Guidance for Data Collection

This page is here to help institutions complete the INSPIRES Index efficiently, accurately, and thoroughly.

Index Overview

What is the INSPIRES Index?

The INSPIRES Index is an opportunity to examine your institution’s efforts to create a welcoming campus for students of diverse religious, secular, and spiritual identities on campus. The Index is composed of 53 questionnaire items that map onto specific campus climate dimensions. Many of these questions are objective (yes/no) in nature and related to departmental and university-wide structures, spaces, policies, positions, and groups. The questions are organized by topic/focus in the following order:

  • Institutional policies

  • Organizational behaviors and climate

  • Negative interworldview engagement

  • Extra-/Co-curricular engagement

  • Spaces for support and spiritual expression

  • Training and development

  • Academic engagement

How will the INSPIRES Index benefit our campus?

The Index is an opportunity to assess what you are currently doing and what you could or want to accomplish in the future. Even if you answer “no” to a question now, you may use that as grounds for important next steps to make your campus more welcoming. The Index will raise awareness and support for religious, secular, and spiritual diversity on campus.

The INSPIRES Index is only as helpful as you make it! Honesty about what your campus offers is key. It is okay if some pieces of data are not tracked or available for your institution, but do your best to answer all questions.

What is the role of the campus representative?

As the liaison, you are the point person for inspiring enthusiasm around this initiative on your campus and gathering information needed to complete the index. However, you do not have to know the answer to every question. We encourage a team-oriented approach in which you invite relevant campus constituents (e.g., administrators, faculty, students, and staff) to help gather the information needed. As you coordinate these efforts, we encourage you to consider the following questions:

  • With which functional areas should you consult (e.g., campus religious and spiritual life; housing and residential life; diversity, equity, and inclusion)?

  • Would certain offices, such as research and assessment, student life, or admissions, have access to some data?

  • Who in leadership needs to approve or be informed of participation, both for the instrument (now) and for the Index (later)?

  • What might be the benefits of inviting people in certain positions of leadership to join in this stage of the process?

  • What relevant voices are missing? Who might be affected?

Completing the Survey

The INSPIRES Index is a comprehensive assessment of your campus climate. An overview of the project and answers to some frequently asked questions can be accessed here. We expect it to take between 30-90 minutes to complete. It will likely be challenging to complete all of the items in one sitting if you have not prepared materials beforehand. To help with this, we provide a PDF of all the items to help you complete the survey incrementally (available once onboarded).

Institutions should email inspiresindex@osu.edu to start the onboarding process. We will then send you a link to respond to the items online. This is your official response. We ask that you complete the inventory by December 16.

Step 1. Review the items

It may be helpful to review the PDF version before you begin the online reporting. The online version follows the same format, so entering your answers from the PDF is easy.

Step 2. Respond

Respond to the items you feel confident answering. You may be surprised how much you know about your campus.

Step 3. Reach out

Identify sections or questions that require input from another person/department and reach out to those whose input is needed. Add answers to the survey as you get them.

Step 4. Meet Constituents

You may also choose to work through the items during a department or committee meeting where multiple stakeholders are present.

Step 5. Review

Consider who (if any) needs to review the responses.

Step 6. Submit

Once you are confident you have completed the Index, hit "submit!"

Going Public!

We encourage all participating institutions to share their responses on the public-facing INSPIRES Index website. This resource is designed to help prospective students and families make informed decisions about the higher education institutions they are considering. Participation demonstrates that your campus values students’ religious, secular, and spiritual identities and is committed to continuous improvement toward fostering a welcoming climate for all. Your institution will have an opportunity to review the results for your campus before confirming participation in the public-facing Index. You will have to specifically opt-out to the public-facing component. Regardless of your decision, your institution will be able use the results of the Index as an internal guiding tool.

If at any point you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the INSPIRES team through your institution’s contact or by emailing us. Any member of the team can help you navigate completing the survey, and we are excited to support your involvement with the INSPIRES Index!

Timeline

Here’s a look at our anticipated timeline for the INSPIRES Index.

September-December
Survey Distribution

Participating campuses receive an email from the INSPIRES team with a unique link to respond to the Index. The link will close December 16.

February–March
Results Received

Campuses receive a score card PDF, which includes their star ratings and their index responses. Please review your responses to ensure they are accurate.

April–June
Going Public

Data is uploaded to the INSPIRES campus database. Campuses will need to opt-out of making their data public by April 30.

July–August
Recruitment

We start recruiting new institutions to participate during the summer. Returning institutions will also hear from us about updating their responses during this time.

REACH OUT TO US!

We’re here to answer any questions.