USU Asks Students, Employees for Input in Sexual Misconduct Surveys

Utah State University’s fourth “campus climate” survey on sexual misconduct for students will begin on Friday, March 31, along with its second survey for employees. Both surveys will be open through April 21, and students and employees at all USU campuses are encouraged to participate.

The surveys are intended to help university administration better understand student and employee knowledge, perspectives and experiences related to sex-based discrimination and sexual misconduct, which USU policy defines as including sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, relationship violence and sex-based stalking.

“Data collected in past surveys has helped us improve the annual student and employee sexual misconduct trainings,” said Emmalee Fishburn, a senior prevention specialist with USU’s Office of Equity.

“Both students and employees have told us that the statistics have helped them better understand what sexual misconduct is and how to help people who have been impacted by it at our university,” Fishburn said. “Using the data has allowed us to contextualize what is happening at USU and design realistic and meaningful practice scenarios.”

The student survey has been conducted every other year since 2017. The information gathered has helped USU:

• Create bystander intervention trainings and education campaigns about consent.
• Tailor prevention education for student and employee groups.
• Identify specific areas where the university community needs more prevention training.
• Monitor the incidence of sexual misconduct in the university community.

The surveys will include new questions for individuals who have interacted with USU’s Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information (SAAVI) office and USU Police, as well as additional questions to assess how effectively the university has responded to sexual misconduct behaviors. The employee survey includes a section on workplace incivility behaviors, which will assess employee experiences with abuse of power in the workplace.

To keep with climate survey best practices, this year’s surveys will be changed to focus on experiences since the last time the surveys were conducted in April 2021. Additional questions in this year’s surveys are aimed at learning more about student and employee experiences with sexual exploitation.

The sexual misconduct surveys are open March 31 to April 21. USU students are encouraged to take the survey at survey.usu.edu. The employee survey is at survey.usu.edu/employees. Each will take approximately 15-30 minutes to complete, and responses are anonymous. As an incentive, anyone who completes a survey can enter a drawing to win an Amazon or USU Campus Stores gift card.

Students or employees who would like mental or emotional support while taking this survey can visit USU’s Sexual Respect: Creating a Campus Culture of Respect page for information about university resources such as counseling and advocacy services.

To learn more about previous student sexual misconduct surveys and resulting university initiatives, visit usu.edu/sexual-respect/survey.