2024 Culture Survey
In 2019, our Trojan community participated in a poll to define six Unifying Values that form the basis for our ethical behaviors and decision-making. USC is committed to making consistent progress along its Culture Journey, which involves getting regular feedback from our community.
To this end, in early 2024 USC invited current university students, faculty and staff to participate in a Culture Survey. In this effort we were supported by ECI, a non-profit ethics research organization with expertise in helping universities and other institutions develop and measure the true impact of their values. The following information represents preliminary high-level takeaways based on the Trojan community’s survey responses.
Early Findings
USC Culture Survey – Report of Findings
In 2019, the Trojan community came together to define six Unifying Values for our institution. Since then significant work has been done to integrate these values into systems, processes, policies, programs, communications and interactions at USC. You can read about some of our progress in our 2022 Culture Report.
In early 2024, the USC Culture Survey was launched to:
- Assess the extent to which USC is living up to its Unifying Values.
- Set a baseline for tracking culture change over time.
- Generate reliable data that will help USC develop actionable solutions to address culture issues.
- Engage the campus community on the Unifying Values.
To conduct this survey of university staff, faculty and students and ensure the anonymity of respondents, USC commissioned the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI). ECI is an independent, nonprofit ethics research organization with expertise in helping universities and other institutions develop and measure the impact of their values. ECI sent the USC Culture Survey to 64,144 students, faculty and staff. It was open from January 22, 2024 through February 16, 2024.
Approximately 24% of those invited to take the survey submitted usable responses. Survey results were collected, verified, organized and analyzed, by ECI, and are now being shared in this comprehensive report.
Please stay tuned for registration emails sent to the USC Community about upcoming report-backs and discussion sessions, where you will have an opportunity to learn more about key takeaways from the survey and participate in action planning to help your school, administrative unit, and the university at large continue to live out its commitment to continuous improvement of its culture to be the best it can be for all Trojans.
Survey FAQ
Part 1: About The Culture Survey
- The Culture Survey is a way for USC to hear from its students, faculty and staff about community perceptions of and experiences with our institutional culture.
- Specifically, the purpose of our 2024 Culture Survey is to learn the extent to which our Six Unifying Values – which were defined collaboratively by our community in 2019-2020 – are being lived out at USC.
- The survey results will be used to engage our community about how we continue to support and initiate positive culture change tied to our Unifying Values and underlying behaviors.
- In 2019, USC students, faculty and staff were invited to participate in a poll and discussion sessions to collectively define six Unifying Values and supporting behaviors, to chart a path forward toward a stronger culture at USC.
- This was an important step in USC’s Culture Journey (learn more at culturejourney.usc.edu).
- USC’s 2024 Culture Survey represents an opportunity for staff, faculty and students to share opinions about how we as a community are doing at living out these values, to identify any potential new points of concentration for the future, and to set baseline data for future culture assessments.
- ECI – the Ethics & Compliance Initiative – is an independent, non-profit research organization with expertise in helping universities and other institutions develop and measure the impact of their values.
- USC partnered with ECI to administer the Culture Survey, to ensure survey-taker confidentiality and to benefit from their expertise in this area.
- On January 22, 2024, USC faculty, staff, and students received an invitation to take the Culture Survey. Employees hired by November 30, 2023, and students enrolled by January 11, 2024 were included. Exceptions include resource employees and Keck Medicine of USC staff members (who were exempt from participation due to their participation in the Keck SCORE Survey). Because of these exceptions surveys distributed totals for the Culture Survey differ from overall population totals for stakeholder groups at USC. Additionally, as the Culture Survey focuses on current employees and students, USC alums and retired employees were also exempt from participation.
- 15,184 Trojans completed the Culture Survey. The overall USC response rate is 24%, approximately 1 in 4 Trojans.
- 29% of faculty surveyed responded.
- 53% of staff surveyed responded.
- 17% of graduate students surveyed responded.
- 14% of undergraduate students surveyed responded.
- Statistical confidence answers the question: “How certain can I be that the results of the sample that responded to the survey accurately reflect the university population as a whole?”
- In order to be 95% certain that the survey results fall +/-5% points of the USC overall population, we would need around 400 responses from each stakeholder group surveyed (faculty, staff, and students).
- We exceeded this response threshold for each survey group at the University-wide level
- Given this, we can have statistical confidence in the representative response rates from each survey group (i.e. they accurately reflect these respective populations at USC).
- In June, High-Level preliminary results were posted on the Culture Journey website. In July, the full survey report was shared by President Folt and can be found on the Culture Journey’s Sharepoint Site. Throughout the summer and fall of 2024, current staff, faculty and students will be invited to attend Culture Sessions both at the university-wide and at the school/unit levels.
- Our survey vendor – The Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI) – is producing survey reports on university-wide data and, also, approximately 47 unique reports for schools and administrative units at USC. Report creation is following a fixed, incremental schedule, with the university-wide and school/unit reports (organized by primary stakeholder groups in the survey: faculty, staff, and students) created in summer and early fall 2024. Following the completion of these reports, ECI we will produce additional reports, including survey responses by additional demographic groups at USC.
- Broadly, Culture Sessions are forums to report-back on or engage in interactive discussion on survey results. Both university-wide and school and unit-specific Culture Sessions will be held. Report-Back Sessions will be held as Zoom webinars and will feature Culture Team staff or trained Culture Session facilitators sharing key information and themes relating to survey results with attendees. Discussion Sessions will be held as Zoom meetings (and, in some cases, as in-person sessions) and will feature Culture Team staff or trained Culture Session facilitators leading discussion on survey results to gather community feedback and determine key areas of focus as we continue the Culture Journey.
