veteran benefits.

A protected class veteran is a subcategory of veterans defined in the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974 (VEVRAA), and prohibits discrimination against protected veterans. Protected class veterans are limited to disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans, and armed forces service medal veterans.

CU is a Government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974, as amended by the Jobs for Veterans Act of 2002, 38 U.S.C. 4212 (VEVRAA), which requires Government contractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment: (1) disabled veterans; (2) recently separated veterans; (3) active duty wartime or campaign badge veterans; and (4) Armed Forces service medal veterans.

These classifications are defined as follows:

  • A "disabled veteran" is one of the following:
    • a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or
    • a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.
  • A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.
  • An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.
  • An "Armed Forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Military Affiliation

The label Military Affiliation is used in this report to include veterans, defined above, as well as people actively serving in the U.S. Armed Forces and may include dependents of veterans who qualify for benefits. This category is not limited to those actively receiving veteran benefits.