ERIC ED605099: Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct. AAU Campus Activities Report

2017·12.8 MB·English

by  ERIC

AAU CAMPUS ACTIVITIES REPORT
Combating
Sexual Assault
and Misconduct
CONTENTS
From the President 1
Acknowledgments 2
Executive Summary 3
Report Highlights 6
n Introduction 9
n Surveys 15
n Education and Training 23
n Student Support 31
n Developing a Campus Ecosystem 39
n Resources 47
n Measuring Change 55
n Conclusion 63
Endnotes 64

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AAU MEMBER UNIVERSITIES FROM THE PRESIDENT
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brown University
California Institute of Technology
Carnegie Mellon University
Case Western Reserve University
Columbia University
Cornell University
On behalf of the Association of American Universities, I’m pleased to
Duke University
Emory University share the AAU Campus Activities Report: Combating Sexual Assault and
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University Misconduct. This report follows up on the landmark survey AAU conducted
Indiana University
among more than 150,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 2015
Iowa State University
Johns Hopkins University regarding the prevalence of sexual assault and misconduct on campuses
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
McGill University and on student attitudes about these issues.
Michigan State University
New York University
Northwestern University This new report provides an extraordinary amount of data as well as dozens of
The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University concrete examples of the ways our universities are working to improve efforts
Princeton University
to reduce the incidence of sexual misconduct and to address its consequences.
Purdue University
Rice University
Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Stanford University AAU comprises 62 distinguished institutions that continually advance society
Stony Brook University–
through education, research, and discovery. Part of AAU’s mission is to help
State University of New York
Texas A & M University our universities enhance undergraduate and graduate education. It is in that
Tulane University
University at Buffalo– spirit that we conducted the 2015 survey to help universities understand
State University of New York
the extent of the problem on their campuses, and this new survey to share
The University of Arizona
University of California, Berkeley examples of how institutions are addressing the many aspects of this complex
University of California, Davis
University of California, Irvine societal challenge.
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara Our 2015 survey was sobering. University leaders understand the seriousness
The University of Chicago
University of Colorado Boulder of this issue. While the report is not exhaustive, we hope the case studies
University of Florida
and resources in this report will be useful not only to AAU universities but
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
The University of Iowa to all colleges and universities as we work to reduce sexual assault and
The University of Kansas
University of Maryland, College Park misconduct on our campuses.
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
University of Missouri, Columbia
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh
University of Rochester Mary Sue Coleman
University of Southern California
The University of Texas at Austin President
University of Toronto
Association of American Universities
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St Louis
Yale University
Association of American Universities Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Association of American Universities (AAU) Campus Activities Report:
Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct was developed to understand
what efforts and initiatives AAU campuses have undertaken to prevent and
address sexual assault and misconduct. The design and implementation of
this project required great effort by contributors at AAU and beyond.
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman provided We would be remiss if we failed to thank Dr.
leadership and guidance. Other most significant Bonnie Fisher of the University of Cincinnati,
staff contributions came from project managers who served as co-principal investigator to the
Mollie Benz Flounlacker and Melissa Luke. 2015 AAU campus climate survey. Dr. Fisher
Outside of AAU, Josh Trapani played a major role volunteered her time to this survey as well,
in both the implementation of the survey and providing thoughtful input and vital expertise.
the writing of this report. Lisa Rudgers and Julie We also thank Dr. Sandra Martin of the University
Peterson also made significant contributions. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her
In addition, we owe a debt of gratitude to willingness to continue providing insight
the following public affairs officers for their and guidance throughout the process.
contributions: Kent Casella of Michigan State
University, Steven Kloehn of Carnegie Mellon Finally, we are indebted to the various university
University, Lisa Lapin of Stanford University, officials, including Title IX officers, public affairs
and Janine Sikes of the University of Florida. officers, and others, with whom we collaborated
in the development of this report. n
This project would not have been possible
without the direction and support of the
Presidents and Chancellors of AAU member
institutions. Their leadership and commitment
to gathering further information on this critical
issue were vital to the success of this endeavor.
The survey used to obtain information from
campuses was developed in collaboration
with the members of the 2015 AAU Campus
Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual
Misconduct design team. Their vital expertise
and feedback was crucial in the development
and implementation of the survey, the drafting
of the report, and the accompanying items.
2 Campus Activities Report Association of American Universities
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report describes the policies and programs implemented and reported
through an institutional survey undertaken by Association of American
Universities (AAU) member universities to prevent and respond to campus
sexual assault and misconduct. Fifty-five of the 62 leading research
universities that comprise AAU’s membership completed the survey,
and 61 institutions provided examples of activities.
All the universities represented in this report have SURVEYS
changed and added strategies to combat sexual
assault and misconduct on their campuses. Many 100% of responding institutions have surveyed
changes and additions are linked to information students on issues around sexual assault and
gleaned from surveys of students, including a misconduct at least once since 2013.
large-scale survey conducted by AAU in 2015,
the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault 87% (48/55) of responding institutions indicated
and Sexual Misconduct. These surveys provided that surveys or data from surveys stimulated
information that was not previously available new or changed existing conversations with
regarding the prevalence of the problem, as well students about sexual assault and misconduct.
as challenges in campus climate and processes.
This report provides a rich set of data and dozens Survey results have been incorporated into training
of concrete examples of campus activities now for students, faculty, and staff; served as the basis
underway to better inform universities and study for town hall meetings and summits with students,
ways to effect change. as well as student-led discussions; led to revisions
The report’s findings are divided into six of university policies and procedures; catalyzed the
sections, representing the range of actions to development of new classes; and led to increased
address sexual assault and misconduct. There collaboration between administrators and student
is no magic bullet or one-size-fits-all approach: organizations and increased student involvement.
universities have undertaken a wide variety of
actions including increased and targeted training, EDUCATION AND TRAINING
greater awareness-building, better coordinated
data collection, increased staffing, process Over the last three academic years, 100% of
improvements, and greater levels of collaboration responding institutions have changed or are
within institutions and their communities. in the process of changing their education and
This report demonstrates that institutions training for students and faculty. For staff, the
are acting to put student safety first. figure is 98%.
Universities have found diverse and engaging ways
to convey relevant information, including online
Association of American Universities Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct 3
education, skits, and other dramatizations. They and misconduct to make them more transparent,
are delivering training to students in multiple doses and made resources easier to use including
and with increased frequency. Many examples also agreements with off-campus institutions, hospitals,
focus on mandatory training for faculty and staff, law enforcement, and others.
and for students with teaching responsibilities.
Institutions have worked to ensure that
Over the last three academic years, 84% (46/55) respondents (students accused of committing
of institutions have developed new programs, violations) are treated fairly and are provided
education, or interventions for specific student with a clear understanding of the university’s
populations or types of students. processes and available resources. Institutions
have also taken steps to ensure that respondents
These student subgroups include LGBTQ (lesbian, have access to support services.
gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students,
graduate and professional students, international DEVELOPING A CAMPUS ECOSYSTEM
students, students of color, transfer students,
sexual assault victims, students involved in Greek Universities are integrating survey data with other
life, first-year students, senior women, men, sources of information and pursuing further
athletes, members of student organizations, investigation of specific issues to help craft
and student leaders. appropriate and effective responses.

