Sexual Violence Prevalence Campus Climate Survey Results

Executive Summary

On March 27, 2023, our campus began an online administration of SUNY’s Sexual Violence Prevalence (SVP) Campus Climate Survey which intended to gather information about the rate of incidents of sexual violence and the campus community’s knowledge of policies and resources.  Per NYS Education Law and SUNY BOT policy, every SUNY campus is required to participate in this uniform survey project bi-annually and publish the results on the institution’s website.  

This survey was administered to students and employees and addressed, at minimum, student and employee knowledge about:

  • The Title IX Coordinator’s role

  • Campus policies and procedures addressing sexual assault

  • How and where to report sexual violence as a victim/survivor or witness

  • The availability of resources on and off campus, such as counseling, health, and academic assistance

  • The prevalence of victimization and perpetration of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on and off campus during a set period (for example, the last two years)

  • Whether victims/survivors reported to the College/University and/or police, and reasons why they did or did not report

  • The general awareness of the difference, if any, between the institution’s policies and the penal law, and

  • The general awareness of the definition of affirmative consent.                   

Anyone with questions about the survey or the results included in this report may contact Antoinette Gress, Interim Title IX Coordinator (GressAM@alfredstate.edu) or Daniel Jardine, Director of Institutional Research Planning & Effectiveness (JardinDD@alfredstate.edu).

Background

The SVP survey is administered every other year by all SUNY campuses, which work closely with SUNY System Administration to coordinate the survey administration itself. An effort is made to keep the questions from one administration to the next as consistent as possible to allow for reliable and meaningful longitudinal data.  System-wide IRB review takes place for each survey administration. 

Our campus administered the student and employee surveys between March 27, 2023, and April 17, 2023. Populations that were excluded from the survey included individuals under 18 years of age, all incarcerated individuals regardless of age, and all students concurrently enrolled in high school regardless of age. 

An email was sent to each potential respondent by the College’s Chief Diversity Officer & Title IX Coordinator on March 20, 2023. That message explained what the survey was, the dates that it would be active, and how respondents would be receiving their link to the survey (i.e., from "survey@suny.edu"). 

The survey was issued to all eligible survey participants. Resident assistants received an additional, separate message encouraging them to participate in the survey. No incentives or inducements were offered by the campus.

 

By administering the survey, the College hoped to gauge the campus community’s perceptions, familiarity with resources, the extent of unwanted, and incidence of sexual violence. These efforts were directly aligned with the mission of the Cultural Life Center and the College’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan goals. 

Results

The SVP survey was issued to 3,024 Alfred State students and 628 employees. The division in employees surveyed between faculty and staff, the total number of responses and response rates for each population are presented below:

Cohort/Subgroup

Total Surveyed

Total Responses

Response Rate

Students

3,024

251

8.3%

Employees

628

229

36.5%
         
 

Faculty

222

106

47.4%
 

Staff

406

123

30.3%

In reviewing the comprehensive amount of data generated by the survey, the following results have been highlighted as successes, challenges, or areas for further investigation:

  • Both students (77%) and employees (98%) indicated awareness that the College has policies and procedures specifically addressing sexual assault.

  • 85% of students and 87% of employees reported that they understood the definition of affirmative consent. 

  • A majority of students (>50%) and more than three-quarters of employees (>75%) were aware of each of the Title IX Coordinator’s roles they were surveyed about (e.g., receiving reports).      

  • Students and employees demonstrated high levels of awareness that formal complaints of sexual assault could be made to University Police (S = 92%, E = 100%), Counseling Services (S = 79%, E = 90%), and the Title IX Coordinator (S = 77%, E = 93%). 

  • The aggregated responses of students who indicated they had been subjected to some form of sexual violence/harassment during the past year indicated that they were most likely to tell friends (95%), romantic partners (38%), or room/housemates (33%) about the incident.

  • Of the relatively small number of employees (14) who indicated that a student had disclosed to them an unwanted sexual experience during the past year, 79% reported the incident to the Title IX Coordinator, University Police, or other campus office. 

  • In general, employees reported a greater level of familiarity with the relevant policies, resources, and reporting mechanisms that both groups were surveyed on. 

  • Both student and employee responses were comparable when benchmarked against other technology colleges with a few notable differences:

    • Alfred State employees were more likely to report a student’s disclosure that they were the victim of an unwanted experience (79% vs. 64%).     

    • Alfred State employees appeared slightly more knowledgeable about policies, procedures, and definitions compared with the benchmark. 

    • Alfred State employees (38%) were more likely than their peers (26%) to confront a person they experienced making unwanted sexual comments, sexual slurs, or demeaning jokes?                   

    • Alfred State students reported experiencing more “unwanted sexual comments, sexual slurs, or demeaning jokes” than the benchmarked campuses (36% vs. 26%) and having received more “unwanted sexually suggestive digital communications” (24% vs. 19%). 

    • Alfred State students reported the same or slightly fewer instances of sexual violence then their peers. 

Discussion and Next Steps

Alfred State College, working with SUNY and community colleagues (including students, faculty, and staff), will use these data to improve response to violence, develop prevention programs, and address the specific disparities noted above. The College applauds the participation of students and employees in the SVP survey effort and for exemplifying the campus’ commitment to being informed and responsive to the sensitive and serious considerations associated with sexual violence. 

 

As noted above, survey results for both Alfred State students and employees were comparable with the other technology colleges that the College was benchmarked against. Wherever there is less than a complete awareness of policies, procedures, and resources, there exists an opportunity and need to better inform the campus community. This is expected to remain an ongoing and evolving effort shared by all institutions of higher education.  

 

The next SVP Campus Climate Survey will be administered in Spring 2025. More information about the survey is available at https://www.suny.edu/climatesurvey/.