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Why is Boston College conducting a Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey?

• The Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey is designed to measure our campus climate regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence (sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking).听
• Our University is dedicated to fostering a caring community. Every member of the Boston College community has a right to an education free from discrimination, and Boston College is committed to ensuring that all students have the opportunity to fully benefit from the school鈥檚 programs and activities. This qualitative and quantitative research effort will allow us to better understand the experiences of our community. Gathering data about our student鈥檚 experiences, as well as our community鈥檚 perception(s) and knowledge around these issues will better inform our efforts to end sexual harassment and violence at Boston College.
• The Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey complies with the 成人每日大赛wealth of Massachusetts 2021 Campus Sexual Assault Law (chapter 337 of the Acts of 2020), which is specifically focused on campus responses to sexual violence.
  

What happens as a part of the Assessment?

• In December 2024, we developed the survey and submitted for IRB proposal.听
• In February 2025, we will administer the campus-wide survey.听
• This Spring and Summer, we will conduct data analysis and begin to develop the report.
• Results will be presented in the Fall of 2025.
  

How are the questions developed?

• Boston College鈥檚 survey instrument was developed by the Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3), comprised of leading researchers in sexual harassment and violence, Title IX administrators, and student affairs professionals.听Additionally, the survey instrument used by Boston College has been modified to ensure compliance with the requirements outlined in the 成人每日大赛wealth of Massachusetts Task Force guidance. The ARC3 Survey was developed in response to the White House Task Force to Protect 成人每日大赛s from Sexual Assault.
• A committee of administrators from Boston College is working to ensure the survey fully represents our campus and our community. The results will help Boston College better understand the campus climate related to sexual misconduct, which is essential to maintaining a safe environment.
• The survey questions gather a comprehensive picture of a campus climate about sexual violence issues.听

Will everyone receive an invitation to participate?

• The survey will be administered to all students at Boston College. Climate exists in micro-climates, so creating opportunities to maximize participation is important as well as maximizing opportunities to reach minority populations. This includes undergraduates, graduate students, as well as students who are also employees.

What is the response rate goal?

• The target participants in the survey are all students at Boston College. Every response matters and is valuable in providing the most beneficial feedback and results.

What will be included in the final summary reports?

• The consultant, Rankin Climate, will provide a final executive summary and a comprehensive data visualization dashboard.听
• Per the 成人每日大赛wealth of Massachusetts Taskforce guidelines, a summary of findings will be published and shared with our community.

What will be done with the data?

• The purpose of conducting the survey is to assess student鈥檚 campus climate regarding sexual harassment and sexual violence and to identify successes and opportunities for improvement.听
• Rankin Climate will work with campus partners to synthesize and analyze the survey data. Boston College will be provided with an executive summary of findings from the survey and an interactive data visualization tool. This data will be used by senior leadership, with input from key campus constituencies across campus to create an action plan to further our efforts around sexual violence prevention and response.听

What is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process for this study?

• Submitting the survey to an Institutional Review Board (IRB) is an important step in the sexual misconduct climate study project. There are several benefits to going through this process, even if the survey is considered to be "exempt" or "not human subjects research." Firstly, it provides some assurance to potential participants that their responses to the survey will remain confidential. People who have participated in social science research may recognize and expect that the process has been reviewed by IRB. They may feel more comfortable sharing their confidential information and personal stories. Secondly, going through an IRB review provides some protections to the Principal Investigators (PIs) who will be entrusted with analyzing and managing the data, including both Rankin Climate and the institutional PIs. The expectation is that the data will not be shared with others, as designated in the data security plan.听
• The primary investigators from Boston College for the IRB process are Dr. Claire Ostrander, Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives in the Division of 成人每日大赛 Affairs, and Dr. Stephanie Chappe, Director of Institutional Research in the Division of Institutional Research and Planning at Boston College. An IRB application has been submitted and approved.

Do I have to take the survey?

• Participation in the survey is completely voluntary. All students aged 18 years or older enrolled for the Spring 2025 semester are invited to complete the survey.
  

