Use insights from Hanover’s 2025 National Campus Climate & Culture Survey to learn what students need most from institutions right now.
As significant political, legal, and financial uncertainties alter the status quo at higher education institutions, it’s important for college and university leaders to understand student sentiment and use it to inform institutional decisions, strategic plans, and resource investments. One powerful tool to understand campus perspectives and identify improvement areas is a campus climate survey.
In spring 2025, Hanover Research surveyed nearly 1,000 U.S. undergraduate students to about their institutional experiences inside and outside of the classroom.
Download our infographic, How to Improve Campus Climate: What Students Need from Institutions, to understand how your institution can respond to trending student concerns, including:
- Sense of connection and belonging
- Experiences with faculty, staff, and peers
- Satisfaction with support services
- Perceptions of campus accountability
“Campus climate surveys tell an important story about how key groups feel on your campus and uncover improvement areas that otherwise may not surface or be well understood. They also send a powerful signal to students, faculty, and staff that the institution values their voices, and campus leaders are listening.”
How Do Students View Campus Climate & Culture in 2025–26?
As significant political, legal, and economic shifts take place in higher education, institutional leaders understand that every decision they make can affect campus climate, aiming to strike a careful balance between increasingly polarizing perspectives.
Understandably, many campus leaders feel overwhelmed trying to simultaneously address a host of complex issues related to student retention and success, belonging, safety, free expression, political oversight, and institutional reputation.
Higher education leaders with a clear understanding of student and employee perceptions, behaviors, and needs can make more informed operational decisions and strategic resource investments that lead to the greatest positive impact for their institution and for the communities they serve.
Use the tips and insights in this infographic to equip your campus to respond to emerging student needs and expectations in 2025–26 and beyond.
