This article will guide you through how to create a college undergraduate student survey about diversity and inclusion. If you want to build such a survey, Specific can help you generate one in seconds with just a few clicks.
Steps to create a survey for college undergraduate students about diversity and inclusion
If you want to save time, just generate a survey with Specific.
Tell what survey you want.
Done.
You honestly don’t need to read further if your goal is speed—AI will create a spot-on survey using expert knowledge, even asking respondents smart followup questions for richer insights. If you want to create any type of survey from scratch, check out the Specific AI survey generator.
Why diversity and inclusion surveys matter for college students
The importance of college undergraduate student feedback on diversity and inclusion can’t be overstated. Every semester, campuses are becoming more diverse—nonwhite students now make up 41% of undergraduate enrollments as of fall 2024, a figure that continues to climb, nudging institutions to rethink their climate and policies [1].
But surface-level numbers never tell the full story. Even in this more diverse environment, 1 in 3 college students has reported witnessing or experiencing increased discrimination against marginalized groups in just the past year [2]. That’s not just a statistic; it’s a lived reality for thousands of students.
If you’re not running these surveys, you’re missing out on:
Spotting where campus inclusion initiatives fall short—before problems escalate into crises.
Capturing honest student perceptions on belonging, campus climate, and barriers to participation.
Identifying trends or specific issues (like subtle bias or isolation) that students may never bring up in group discussions or town halls.
While 67% of U.S. college students believe their campus promotes diversity, only 48% feel the climate is welcoming to diverse perspectives [3]. This gap is exactly why high-quality, focused student surveys are crucial. If you’re not asking for feedback in an accessible, conversational, and actionable way, you risk missing both real concerns and valuable opportunities to do better.
What makes a good survey about diversity and inclusion?
Composing a solid survey for college undergraduates on diversity and inclusion isn’t just about what you ask; it’s about how you ask. To get trustworthy, actionable insights, focus on these essentials:
Clear, unbiased questions: Avoid jargon, assumptions, or loaded language. Questions should invite any student to share their authentic views.
Conversational tone: The friendlier and more approachable the survey, the more honest and complete the responses you’ll get. Conversational surveys prompt openness.
Measure through response quality and quantity: The mark of a good survey is a high number of thoughtful responses, not just checkboxes checked at random.
Bad practices | Good practices |
|---|---|
Assumptive wording ("What diversity problems have you faced?") | Open, neutral framing ("How would you describe our campus climate?") |
Long, formal blocks of text | Short, clear, conversational questions |
No chance to elaborate | Open-ended or followup questions for context |
If you’re seeing lots of incomplete answers or bored, one-word replies, it’s time to rework your questions—or your survey format—for more clarity and empathy.
Question types and examples for college undergraduate student diversity and inclusion surveys
Great diversity and inclusion surveys mix question types for deeper, more truthful results. Let’s break down the formats and when to use them:
Open-ended questions are ideal for surfacing personal experiences and nuanced thoughts. Use them when you want student stories, not just a “yes/no.”
“Can you describe a time when you felt included or excluded on campus?”
“What would you change to make campus life more welcoming to everyone?”
Single-select multiple-choice questions offer structured data for analysis. They’re perfect for gauging opinions or identifying patterns fast.
Which of these best describes your experience with campus diversity efforts?
Very positive
Somewhat positive
Neutral
Negative
NPS (Net Promoter Score) question is useful to measure overall willingness to recommend your campus for its inclusive environment. It’s great as a pulse metric, plus you can generate a ready-to-use NPS survey here.
How likely are you to recommend this college to students seeking an inclusive and diverse environment? (0 = Not at all likely, 10 = Extremely likely)
Followup questions to uncover "the why": Use follow-ups to clarify vague answers and gather actionable insights. When someone answers in generalities, a targeted follow-up can turn a bland response into a goldmine of detail and context. Here’s how:
“Why do you feel that way about campus climate?”
“Can you share an example of a policy that impacts you personally?”
Want more ideas, tips, and examples on how to compose thoughtful, high-impact questions for college undergraduate student diversity and inclusion surveys? Check out our guide on best questions for college undergraduate student surveys about diversity and inclusion.
What is a conversational survey?
Conversational surveys turn stiff forms into chat-like exchanges, encouraging students to engage naturally and fully. Instead of filling in form fields, students interact in a way that feels like texting a helpful advisor—a huge difference when compared to traditional surveys.
Manual survey creation | AI-generated conversational survey |
|---|---|
Manual editing, repetitive question-writing, time-consuming setup | Survey created in seconds by describing what you need to AI |
Boring, rigid forms with no real “conversation” | AI adapts tone, asks follow-up questions, feels like a chat |
Little to no personalization or flexibility | Context-aware and personalized survey flow |
Why use AI for college undergraduate student surveys? AI both simplifies and elevates survey creation. You describe your needs—AI instantly builds smart, targeted questions, then runs the interview in a conversational style. If you need to adjust, you just chat with the AI survey editor, describing changes in plain language.
Looking for a concrete steps guide? Follow our overview of how to create and analyze responses from college undergraduate student surveys about diversity and inclusion.
When it comes to conversational surveys, Specific stands out with a smooth, engaging experience for both survey creators and respondents—making it easier than ever to collect quality feedback at scale. The whole journey—from creation to analysis—becomes seamless.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions unlock real context—something regular survey forms almost never manage. If you just ask a question and move on, you’re left with a lot of “meh” answers and giant blind spots. Automated AI follow-ups (like those in Specific's followup feature) probe deeper, unearthing detail and motivation that would otherwise be lost.
Student: “I sometimes feel left out.”
AI follow-up: “Can you share a specific example of when you felt left out, and what might have made it better?”
How many followups to ask? We’ve found that 2-3 smartly chosen followups usually get you 90% of the information you need, without boring your respondents. With Specific, you can set a rule to skip more followups if you’ve already captured the details you need—keeping the survey breezy but thorough.
This makes it a conversational survey—not a form, not a one-way wall, but a genuine back-and-forth exchange. The result? Higher response quality and richer context in every answer.
AI response analysis, insights, chat with your data: Even if all those followups add up to big messy text, analyzing it is easy with AI. Specific lets you analyze college undergraduate student survey responses about diversity and inclusion just by chatting with your data, surfacing recurring themes and real-life stories in seconds.
This automated, conversational followup is something most teams have never tried. We recommend you generate a survey and see how it transforms the feedback experience.
See this diversity and inclusion survey example now
Ready to experience deeper, more honest feedback from your college undergraduate students? Generate a conversational diversity and inclusion survey with AI-driven follow-ups in just seconds—unlock richer, more actionable insights with zero manual hassle. Create your own survey today and see the difference.