Swarthmore College's strategic plan, Swarthmore Forward, identifies the goal of prioritizing the continued development of a diverse, inclusive, welcoming, and equitable campus community. During Spring 2025, the College conducted a campus culture and climate survey to learn about current student, staff, and faculty experiences at Swarthmore with respect to campus diversity, and assess progress toward the College’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.

The survey data were collected over a six-week period, from March 19 - April 30, 2025. A total of 1,110 people participated in the survey, with 441 students (a 26% response rate), 433 staff (a 54% response rate), and 180 faculty (a 57% response rate) participating. Together, this amounts to a response rate of 40% of the population of Swarthmore; the average institutional response rate at other four-year colleges is 17%. Prior to the current survey administration, it had been 10 years since a comprehensive climate survey had been done at Swarthmore. With the establishment of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and implementation of Swarthmore Forward getting underway, it was important for the College to collect climate data to inform current and future initiatives, understand our strengths, identify areas for improvement, and support data-driven recommendations.

Through collaboration with representatives from the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Assessment, the Provost’s Office, Human Resources, and the Division of Student Affairs, the College chose to conduct the Diversity and Equity survey administered by the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) consortium. The survey included quantitative and qualitative questions assessing perceptions of campus climate and institutional support for diversity, interactions across demographic and identity differences, and experiences with discrimination and harassment.