Campus Climate Survey 2015-2016

Sexual violence and harassment is an urgent issue on college 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 first anonymous campus climate survey to students via the Educational Advisory Board (EAB) in spring 2016. Full report of the 2015-2016 survey results.

Below are a few summarized take-aways from the 2015-2016 survey:

• Nearly one third of participants had someone make sexist remarks or jokes in their presence since the beginning of the school year.
• Over one quarter of participants indicated that the educational achievement or career of a person making a report of sexual violence would suffer.
• One quarter of participants did not know what confidential resources are available to them.
• All participants who experienced unwanted sexual contact reported that they were taken advantage of when they were incapacitated.
• Participants who experienced unwanted sexual contact most commonly told a roommate, friend, or classmate.
• 83% of participants did not report the incident of sexual violence to the school.

Below are a few recommendations for additional programming and education based on the findings above.

• Increase awareness of campus, community, and confidential resources through various events, tablings, and displays around campus.
• Emphasize the UNTHSC retaliation policy throughout various events, email campaigns, tablings, and displays around campus.
• Strengthen alcohol education programming and provide information about consent at such events.
• Continue to education our campus community about various reporting options.

We will be launching this year’s campus climate survey starting April 3, 2017 and ending April 24, 2017. The survey is titled Attitudes & Awareness of Sexual Violence. 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, 2017. 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. If students have additional questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Care and Civility at wellnessservices@unthsc.edu.