Campus Climate Survey 2018-2019

Sexual violence and harassment is an urgent issue on university campuses. Recent federal guidance and possible legislation strongly recommend campus climate surveys as a best practice strategy to help institutions better understand the scope of sexual violence and harassment on campus and develop targeted prevention and response strategies. However, most institutions struggle to implement and use the data from campus climate surveys, and the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) is assisting institutions in addressing this issue with an online survey that can be administered consistently each year, provide national norms and data, and provide institutional and cohort data. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and Title IX compliance requirements also mandate institutions to provide campaigning, education, and training to all students regarding sexual violence and harassment. This data will provide feedback on how we can provide additional resources/programming to our campus community.

In support of this initiative, we administered our fourth anonymous campus climate survey to students via the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) in spring 2019.

Below are a few summarized take-aways and formulated action items based off the spring 2019 survey results.

 

Survey Respondent Demographic

  • 17% of students (384) participated in this survey.
  • Action Item: Consider additional avenues other than email for students to receive and complete the survey (e.g., text messaging).
  • Action Item: Consider offering more incentives to participate. There was an 8% increase in respondents on the 2019 survey from 2017, likely due to the continued use of incentives.
  • The majority of respondents were white (62%), heterosexual (90%), and female (70%).
  • 23% of respondents were first generation students.
  • 15% of respondents reported to have a mental disability.

General Campus Climate

  • Nearly all respondents (99%) feel safe at this school and think faculty are generally concerned about their welfare (88%), compared to 73% and 67%, respectively for black respondents.
  • 11% of respondents considered leaving the school, most commonly because they didn’t feel welcomed or supported or because they struggled with mental health challenges.
  • 31% of all respondents think faculty pre-judge their abilities based on their identity or background, compared to 41% for Latino respondents.
  • Action Item: Develop faculty resources and training for student support.
  • Action Item: Incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion programming into faculty training
  • Action Item: Identify opportunities to promote services/resources

Perceptions of and Experiences with Diversity and Inclusion on Campus

  • Most respondents (91%) conclude that diversity is fully embraced within the campus culture.
  • Since coming to school, respondents have learned most about diversity topics like SES/class (50%), race/ethnicity (47%), and sexual orientation (46%). Additionally, 67% of students felt that there were enough opportunities to gain knowledge about their own cultural community.
  • 38% of respondents agreed/strongly agreed to feeling like they needed to hide some aspects of their identity to fit in.

Services and Programs

  • 46% of respondents noted that they learned about or became more aware of diversity by talking with friends, compared to 29% from being in class, and 12% through campus events.
  • Respondents are most aware of services supporting students with disabilities (70%), international students (57%) and gay, lesbian and bisexual students (53%).
  • Action Item: Collaborate with campus stakeholders to create intentional programming through Student Affairs events to promote and educate on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
  • Action Item: Identify student training opportunities to create a clear and consistent message about diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Experience with Discrimination and Harassment

  • 15% of the respondents reported that someone shunned, ignored, or intimidated them, or acted directly or indirectly toward them in an offensive manner that interfered with their ability to learn and work (once or more than once).
  • 84% did not report the incident(s) to the school. 70% reported that the reason was either they didn’t think it was serious enough or (39%) feared that it wouldn’t be taken seriously.
  • Respondents most commonly reported that the incidents occurred in class (55%) and most commonly told a faculty member (32%) or classmate, roommate or friend (51%). Respondents most commonly believed the conduct to be based on miscellaneous factors (46%).
  • Action Item: Continue to advertise and communicate information regarding reporting options, such as the Trust Line, Student Complaint Form, and the Person of Concern Reporting Form.
  • Action Item: Collaborate with faculty development stakeholders to incorporate trainings, workshops, and resources regarding topics such as classroom management, diversity and inclusion, etc.
  • Action Item: Create student trainings to create a clean and consistent message about diversity, equity and inclusion.

Interactions with Diverse Peers

  • Respondents most commonly socialized with and engaged in serious conversation with students who were different from them in religious beliefs (85%) or their race or ethnicity (85%).
  • Just over one-quarter (26%) of respondents don’t feel any discomfort interacting with peers who are different from them.
  • In class (57%) is the primary interaction place for students whose backgrounds and identities differ than their own.
  • Respondents (49%) most commonly hesitate to engage with others because they are afraid they might say something that could be perceived as offensive or uninformed.
  • Action Item: Identify faculty stakeholders to explore options for incorporating diversity, equity and inclusion into curriculum.

Perceptions of Campus Inclusivity

  • 87% of respondents have access to a faculty or staff member who they trust.
  • In general, most respondents feel issues of diversity and inclusion are adequately addressed across their campus experience.
  • 13% report being singled out in class because of their identity, and 30% have heard faculty express stereotypes based on identity.
  • 38% of respondents feel that they have to work harder than other students to be perceived as a good student.
  • Most respondents feel the communities they belong to are appropriately represented in the school’s environment, however 24% of respondents think they are completely missing.
  • Action Item: Continue to advertise and communicate information regarding reporting options, such as the Trust Line, Student Complaint Form, and the Person of Concern Reporting Form.
  • Action Item: Develop faculty training

Basic Needs Insecurity

  • 26% of respondents often or sometimes couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals and 25% worry whether their food would run out before they had money to buy more.
  • Of the 223 respondents who answered this question, 12% (28) reported experiencing some kind of housing insecurity since the beginning of the fall semester (fall 2018). Most commonly rent increase or financial problems forced them to move.
  • 18% of respondents ate less than they felt they should and cut the size of meals or skipped meals because there wasn’t enough money for food, respectively.
  • Action Item: Continue to create marketing to promote the student food pantry in a more effective way to the student population.
  • Action Item: Continue to partner with various offices and departments to create more awareness around serving our student population when it comes to food insecurity.
  • Action Item: Market the new food pantry locations on campus being created in the Library
  • Action Item: Ensure that up to date food insecurity and housing resources are included in the resource guidebook.

