Vanderbilt University students, postdocs, faculty and staff can contribute information about their experiences with and knowledge of gender-based and sexual misconduct on campus in a survey scheduled to launch on Feb. 26. Members of the Vanderbilt community will receive an email at their Vanderbilt email address containing the survey, which is scheduled to close March 29.
The survey asks about perceptions of social situations, experiences with interpersonal violence and awareness of reporting and support resources available at Vanderbilt. We are asking all Vanderbilt community members to complete this survey, whether or not they have had personal experience with gender-based or sexual misconduct.
Participants can complete the survey questions in 10–15 minutes.
Students who complete the survey can receive a free small coffee/espresso/tea drink for taking the survey. To claim your drink, you will be asked to put your VUnetID into a separate VU portal. This portal is not connected to the survey in any way, and your answers to the survey will not be connected to your identity. Your free drink will appear on your GET account within five business days and can be claimed at Local Java in Alumni Hall with your mobile credential or physical Commodore Card (offer expires May 3, 2024). All students receiving a drink will be entered into a random drawing; 10 students will win a free set of AirPods.
Key takeaways:
Your answers are confidential and protected.
The survey will be distributed by Rankin Climate LLC. The data and analysis Vanderbilt will receive from Rankin will have no names or other identifiable information.
Campus environments matter.
Thriving campus environments contribute directly to overall success for students, faculty, postdocs and staff. This information will help us better understand how members of our community experience harassment, bias and a lack of support that can lead individuals to leave the Vanderbilt community.
Share your voice.
Ensuring inclusive and equitable campus experiences for all members of the community requires us to deeply listen and understand these experiences. You can help us by sharing your stories and encouraging others to do the same by completing the survey.
Review the 2019 responses.
Students and faculty were last surveyed about these topics in 2015 and 2019. The 2024 survey will be the first time that Vanderbilt staff will be surveyed. Data from the 2019 survey is available online.
Track our progress.
Several changes have been made on campus since the 2019 survey. Work that has been done at Vanderbilt includes but is not limited to:
—joining the AAU Advisory Board on Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination and the National Academies for Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Action Collaborative on the prevention of sexual harassment in higher education as a founding member
—expanding the Title IX Office, which now includes a director, assistant director, informal resolution and supportive measures manager, two investigators and a training specialist for policy and prevention
—hiring more Project Safe Center staff
More information on our progress can be found on the survey webpage.
Vanderbilt’s Title IX website has comprehensive information about the university’s sexual violence prevention and response, including information and recommendations to get involved in our work to combat gender-based and sexual misconduct.