The Widespread Associations of a Campus Climate of Diversity and Engagement with Diversity, from Mental Health to Chronic Illness

A diverse student body and faculty are associated with better learning outcomes (e.g., Hale, 2004; Harper & Hurtado, 2007; Harper & Quaye, 2004). Moreover, student perceptions and experiences of the campus climate predict their overall success in college (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).

The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) conducts an annual nationwide Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) survey of college students. They provide 19 reliable scales that measure students’ perceptions (e.g., how much administration prioritizes diversity issues), student engagement (e.g., participation in co-curricular activities), student intellectual experiences (e.g., civic engagement, scholarly ‘habits’ like inquiry), and potentially harmful experiences (e.g., discrimination, harassment).

At California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), 1711 students completed the HERI during the 2014-15 academic year. We refined the dataset to predict the 19 climate scales using forward step-wise hierarchical linear regression with 42 predictors. This statistical technique allowed us to avoid any preconceived notions about what would matter. We produced models that accounted for the greatest percentage of variance possible while using the fewest predictors. That is, we sought to understand how we could explain as simply as possible how students’ experience diversity and a sense of belongingness. Our predictors included gender, ethnicity, major, religion, LGBTQ status, political identity, GPA, and disability-status (e.g., self-reported physical disability, learning disability, depression, chronic medical condition).

Hierarchical linear regression models accounted for between 2.1% and 13.9% of variance (median: 4.7%) as measured by total adjusted R-squared. The models incorporated 3 to 11 of the predictors (median: 7). Many findings are consistent with prior research and expectations, such as the importance of ethnicity in predicting 12 of the 19 scales. One pattern that is particularly noteworthy, and perhaps less anticipated, is the pervasiveness of disability in predicting 15 of the 19 scales. Most striking, mental health concerns such as clinical depression predicted negative responses on 7 of the scales.

Our findings suggest the importance of reaching out to students with disabilities, not only for their benefit, but for the overall college culture of learning, diversity, and engagement. We describe best practices identified by many colleges and universities.