Survey is meant to help guide decisions and policies regarding sexual assault
By David N. Goodman
Associated Press
DETROIT (AP) — Michigan State University will email a questionnaire Monday to its 50,000 students asking detailed and specific questions about their “personal experiences with sexual misconduct,” including harassment and assault.
The 20- to 30-minute survey is meant to “help guide decisions and policies regarding sexual assault” on the East Lansing campus, the university said in an announcement last week. It’s offering a chance at a $500 top prize and a number of $5 Amazon gift cards as incentives to get as many students as possible to take part.
“We need as much information as we can,” Michigan State spokesman Jason Cody told The Associated Press. “We students to join in and help us with on this.”
Along with Michigan State, the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and 26 other schools are conducting similar surveys under an initiative from the Association of American Universities. The U.S. Education Department last year revealed that the two Michigan universities were among dozens of schools that it was investigating for the way they handle sexual abuse allegations.
“Sexual assault on college campuses remains a serious problem,” Michigan State President Lou Anna K. Simon said in a statement. “I am
asking for our students’ help as we continue to work diligently on creating a safe atmosphere free of such violence.”
The school declined to release the precise questions that students are being asked ahead of Monday’s mass email. In its announcement, Michigan State said they cover “their knowledge and beliefs about social situations, perceptions related to sexual misconduct at MSU and their knowledge of available resources.”
The survey “also asks about personal experiences with sexual misconduct, such as harassment, sexual assault and other forms of violence,” the school said. It said the results will be confidential.
Students will have up to three weeks to respond. After that, the private research group Westat will analyze the results. Results should be available by September.
Nationwide, more than 800,000 students from the 28 schools are participating in the survey, said Association of American Universities spokesman Barry Toiv.
The goal is to give the schools “information on the experience and the attitudes of their students with respect to sexual assault and security and safety issues,” Toiv said in an interview. He said the group hopes that the aggregate results help guide law enforcement, college administrators and federal officials in planning strategies to fight sexual assault and misconduct.
“Our first priority, and (the participating schools), is to ensure that students not only are safe but feel safe,” association President Hunter Rawlings said in a statement.
