The Need:

In today's competitive academic landscape, understanding and improving organizational climate are paramount for institutions striving to enhance student retention, particularly within the engineering department. However, existing instruments often overlook the nuanced experiences of underrepresented groups, hindering comprehensive assessments. To address this gap, our team is developing a cutting-edge survey instrument under an NSF-funded project. This survey aims to delve into the intricacies of organizational climate, guided by extensive research in both organizational climate and intersectional theory.

The Technology:

Our survey instrument, developed and validated through rigorous NSF-funded research, is pioneering in its approach to assessing organizational climate within engineering departments. It stands out for several key reasons:

1. Targeted Focus: Unlike generic surveys, ours specifically probes the climate for student retention at the engineering department level.
2. Comprehensive Assessment: The survey's scales cover six to seven crucial climate constructs in a single instrument, including diversity climate, authenticity climate, mastery motivation climate, and more.
3. Inclusive Design: Crafted to capture the perceptions of engineering doctoral students, the survey is uniquely tailored to the experiences of individuals from diverse backgrounds typically overlooked in research.

Commercial Applications:

• Academic Institutions: Assess and improve organizational climate within engineering departments to enhance student retention rates.
• Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives: Gain insights into the experiences of underrepresented groups, facilitating targeted interventions.
• Research Institutions: Utilize a comprehensive survey instrument to explore organizational climate and its impact on academic success.

Benefits/Advantages:

• Holistic Insights: Capture a nuanced understanding of organizational climate by exploring multiple constructs in a single survey.
• Targeted Intervention: Identify specific areas for improvement to enhance student retention and academic success.
• Inclusivity: Ensure the experiences of diverse individuals, often marginalized in research, are accurately represented and addressed.
• Efficiency: Streamline data collection and analysis with a comprehensive survey instrument tailored to the needs of engineering departments.
• Research Validity: Leverage a survey instrument developed and validated through an NSF-funded project, ensuring robustness and reliability in data collection.