- Members of the USC Culture Team or trained Culture Session Facilitators comprised of volunteer USC faculty, staff members, and consulting partners who are supporting USC in these efforts.
- Hearing from over 15,000 members of our community is valuable and there is much we can learn from these survey responses. While the Culture Survey provides insight into our community’s understanding of culture at USC it is not a “one and done” matter. In summer and fall 2024, we will host discussion sessions – both university-wide and by school and unit – that will allow for additional qualitative feedback from community members to provide additional insights in relation to survey data.
For a full review of the USC Culture Survey Report of Findings, please access the full university-wide report here. In particular, pages 7-12 of the Survey Report provide information on several key findings. Selected key findings include (but are not limited to):
- Over 70% of respondents see the Unifying Values of Integrity, Excellence, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Well-Being in action at USC. Excellence was rated the highest with 83% of survey respondents agreeing that they see this value in action at USC. Accountability and Open Communication were rated lower, with 59% seeing the former in action at USC and 63% seeing the latter in action at USC.
- The highest rated survey questions include “USC provides resources for mental health and well-being support” (83% agree) and “At USC, I feel my Peers support my well-being” (82% agree)
- The lowest rated survey questions include “At USC, members of their peer group can raise concerns without fear of retaliation” (55% agree) and “At USC, University Leadership actively listens and solicits dialogue” (57% agree).
- 82% of the University Overall are proud to be a member of USC.
- Over the course of the fall 2024, university leadership are supporting numerous opportunities to dive deeper into the survey results with the Trojan community. Coming out of the Culture Sessions, action plans will be developed – both at the institutional level and within each school and administrative unit. We will consistently measure progress by repeating the survey every 3-4 years. In between surveys, there will be regular community culture reports issued to highlight milestones and culture change efforts that address progress in those areas that need focus.
Late summer/early fall 2024:
- University-wide Culture Survey findings report-back sessions (virtual – led by Culture Team)
- University-wide discussion sessions on survey results (virtual and in-person – facilitated by Culture Team and partners)
- Individual school and unit Culture Survey report-back sessions co-hosted by Culture Team together with Dean/Unit Leader
- School and Unit Discussion Sessions – facilitated by trained Culture Team partners
- School, Unit, and Institutional Action Planning – Led by individual school/unit deans and leaders, with support from Culture Liaison and Culture Team
- Refinement and implementation of action plans and open communication with community – Led by individual schools and business units, with support from Culture Liaisons and Culture Team
Part 2: About The Culture Journey
The USC Culture Journey is a university-wide initiative to collectively define our values, align supportive behaviors that bring those values to life, and develop opportunities to improve our systems and processes. Together, we are shaping an ethical and inclusive culture: one in which Trojans act with integrity in the pursuit of excellence; embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion; promote the well-being of ourselves and others; engage in open communication; and are accountable for living our Unifying Values and helping to make USC the best place it can be.
In 2019-2020, more than 24,000 Trojans shared their perspectives and developed USC’s Six Unifying Values as a community. For more on the Culture Journey’s inception and milestones, please refer to the 2022 USC Culture Report.
Since the beginning of the Culture Journey, USC has made a firm commitment to strengthen our organizational culture. Culture is never a “one and done” matter. That is why we call this work our Culture Journey. It is an ongoing journey deserving of our attention and continuing assessment. Our Unifying Values give us a compass for a process of collective self-examination, improvement, and renewal. In reference to this compass, every 3-4 years we plan to conduct a survey of this kind to assess our progress and to uncover new areas of focus.
Organizational culture refers to the shared values, attitudes, behaviors, and standards that make up an environment. Culture is manifested in many ways and is shaped by the collective community and stakeholders within an organization. Attending to our culture is very important because it affects the experiences of all people at USC.
- The Working Group on University Culture is a group of committed volunteer staff, faculty, students, and administrators who participate in committees that collect community input for culture priorities, identify integration points for our Unifying Values, and drive engagement.
- Our Culture Network is made up of more than 400 dedicated volunteer faculty and staff members who serve as culture champions and on-the-ground support for culture initiatives.
- A dedicated Culture Team was established as part of the USC Office of Culture, Ethics, and Compliance to manage the Culture Journey and its advisory bodies, drive community engagement, and facilitate discussions and programs around evolving Trojan culture to make our institution the best it can be.
- Leaders in key focus areas throughout the university such as addressing concerns, DEI, well-being, and organizational learning and development are actively involved with the Culture Journey.
You can learn more about the USC Culture Journey at our website: www.culturejourney.usc.edu.
You can sign up for the Culture Network via this link: https://usc.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6sASRZXfPkGuZ38
- In support of Accountability and Open Communication, significant enhancements have been made to support reporting of misconduct at USC, including issues related workplace retaliation. Most prominently, the USC Report & Response website is a portal where USC community members can make a report (anonymously if preferred) of an incident they have witnessed or experienced that violates USC policies or goes against our Unifying Values.
- In support of Excellence, Open Communication and Well-Being, USC has launched a new Employee Relations function. By cultivating positive working relationships, navigating fairness disputes, embracing transparent and open communication, and resolving personality conflicts, Employee Relations will help enable a safe, productive, and engaged workforce that is resilient and prepared to carry out the university’s mission.
- In support of Well-Being, the WorkWell Center provides programs for USC faculty, staff, post-docs, and retirees which help them thrive in all areas of work-life wellness. Programs include confidential counseling, coaching, consulting, talks and groups, crisis management, and health and well-being promotion and education.
- The 2022 Culture Report outlines numerous Unifying Values-focused initiatives launched across our community to continue positive culture change at USC.