2019 Campus Climate Survey results are now available
A report with the results of the 2019 University of Alaska Climate Survey is now available for review on the Title IX Compliance website.
The University of Alaska conducts annual systemwide climate surveys to determine the prevalence of sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence among university students and to gather feedback on institutional response and overall perceptions of campus climate.
Understanding issues such as students’ knowledge about reporting policies and resources for victims, as well as attitudes about prevention and perceptions about how the university addresses the problem of sexual violence, are critical pieces of information for improving campus responses and prevention programs.
The 2019 Climate Survey was conducted in conjunction with 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.
The ARC3 survey was distributed to 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students between March 18 and April 15, 2019. Reminders to the group were sent four times via email. There was an 8.4 percent response rate.
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.
Title IX information can be found at alaska.edu/titleIXcompliance.