Students returning to class at the University of Texas System’s campuses this fall will be participating in the nation’s most comprehensive study on sexual assaults ever conducted in higher education.
The University of Texas System has funded a $1.7-million multiyear study on sexual assaults, dating violence, stalking and sexual harassment at 13 of its college and medical campuses. The study, to be conducted by researchers at UT Austin’s School of Social Work for the UT System, will range from online questionnaires for students; surveys and focus groups of faculty, staff and campus law enforcement; and a 4-year cohort study of entering freshman to identify the psychological and economic impact of sexual violence.
“When Chancellor William McRaven took office in January, he felt a responsibility to the UT System’s 217,000 students to ensure their campuses are safe, and if they report crimes, they will be supported,” said Wanda Mercer, UT System’s associate vice chancellor for student affairs. “This study is a proactive approach to an important issue. We are not waiting for a high-profile incident to occur before we do it.”
Known as Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE), the study will select a sample size of students who reflect the demographics of their institutions to anonymously answer questions about their on-campus sexual violence experiences to help researchers determine the prevalence of such incidents. The survey - which will gather data from self-identified victims - will commence this fall and be repeated two years later.
[For more of this story go to https://www.utsystem.edu/news/...udy-higher-education]
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