Rowan University’s Office of Student Equity and Compliance (OSEC) recently completed collecting responses for the 2019 Campus Climate Survey. The voluntary survey asked students to report on several aspects of their experiences at Rowan, including their sense of community, exposure to educational messages about sexual assault, and opinions of Rowan’s response to sexual violence.
OSEC is currently working with the Rowan researchers assigned to this effort on compiling, analyzing, and summarizing data received from the campus climate survey to be shared with the greater Rowan community.
What is a campus climate survey?
Campus climate surveys are used to assess experiences, behaviors, and attitudes related discrimination, harassment, and all forms of gender-based violence at a college campus or university.
Campus climate surveys have gained popularity over the last several years, at campuses across the nation, asking students to what extent have they experienced sexual misconduct at college, and their pre-college exposure to sexual misconduct. Each campus has unique needs and approaches to addressing sexual assault on their campuses, in which the campus climate survey provide guidance and accountability for addressing institutional issues.
Why is a campus climate survey important at colleges and universities?
Sexual harassment and misconduct is referenced as the most underreported crime on college campuses. As such, official statistics on experiences of sexual misconduct are often underreported. Climate surveys are an attempt to gather more accurate information than is reflected in crime statistics through the promise of anonymity.
Campus response, intervention, and prevention efforts will be more successful if they are tailored to the needs of each campus community. A campus climate survey helps campuses to 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.
What is the value of campus climate surveys?
- Campus climate surveys provide valuable information particularly by establishing baseline data by which an institution can assess and further improve their response to campus sexual misconduct.
- Resulting data help to better direct resources where needed to create a safer campus environment for all students.
- Most importantly, campus climate surveys enable the voices of students to play an integral role in guiding the institution in refining policies and in developing effective sexual violence prevention programs.
Resources
Climate Surveys: Useful Tools to Help Colleges and Universities in Their Efforts to Reduce and Prevent Sexual Assault https://campusclimate.gsu.edu/files/2019/03/ovw-climate-survey.508.pdf
Rutgers Center for Violence Against Women and Children (VAWA) https://socialwork.rutgers.edu/centers/center-violence-against-women-and-children