Campus climate survey to collect student opinion on sexual assault
A “Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct” was released April 9 to the Central Michigan University student body to collect confidential data on the sexual assault climate on campus.
The survey, which takes about 15 minutes to complete, covers students’ anonymous personal experiences, knowledge about sexual assault resources and opinions on the university’s efforts in combating sexual misconduct.
SoundRocket, a company specializing in data collection, created the survey for universities, but the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity customized the questions specifically to CMU. The survey was also reviewed by the Title IX Advisory Board, Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates and other organizations, which provided feedback on the questions.
"There's a lot of national data on sexual misconduct, especially on college campuses, but to get the climate at your specific institution, it's really important to ask the people at your institution," said OCRIE Deputy Director Mary Martinez, who worked on editing the survey.
After the data is collected and analyzed by SoundRocket, the information will be distributed in Fall 2019 to different stakeholders on campus such as OCRIE, the Office of Student Conduct and the Counseling Center. This data will be used to help inform policies on resources and support services.
"I hope the feedback is something we can use to determine what type of programs students are looking for and what (programs) students attend more often than not; that way, we can plan accordingly or offer more programs of that type," Martinez said. "Is there a lack in resources that we, as administrators, are not seeing? We hope to get that feedback from the student body that way we can make (our university) better."
All main campus students should have received an email with a link to the survey, and Martinez hopes that every student takes the survey, knowing that each question is optional.
"We want to make sure that the student voice is heard and that we have the holistic view of not just the administrators and area experts, but the students too because they're why the university is here," Martinez said.
The survey will likely be sent out every other academic year in the future.
Students who take the survey are submitted in a drawing to win a $100 VISA giftcard.
