Climate Surveys
Climate surveys measure how often sexual violence occurs on college campuses and how students perceive such violence. Understanding other climate issues, such as students’ knowledge about reporting policies and resources for victims, their attitudes about prevention and their perceptions about how their community is addressing the problem of sexual violence, are critical pieces of information for improving campus responses. Conducted over a period of time, Climate Surveys reveal trends such as decreases in sexual assault, increases in reporting and increases in awareness. They can identify a particular campus problem, which gives Title IX offices the ability to tailor prevention efforts.
Climate Survey news and results
A report with the results of the 2019 University of Alaska Climate Survey is now available. DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT
The 2019 Climate Survey was conducted in conjunction with Dr. Brad Myrstol of the UAA Justice Center. Myrstol used the survey instrument developed by the Administrator Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3). The open-source survey is nationally recognized for utilizing vetted methodology, and, importantly, allows the university to compare its results to other universities across the country. In fact, the survey found that UA’s rates of sexual misconduct are similar to other public universities. DOWNLOAD SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
The university system has taken significant steps to improve campus safety, including:
- mandatory student and employee Title IX training,
- increased staffing and improved case management systems in campus Title IX offices, and,
- implementation of new policies, expanded bystander training programs and increased advocate and student support systems.
However, the survey points out that there are still too many instances of students who experience one or more forms of sexual misconduct since enrolling at the university, including on- and off-campus incidents, and work remains to improve our culture and meet our standards for preventing, recognizing and addressing sex discrimination and sexual misconduct.
UA’s commitment to making this cultural shift means more awareness, improving training for staff, faculty and students, and even further dedication to preventing sexual misconduct, dating violence, stalking and sexual assault.
Climate Survey Results
The results of the University of Alaska’s 2017 Campus Climate Survey are now available for review REPORT LINK. Readers are forewarned that questions and definitions are explicit, and could be upsetting to some. It is normal to experience strong emotions and reactions to the content of this survey, especially for those who have experienced, or been affected by, attempted or completed sexual and/or partner violence. Please know that if you want to report a specific concern to campus authorities, reach out to a counselor or other professional for confidential help; and/or may have general questions or concerns to bring up on these topics a wide variety of resources are available for these purposes.
The report provides current prevalence estimates projecting the number of university students that experienced sexual misconduct, dating violence, stalking/harassment or sexual assault. Additionally, whether and to whom the incidences were reported, the likelihood of students to engage in protective behaviors and interventions in the future, and students’ assessments of the university’s campus climate. The report establishes baseline data for future study.
The survey was conducted by the UAA Justice Center in October 2017. It was emailed to 10,000 degree-seeking undergraduate students. Of those, 710 students self-selected to participate. The survey is part of the university’s Voluntary Resolution Agreement with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and will be conducted each academic year.
The university has taken significant steps toward addressing sexual assault and misconduct on its campuses, and has been public about past failings. This survey affirms the progress made to create a safer campus environment while underscoring that more needs to be done to improve our culture and meet our standards for recognizing and addressing sex discrimination and sexual misconduct. This ongoing work will involve each university and community campus using the climate survey’s findings to inform decisions and take further action.
University Concludes First Climate Survey
The University of Alaska successfully completed its first system-wide Climate Survey to study perceptions of sexual misconduct on campuses and in the lives of students, staff and faculty. The survey is a tool to inform UA about the current climate towards sexual misconduct and assess how well Title IX programs are working and where improvement is needed. In 2014 Title IX, the federal law responsible for addressing discrimination based on gender on college and university campuses, mandated that schools conduct climate surveys cyclically.
UA sent a total of 15,000 electronic surveys to a random sample of university students and employees March 2. About one in ten (7.3%) responded to the voluntary and anonymous survey, which was in the range expected.
This survey collected valuable information that was not available otherwise. UA wishes to thank everyone who took the time to participate in the Climate Survey and help the UA achieve its commitment to develop an environment free from sexual harassment and violence.
A survey of this nature is highly sensitive and relies on participants trusting that their individual responses will remain anonymous and confidential. The anonymous survey responses are being aggregated and analyzed now, to determine the best way to aggregate the data in a way that meets the ultimate purpose of the survey: to gauge community attitudes toward sexual assault, determine areas where outreach and training may be lacking and to guide outreach and prevention plans to better serve all our populations. A summary overview and aggregate results for groups will be shared with UA’s Title IX offices, and kept within the university. Individual survey responses will not be retained. Results will be retained in summary form only and will stay with the UA system and kept confidential. No public reports or presentations will be released about this information.