How is a respondent鈥檚 confidentiality protected?

• Confidentiality is vital to the success of the sexual misconduct climate study; particularly as sensitive and personal topics are discussed. While the survey cannot guarantee complete confidentiality because of the nature of multiple demographic questions, the consultant will take multiple precautionary measures to enhance individual confidentiality and the de-identification of data. No data already protected through regulation or policy (e.g., Social Security number, campus identification number, medical information) is obtained through the survey. In the event of any publication or presentation resulting from the assessment, no personally identifiable information will be shared.
• Confidentiality in participating will be maintained to the highest degree permitted by the technology used (e.g., IP addresses will be stripped when the survey is submitted). No guarantees can be made regarding the interception of data sent via the Internet by any third parties; however, to avoid interception of data, the survey is run on a firewalled web server with forced 256-bit SSL security. In addition, the consultant and college will not report any group data for groups of fewer than five individuals, because those 鈥渟mall cell sizes鈥� may be small enough to compromise confidentiality. Instead, the consultant and the college will combine the groups or take other measures to eliminate any potential for demographic information to be identifiable. Additionally, any comments submitted in response to the survey will be separated at the time of submission to the consultant so they are not attributed to any individual demographic characteristics. Identifiable information submitted in qualitative comments will be redacted and the college will only receive these redacted comments.
• Participation in the survey is completely voluntary, and participants do not have to answer any question and can skip any other questions they consider to be uncomfortable. Paper and pencil surveys are also available and will be sent directly to the consultant.
• Information in the introductory section of the survey will describe the manner in which confidentiality will be guaranteed, and additional communication to participants will provide expanded information on the nature of confidentiality, possible threats to confidentiality, and procedures developed to ensure de-identification of data.

What protections are in place for the storage of sensitive data, including for future secondary use?

• Rankin Climate uses a research data security description and protocol, which includes specific information on data encryption, the handling of personally identifiable information, physical security, and a protocol for handling unlikely breaches of data security. The data from online participants will be submitted to a secure server hosted by the consultant. The SaaS hosting platform is SOC2. The firewall is via Next-Gen Fortigate Firewall. Data is stored in a SQL database which can only be accessed by VPN via authorized personnel only. Our encryption for communication is via HTTPS TLS 1.2. Rankin Climate associates working on the project will have access to the raw data. All Rankin Climate analysts have CITI (Human Subjects) training and approval and have worked on similar projects for other institutions. The server performs an hourly and daily backup and stores the backup on a separate context offsite for safety.
• No institutional identifiers are included in the full merged data set held by the consultant. The raw unit-level data with institutional identifiers is kept on the server for six months and then destroyed.听
• The consultant will provide the primary investigator with a data file after the project.

Who's on the committee?

The committee is led by:

• Claire Ostrander, Ed.D., Special Assistant for Strategic Initiatives

Other committee members include:听

• Mara Hermano, Vice President of Institutional Research and Planning听
• Stephanie Chappe, Ph.D., Director of Institutional Research
• Patricia Lowe, Associate Vice President/University Title IX/ADA Coordinator , Office of the Vice President for Human Resources

Why was an outside consultant used for this project?

• In reviewing efforts by other universities to conduct comprehensive sexual misconduct climate studies, several best practices were identified. The administration of a survey relating to a very sensitive subject like sexual misconduct is likely to yield higher response rates and provide more credible findings if led by an independent, outside agency. Members of a college community may feel particularly inhibited to respond honestly to a survey administered by their institution for fear of retaliation.
  

Why did the committee select Rankin Climate as their outside consultant?

• Rankin Climate has been working with college campuses for over 20 years and has conducted assessments on more than 230 college campuses nationwide. This project is advised by Dr. Kevin Swartout, one of the founding members of the ARC3 and a leader at Rankin Climate. Additionally, Rankin Climate has worked closely with the 成人每日大赛wealth of Massachusetts Task Force in developing their model survey.
• The process is highly confidential and transparent. No protected data is used in the project.听