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Bentley Equity Experience

Informing the When and How by Voicing the Here and Now

Your Voice. Your Community. Your Bentley.

As part of its efforts to embrace a culture of inclusion and achieve equity, Bentley University has launched the Bentley Equity Experience study to positively impact our living, learning, and working environment. The study is a concerted effort to invite the entire Bentley community to better understand and improve its campus climate, culture, and values by addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities for change. Bentley invites all community members to participate in this campaign to help the university better understand their lived experiences and feelings of belonging on campus.

This campaign marks an ongoing commitment to collecting feedback and shaping the campus culture since the first BEX study in 2021. This effort includes a community-wide campus climate survey, along with “Quick Questions” polls and “Big Questions” dialogue sessions. Visit this page regularly for updates on this important university-wide initiative.

Thank you! Your voice is making an impact. Together, we're shaping Bentley's future. (Bentley Equity Experience Logo)

Thank You, Bentley!

Your voice is shaping our future!

This year, nearly 1,500 members of the Bentley community stepped up to share their perspectives through the Bentley Equity Experience (BEX) study. We’re grateful to every student, faculty member, and staff participant who contributed to this important community-wide effort.

Thanks to your engagement, we’re gaining a more complete and honest picture of campus life—what’s working, where we’re growing, and what still needs our attention.

Together, we’re not just collecting data—we’re building momentum for change.

Ready to Turn Insight into Impact?

The early findings from the Bentley Equity Experience (BEX) study are here—and they’re meant to be used. We’re now offering targeted sense-making sessions to help faculty, staff, and departments explore what the data means for the communities you lead and serve.

Whether you're shaping programs, rethinking policies, or improving everyday practices, we’ll work with you to identify relevant insights and translate them into meaningful action.

Request a session now to start connecting the BEX results to the work that matters most to you and to Bentley.

Request a Sense-Making Session

BEX 2024 Insights

The Big Picture

Below are some key insights from our early analysis of the BEX 2024 Campus Climate Survey. A more thorough reporting of the findings will be highlighted in a future report and dashboard that will be available later this summer.

  • Campus climate satisfaction is up: 73% of respondents said they are satisfied or very satisfied with the overall campus climate—an increase from 55% in 2021.
  • The community is more likely to recommend Bentley: 88% of respondents said they would recommend Bentley to a future student or employee—an increase from 80% in 2021.
  • Experiences remain uneven across identity groups: While overall satisfaction improved, many trans and nonbinary individuals, as well as Middle Eastern and North African community members, reported disproportionately high rates of identity-based discrimination, harassment, and identity concealment.
  • Perceptions of physical safety improved: Fewer students reported avoiding campus spaces in 2024—especially women and white undergraduates—suggesting stronger feelings of safety in shared environments.
  • Awareness of reporting pathways is high—but not universal: In 2024, 79% of respondents said they know how to report a bias or hate incident. While encouraging overall, gaps in awareness remain among certain groups, including graduate students and Asian-identifying community members.
  • The data highlights both progress and accountability: While many describe Bentley as increasingly collaborative, inclusive, and values-driven, the findings call attention to ongoing disparities that require intentional, community-specific solutions.

Key Numbers from BEX 2024

23%

Survey Response Rate

Percent of eligible Bentley community members who responded to the BEX 2024 survey

73%

Campus Climate Satisfaction

Percent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied with the campus climate

88%

Net Promoter

Percent of respondents who would recommend Bentley to a future student or employee

Review the 2021 BEX Study Results!

In 2021, Bentley University launched its inaugural Bentley Equity Experience campus climate study to gather a baseline measure of people's perceptions of the culture. We will use this data to compare progress between 2021 and this year's study to understand and measure shifts in community members' perceptions and identify opportunities for growth and improvement of the climate at Bentley University.

Below are some big-picture highlights from the community:

  • About 55% of the Bentley community is satisfied with the campus climate. Bentley community members generally view our community as friendly and feel a sense of personal value and belonging.
  • However, there are notable exceptions within the experiences of our Bentley community members, both in terms of feelings of inclusiveness and experiences of discrimination.
  • Community narratives illustrated that while Bentley is largely a welcoming and supportive community, some felt that because of the competitive, work-intense, and outcomes-focused nature of the University, the community feels transactional and elitist.
  • Bentley community members do believe that the University environment is generally supportive and supports growth and success.

Curious to know more?

Below you will find a link to the full results from the 2021 BEX Study, including access to a full report, a dashboard, and access to request a data set for learning and research purposes.

View the 2021 BEX Results

Ways to Engage

Campus Climate Survey

The campus climate survey provides Bentley community members with the opportunity to share feedback and perspectives on how they experience the campus environment. Learn more about the survey and how we will use the data to inform future efforts.

Learn More

"Big Questions" Sessions

Join us for important dialogue spaces to have brave conversations about our campus culture and share your perspectives and experiences with your fellow Bentley peers and community members.

Learn More

"Quick Questions" Pulse Checks

These pulse checks provide you and fellow Bentley community members with space to respond to important questions and share impactful narratives about your experiences.

Learn More

Hear from Your Fellow Bentley Community Members!

Watch this video that shares a bit more background about the Bentley Equity Experience study, and hear your fellow peers share their perspectives on the value that this study offers to the Bentley community.

Headshot of Patrick Couillard Hale, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Bentley University
We are excited to reintroduce the Bentley Equity Experience study to the community again. This is such an important venue for our community to share their experiences with the campus culture and help shape the community for the better for current and future Falcons.
Patrick J. Couillard Hale
Director, Office of Diversity & Inclusion

Feedback or Questions about BEX?

Share your thoughts with us.

Download a BEX Background for Zoom or Teams!