A Comprehensive Campus Climate Assessment Model: From Engaging Leadership to Action Planning on Campus

Campus sexual violence is a form of gender-based violence that affects approximately 20% of women and 6% of men while they are attending institutions of higher education. Sexual violence can negatively impact a number of domains for survivors, including physical and mental health; coping mechanisms; and academic success. To address this issue, campus climate surveys are a recommended first step in a broader assessment process, and one in which social workers can have a major role in facilitating. Several campus climate survey instruments are now available for those working at universities to measure campus sexual violence. However, there is little available guidance on the process of conducting a campus climate assessment, especially one that facilitates the development of an action plan to address any gaps identified. The purpose of this workshop is to present one conceptual model that social workers can use to engage in a comprehensive, action-focused campus climate assessment process that moves beyond the administration of a survey as a compliance tool to engaging and educating the campus community. The presented conceptual model is based on principles of community-based participatory action research (CB-PAR), a collaborative research approach intended to establish structures for stakeholder participation in all aspects of the research process with the goal of improving well-being through action. Stakeholders include communities affected by the issue being studied, representatives of organizations, and researchers. This model emphasizes co-learning between researchers and mutual decision-making powers. In this model, the community contributes to the research agenda, planning, data collection, dissemination, and utilization of results to educate and take action to improve campus communities. This workshop includes a distinguished panel of four social science researchers from Rutgers University School of Social Work who have conducted a number of campus climate surveys and provided consultation nationally. Researchers will present a process case study for conducting an action-focused campus climate assessment. Panelists will address the conference theme of “Ending Gender Based, Family and Community Violence” through discussion of how a collaborative campus climate assessment can be utilized to tailor and develop campus specific prevention and response efforts. They will also emphasize the leadership role that social workers and Schools of Social Work can take in the process. The following topics will be discussed: 1) Building capacity for assessment processes; 2) Determining the type of data to be gathered and methodology; 3) Engaging in a systematic assessment of the infrastructure already on campus; 4) Planning and administering a campus climate survey coupled with qualitative data collection; 5) Utilizing assessment results to improve prevention efforts and institutional responses; 6) Distributing the knowledge acquired from the study to all partners. Panelists will address these topics through prepared presentations, interactive learning through use of case examples and small group exercises, and conclude with participant questions. By the end of the workshop participants will be familiar with best-practices for how to build capacity on campus; engage in an iterative multi-method assessment process; encourage co-learning between researchers and campus leadership throughout the process; and translate findings into action.