Great Colleges to Work For (GCTWF) 2026
This spring, KU will administer the Great Colleges to Work For staff satisfaction survey. This nationally benchmarked instrument, administered by ModernThink, provides KU with confidential insights into workplace culture, leadership, communication, job satisfaction, professional development, and more.
The survey will run February 23-March 9, 2026, and is open to benefits eligible staff at both the KU Lawrence and Edwards Campuses and the KU Medical Center.
Participation helps KU understand strengths and opportunities across the institution and informs future planning, action steps, and improvements to enhance employee satisfaction.
The 2026 Great Colleges to Work For survey is sponsored by KU Human Resources, with AIRE facilitating the survey's administration, analysis, and communication as part of the University Constituent Survey Process.
GCTWF will be administered at KU every three years starting in 2026 and is one of KU's University Constituent Surveys. Since 2022, these surveys follow a consistent process of planning, administration, analysis, engagement, and the creation of actionable recommendations. In 2026, AIRE expanded this process to include constituents at the KU Medical Center as part of One KU and rebranded it as the University Constituent Survey Process. A Constituent Surveys Implementation Team are then tasked with reviewing, prioritizing, and communicating updates on recommendations three times a year.
Campus Constituent Surveys have been a key process for assessing the success of Jayhawks Rising, the strategic plan for the Lawrence and Edwards campuses. University Constituent Surveys will continue to be a key assessment process for assessing the success of university-level strategic planning.
Timeline
February 23 – Survey opens; staff receive personalized invitations via email from ModernThink
February 23–March 9 – Survey open (24/7 access)
March 3 & March 7 – Reminder emails sent to non‑respondents
March 9 – Survey closes
Spring Summer 2026 – AIRE receives results from ModernThink
Summer 2026 – Findings shared with leadership and the KU community
Fall 2026 – An advisory committee is formed to review results and plan for constituent engagement with results.
Spring 2027 –Advisory committee shares recommendations report with constituents.
Summer 2027 and beyond – Recommendations are reviewed by the Constituent Surveys Implementation Team and updates are provided to constituents three times each year.
FAQS
The Great Colleges to Work For survey is a nationally benchmarked assessment of workplace culture and organizational effectiveness within higher education. It gathers insights on communication, leadership, diversity and belonging, job satisfaction, well‑being, professional development, and supervisory effectiveness.
KU regularly gathers feedback from its core constituent groups as part of the University Constituent Survey (UCS) Process. Conducting this survey helps KU understand staff experiences, identify strengths, and determine areas where KU can improve as an employer. The results inform planning and decision-making at both institutional and unit levels.
In 2025, Faculty Senate, United Academics of KU, and KU Leadership mutually agreed that faculty would not participate in this survey administration. The scheduled survey period coincides with negotiations for an initial collective bargaining agreement, and the parties agreed that faculty participation in this cycle would not be appropriate.
As a result, the 2026 Great Colleges to Work For survey will be administered to staff only across the Lawrence, Edwards, and KU Medical Center campuses.
The UCS Process coordinates KU’s major recurring surveys for students and employees. Beginning in 2026, the Campus Constituent Surveys Process expanded from the Lawrence and Edwards campuses to include KU Medical Center as part of the One KU initiative.
The Great Colleges to Work For survey is the staff constituent survey in this cycle. Faculty participation will resume in future cycles unless jointly decided otherwise.
All benefits eligible staff members at KU Lawrence, KU Edwards, and KU Medical Center are invited to participate. Faculty will not be surveyed in 2026.
A note on faculty exclusion at KULC: In 2025, Faculty Senate, United Academics of KU, and KU Leadership mutually agreed that faculty would not participate in this survey administration due to the timing of initial collective bargaining agreement negotiations. As a result, the 2026 Great Colleges to Work For survey will be administered to staff only across the Lawrence, Edwards, and KU Medical Center campuses. In future iterations, the survey may be expanded to include faculty.
The survey is administered by ModernThink, an independent firm specializing in workplace climate assessments for higher education. ModernThink ensures the confidentiality of responses and provides KU with national benchmarking data.
The survey statements solicit feedback on a broad range of topics focused around the following themes:
- Collaboration
- Job Satisfaction & Support
- Communication
- Mission & Pride
- Confidence in Senior Leadership
- Performance Management
- Impact & Belonging
- Professional Development
- Staff Well-being
- Supervisors/Department Chair Effectiveness
Staff will receive an email from ModernThink that includes a unique username, password, and secure link. The survey is completed entirely online and is accessible from any device with internet access. It is available 24 hours a day during the full survey window.
Most staff complete the survey in 18–22 minutes. If you are unable to complete the survey after you begin, you will have the option to save your responses and access them later.
The survey consists of statements that employees respond to using a five-point agreement scale (Strongly Agree, Agree, Sometimes Agree/Sometimes Disagree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree). Additionally, there is a Not Applicable response option.
Yes. Participation is completely voluntary but strongly encouraged. Higher response rates help produce more representative and actionable insights.
Yes. The survey is confidential, and KU does not have access to individual responses.
- Responses go directly to ModernThink.
- KU receives only de-identified results.
- No data is reported for groups with fewer than five respondents. This safeguards the anonymity of all participants.
No. Your login credentials are used only to access the survey and prevent multiple submissions. Your email address is not connected to your survey responses.
Demographic information helps KU understand trends and patterns across staff groups. All demographic questions are optional, and data is only reported where there are enough respondents to protect confidentiality.
Yes. If you select “Save & Continue,” your responses will be saved, and you may return to complete the survey anytime before it closes.
ModernThink provides help desk support during regular business hours. For technical questions or problems with the survey site please contact ModernThink at (888) 684-4658 or surveys@modernthink.com, M-F 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. EST. After hours, leave a message and your call will be returned as promptly as possible.
After receiving aggregate results from ModernThink, AIRE will analyze the data and share key findings with Human Resources, the survey sponsor, KU leadership and the university community. The information will guide action planning and workplace improvement efforts across units.
KU will publish a summary of high-level findings on the Great Colleges to Work For website, along with context and next steps for campus engagement.
KU’s major constituent groups—including staff—are surveyed every three years.
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding the survey and/or the survey process, please do not hesitate to contact AIRE at AIRE-Help@ku.edu or ModernThink Senior Project Manager Liz Flood at (888) 684-4658 or lflood@modernthink.com.