One critical area that universities are spending more Nearly 75% (41/55) of responding institutions
time on is bystander intervention training. Training reported conducting question-based data
students to intervene properly is an important way collection or studies that delve more deeply
to reduce campus sexual assault and misconduct. into specific issues raised by surveys, focus
Some universities use externally-developed programs on the experiences of particular student
like Green Dot, while others have developed their populations, or address other specific issues.
own bystander intervention programs.
Virtually all universities (98% or 54/55) reported
STUDENT SUPPORT plans to conduct such studies in the future. Such
studies take a range of forms, including focus
Over the last three academic years, 100% groups, interviews, follow-up surveys targeted to
of responding institutions have developed, subgroups of students, and cohort studies.
redefined, or enhanced programs to assist
victims of sexual assault and misconduct. An issue of special concern is barriers to reporting.
One particularly alarming result of the 2015 AAU
Institutions have added services for victims and climate survey was attitudinal: More than 50
made existing services easier to understand and percent of the victims of even the most serious
obtain. They have streamlined and simplified incidents say they do not report the event
policies and procedures regarding sexual assault because they do not consider it “serious enough.”
4 Campus Activities Report Association of American Universities
Institutions provided examples of how they are MEASURING CHANGE
trying to improve their understanding of this issue
and thus increase reporting. 84% (46/55) of institutions said they were
developing new or improved ways of
RESOURCES measuring the effectiveness of policies,
programs, and interventions.
95% (52/55) of responding institutions indicated
that they are developing new coordination or Universities are evaluating effectiveness by
data-sharing relationships between offices and gathering student opinion and feedback and
programs to help address sexual assault and by looking at trends. They are developing new
misconduct on campus. assessment mechanisms to measure program
effectiveness and are conducting pre-/post-
Many campuses have established mechanisms evaluations of actions or interventions.
to address these issues in a coordinated fashion.
Some institutions have adopted new or shared Institutions are particularly interested in assessing
databases to better facilitate coordination and changes in the campus community’s knowledge
flow of relevant information. Universities have also about and utilization of campus policies and
developed partnerships with outside entities to resources related to sexual assault and misconduct.
enhance and complement services provided by
the university itself. 84% (46/55) of institutions reported assessing
students’ knowledge about and utilization of
In each three of the categories—victim support, policies and resources, and well over half are
student training, and faculty and staff training— assessing faculty (62% or 34/55) and staff
more than 90% (50/55) of institutions reported (60% or 33/55) knowledge.
increasing resources.
Universities are examining changes in knowledge
As well as other kinds of resources devoted to and utilization of policies by looking at repeated
addressing these issues, the report estimates the surveys or online assessments/training, and by
addition of a minimum of 253 full-time equivalent comparing different sources of data. n
employees across these institutions over the last
three academic years. Universities emphasized the
steps they have taken to be as cost-efficient as
possible while still increasing the attention given
to sexual assault prevention and response. Training
existing employees, enhancing existing student
support services, and capitalizing on services
provided by community partners are all ways
that institutions have controlled costs while rising
to the challenges posed by these issues.
Association of American Universities Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct 5
SURVEYING CHANGING DEVELOPING
STUDENTS TRAINING NEW PROGRAMS
1OO% 1OO%

