A climate assessment is a first step that departments and programs often take to get a sense of the learning environment, culture, and equity within their unit at UCLA.  Many approaches and tools can be used in a climate assessment. The appropriateness of any approach or tool depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the issues being assessed, the characteristics of the population being assessed (e.g., students, faculty, staff, size of department), and the resources available to conduct the assessment. We offer this Toolkit as a guide for departments wanting to undertake a climate assessment.

Importantly, we note that a climate assessment is only a preliminary step in a comprehensive process. The assessment helps us diagnose and understand the dynamics of issues in the unit being assessed, but the essential and difficult work of addressing any issues uncovered in the assessment comes after the assessment is completed.

We value your ideas and input! Please e-mail suggestions and recommendations to rklibaner@equity.ucla.edu.