ABC University is a private university located in a suburb of a medium-sized metropolitan area. It offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. Approximately 40% of undergraduates and 15% of graduate students live on campus. The remainder commute to campus, with approximately 60% commuting from nearby private housing facilities (e.g., student apartment complexes, homes). Each year, the university admits approximately 500 full-time and 200 part-time undergraduates (all programs, all levels for first admission), 200 full-time and 340 part-time master’s degree students (all programs, all levels for first admission), and 280 full-time and 250 part-time doctoral degree students (all programs, all levels for first admission). Current enrollment, all programs, is approximately 8,500 students.
Problem
Sexual harassment is a problem in academia, especially for women (Abrams, 2018; Cantalupo & Kidder, 2018). Women are 3.5 times more likely than men to experience sexual harassment throughout their academic careers; 64% of female and male trainees have described inappropriate sexual comments when on academic field placements (Clancy et al., 2014). Colleges and universities are required by law to have in place policies and procedures for protecting students from sexual harassment (e.g., training of staff, faculty, and students), reporting and investigating such events, and taking any appropriate follow-up actions (Cantalupo & Kidder, 2018). Victims of sexual harassment in academia continue to be reluctant to confront their harassers or to file formal reports of sexual harassment. These victims often look to peers for emotional and social support but may be revictimized by negative responses from their peers (Orchowski & Gidycz, 2015). Further, few peers who witness or learn about sexual harassment of a female student peer actually take any action to intervene directly to stop the harassment or to offer other, indirect help and support for the victim.
Purpose
For the past 5 years, ABC University has been offering face-to-face two-part training on sexual harassment to new-admission students who elect to participate. The training is offered through the university’s Counseling Center to small groups of 15–20. Part 2 of this training targets attitudes, beliefs, and norms that affect actions that can be taken by victims (similar to information offered in Abrams [2018] and Foster & Fullagar [2018]) and by observers (direct and indirect) of sexual harassment (based on the Bowes-Sperry & O’Leary-Kelly [2005] model of bystander intervention). The university’s Office of the President is seeking an evaluation of the impact of this training on the college community at large with regard to intervention by peers.
This project specifically will address the following questions:
1. Over the years since the expanded questions were introduced on the annual Campus Climate Survey,
a. have there been changes in responses from the student community at large to questions on their experiences, as victim or observers, of sexual harassment?
Total Student Enrollment: The total student enrollment for each year the survey was conducted to ensure the survey responses are contextualized against the overall size of the student body. The problem states the current enrollment is ≈8,500 and provides new-admission numbers, but the total enrollment for previous years is needed for accurate longitudinal comparisons.
Policy/Procedure Changes: A list of any significant changes to the university's sexual harassment policies, reporting procedures, or other large-scale awareness campaigns during the same period to rule out alternative explanations for changes in survey responses.
By analyzing the trends in these survey responses alongside the training participation rates, the evaluation can begin to address whether the attitudes and behaviors targeted by the training are shifting within the student community.
Sample Answer
The project question asks about changes in student responses to the Campus Climate Survey regarding their experiences (as victims or observers) of sexual harassment since the expanded questions were introduced.
To address this question, the evaluation must primarily rely on the analysis of longitudinal data from ABC University's annual Campus Climate Survey.
Data Needed to Address Question 1a
The primary data source required is the Campus Climate Survey data collected over the years since the relevant, expanded questions on sexual harassment experiences were implemented.
1. Survey Data (Victimization and Observation)
The evaluation needs aggregate and disaggregated data from the Campus Climate Survey, specifically focusing on the expanded questions:
Victimization Data:
The percentage of students, disaggregated by demographics (especially gender as the literature suggests women are disproportionately affected), student status (undergraduate/graduate, full-time/part-time), and living status (on-campus/commuter), who report:
Experiencing sexual harassment (defined by the survey's expanded questions) since being a student at ABC University.
The type of harassment (e.g., inappropriate comments, unwanted attention, sexual coercion) and the location (e.g., academic setting, social event, online).
The relationship of the harasser to the student (e.g., peer, faculty, staff, non-affiliate).
Observer Data (Bystander Experience):
The percentage of students, disaggregated by the same demographics and status, who report:
Witnessing or learning about sexual harassment of a peer or other community member.
Their response or action (or inaction) to the incident (e.g., intervening directly, offering support to the victim, reporting the incident).
Time Trend Data:
All the above data must be available for each year since the expanded questions were introduced to allow for trend analysis (i.e., identifying a statistically significant change over time).
2. Contextual Data
To properly interpret any observed changes (or lack thereof), the evaluation would also benefit from:
Training Participation Records: The number and demographics of new-admission students (disaggregated by gender, stude