84%
of responding institutions Over the last three
have surveyed students academic years, 1OO%
on issues around sexual of responding institutions (46/55) of institutions
assault and misconduct have changed or are in the have developed new
at least once since 2013. process of changing their programs, education, or
education and training for interventions for specific
students and faculty. student populations or
types of students, in the
last three academic years.
STIMULATING
NEW CONVERSATIONS
ENHANCING PROGRAMS
87%
87%

1OO%
(48/55) of responding institutions

indicated that surveys or data from
surveys stimulated new or changed Over the last three academic years,
existing conversations with students 100% of responding institutions have
about sexual assault and misconduct. developed, redefined, or enhanced
programs to assist victims of sexual
assault and misconduct.
6 Campus Activities Report Association of American Universities
INTEROFFICE INCREASING MEASURING
DATA-SHARING RESOURCES EFFECTIVENESS
84%
95%
95% 9O% 84%
(52/55) of responding More than 90% of institutions (46/55) of institutions said
institutions indicated that reported increasing resources they were developing new or
they are developing new in each of three categories: improved ways of measuring
coordination or data-sharing victim support (50/55), student the effectiveness of policies,
relationships between offices training (53/55), and faculty programs, and interventions.
and programs to help address and staff training (50/55).
sexual assault and
misconduct on campus.
ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE
84% 62% 6O%
84% 62% 6O%
STUDENTS FACULTY STAFF
(46/55) reported assessing (34/55) reported assessing (33/55) reported assessing
students’ knowledge of campus faculty members’ knowledge of staff members’ knowledge of
policies and resources. campus policies and resources. campus policies and resources.
Association of American Universities Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct 7
AAU CAMPUS ACTIVITIES REPORT
Introduction
Association of American Universities Combating Sexual Assault and Misconduct 9