Resources
Technical Report
Data from the longitudinal IDEALS study (see below) of students across American higher education campuses revealed the institutional policies, practices, and student experiences that contribute to welcoming campus climates for students of various religious, secular, and spiritual backgrounds, and these findings informed the development of the INSPIRES items. This report describes the full process of how IDEALS informed INSPIRES and the weighting process for assigning the star scores for each domain on the Index.
Data Snapshots
Anyone interested in the “big picture” of institutional policies, institutional practices, and student experiences across North American higher education should access this resource, which includes data collected from 2021-2023. The Data Snapshot is updated annually in the Spring after scorecard distribution.
Responding to World Events
Our team captured institutional responses to the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the immediate aftermath, as well as to campus protests in the months that followed through the Spring of 2024. These snapshots offer recommendations to encourage greater dialogue around world events that have a religious dimension.
IDEALS: A Longitudinal Interfaith Study
IDEALS was a groundbreaking national study of students’ religiosity and their experiences in higher education. Students on 122 U.S. campuses — including liberal arts colleges, religiously affiliated institutions, and public universities — participated in IDEALS from 2015–2019. At three points in their college careers, they were asked about their on-campus interfaith experiences, their knowledge and appreciation of their own and other worldviews, and their commitment to bridging religious divides.
Interfaith America
Our partner Interfaith America is a national nonprofit dedicated to inspiring, equipping, and connecting leaders and institutions to unlock the potential of America’s religious diversity. Their team offers tools, resources, and expertise for supporting pluralism and interfaith cooperation in higher education and helps campuses translate INSPIRES results into meaningful change on campus. Connect with Interfaith America by emailing info@interfaithamerica.org.