The University of Chicago, as part of its continued commitment to strengthen applicable policies and programs, is participating in a national campus climate survey on sexual misconduct led by the Association of American Universities.
“This survey is a vital component of the University’s prevention efforts,” wrote Provost Daniel Diermeier in an email to students. “We have taken substantial steps since the 2015 survey on sexual misconduct and, together with our campus community, continue to build a safe and welcoming academic environment, free of unlawful harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct.”
All UChicago students are encouraged to participate in the survey through an individualized link delivered via email from “2019 Campus Climate Survey.” The survey, which is both anonymous and confidential, will provide essential information to better understand the climate at the University and guide decisions on programs and services.
The University is one of 33 universities participating in the survey of more than 870,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. The AAU survey is expected to be among the largest of its kind.
The survey is designed to assess the prevalence and characteristics of incidents of sexual misconduct and provide an opportunity for peer benchmarking by institutions.
AAU and the participating universities have contracted with Westat, a leading social science research firm, to conduct the survey and analyze its results, while ensuring the protection of student confidentiality and the sharing of data across universities. AAU will publicly release aggregate results in September, and UChicago expects to release its own results later in 2019 once it has an opportunity to analyze the results.
The University previously conducted a survey on sexual misconduct in 2015, which gathered responses from 4,116 UChicago students. As a result of the 2015 survey, the University made substantial revisions to the Policy on Harassment, Discrimination and Sexual Misconduct and instituted mandatory sexual misconduct awareness and prevention training for all members of the University—including students, faculty, academic appointees, postdocs and staff members.
Questions from the University campus community about the survey may be directed to titleix@uchicago.edu. Additional information about the survey is available at climatesurvey.uchicago.edu/survey2019/ and climatesurvey.uchicago.edu.
—Prof. Chuan He