Sexual Violence Prevention and Student Knowledge

  • Three-quarters (75%) of all respondents report receiving prevention training or information, and 92% felt that the training was useful in increasing knowledge about how to report an incident of sexual violence and 85% felt that it was useful in increasing knowledge about university procedures.
  • Most of the respondents report receiving information or training at new student orientation (64%), campus wide events (37%), or class presentations (20%).
  • Action Item: As a part of the current programming around sexual violence prevention, we will partner with academic programs to reinforce institutional policies, sexual violence prevention and resources.

Knowledge of Reporting

  • Most respondents (91%) are confident that their school would administer the formal procedures to fairly address reports of sexual violence.
  • Most respondents believe that their school would take a report seriously (95%) and take steps to protect the reporter from retaliation (91%).
  • Still, nearly half (47%) of the respondents believe that the accused or their friends would retaliate against the person making the report, and (41%) think that the educational achievement/career of the person making the report would suffer.
  • Action Item: Create and provide education around anti-retaliation process

Experiences with Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment

  • 1% of respondents experienced at least one incident of sexual misconduct at least one time since the beginning of the school year.
  • 39% of respondents had someone make a sexist remark or joke in their presence.
  • Action Item: Continue to advertise and communicate information regarding reporting options, such as the Trust Line, Student Complaint Form, and the Person of Concern Reporting Form.

Prior Experiences with Unwanted Sexual Conduct

  • 20% of all respondents reported that someone had or attempted to have unwanted sexual contact with them prior to attending UNTHSC.
  •  Action Item: Increase awareness of sexual assault support services at programming prior to matriculation (i.e. Discover myHSC Day) for students who many want to connect with resources prior to the start of school at UNTHSC.

 Community Behaviors

  • Respondents generally viewed themselves as more likely than their peers to engage in bystander behaviors. 98% of respondents decide not to have sex with someone if they are drunk, 93% would confront a friend who says they did have sex with someone who was passed out or did not give consent.
  • 92% of both self and peers would ask someone who looks very upset at a party if they are ok or need help.
  • Action Item: Build on student training and education opportunities to reinforce bystander intervention practices.

Community Attitudes

  • 38% of respondents agreed/strongly agreed that rape and sexual violence can happen unintentionally, especially if alcohol is involved.
  •  12% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that a person who is sexually assaulted or raped while he or she is drunk is at least somewhat responsible.
  • 53% of respondents believe that sexual misconduct is not really a problem at this school.
  • Action Item: Develop programming specifically focused towards sexual violence and alcohol awareness.
  • Action Item: Create campus norms campaign to promote positive behavioral and support services

Experiences with Intimate Partner Violence & Stalking and Harassment

  • 23% of respondents experienced some form of non-violent behavior or harassment from an intimate partner. Mostly in the form of verbal harassment, such as name calling or criticizing them.
  • 4% of respondents experienced some form of violent behavior from an intimate partner.
  • 12% of respondents felt frightened, concerned, angered or annoyed by stalking or harassing behavior, mostly in the form of unwanted phone calls, messages, emails or other forms of written communication.
  • Action Item: Continue to advertise and communicate info regarding reporting options, such as the Trust Line, Person of Concern, Student Complaint Form.
  • Action Item: Advertise and promote intimate partner violence community resources

We will be launching the Fall 2020 campus climate survey during the month of October. The survey is titled Campus Climate Survey. All students will receive an initial email invitation and two email reminders during the three weeks the survey is available.

EAB will provide institutional and cohort data to all participating universities by June 30, 2020. Our goal is to distribute the results to the campus in conjunction with plans for additional resources/programming based on survey results.

Our office is prepared to provide any resources needed for students who have emotional triggers or questions about the survey. Contact information for assistance is provided at the end of the survey. Other campus and community resources can be found HERE. If students have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Care and Civility at OCC@unthsc.edu.

  • The 2019 Campus Climate Survey showed a 2% increase in survey response. Following-up from the 2017 action items, incentives were offered for survey completion, for a total of 8% increase from 2017.
  • All incoming students have continued to receive Title IX training. This training occurred informally through an orientation presentation and formally through the WeComply platform.
  • Each month, the Office of Student Affairs now sends an email to the UNTHSC student population with reminders of sexual assault support resources and reporting options.
  • The Office of Care and Civility continued to recognize Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, coinciding with the start of the 2019 Campus Climate Survey, in addition to Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October and Stalking Awareness in January.
  • The Office of Care and Civility has tied all programming to Campus Climate and/or NCHA data to ensure programming is evidence based.
  • A comparison report over the past 4 years can be found HERE

 

A printable version of the 2018-2019 Campus Climate Survey can be found HERE

2017-2018 Campus Climate Survey Results

2016-2017 Campus Climate Survey Results

2015-2016 Campus Climate Survey Results