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2019 AAU Climate Survey - Frequently Asked Questions about Results

How big was UO survey?

  • 3,377 students completed this year’s survey; the total student population during the survey period was 19,362.
  • The overall response rate was 17.4 percent. This is an increase over the 2015 survey in which 13.9 percent of students responded.
  • It also represented a broad mix of students:
    • 2,775 undergraduate respondents and 602 graduate and professional respondents.

What did the survey show in terms of incidence?

  • The overall rate of non-consensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent since the student enrolled was:
    • 20.08 percent for undergraduate women,
    • 9.8 percent for graduate/professional women,
    • 15.3 percent for transgender, non-binary, queer, gender questioning, or gender not listed (TGQN see Q10 for further discussion of this group), and
    • 6.4 percent for undergraduate males.

How does this compare to results from 2015?

  • The overall rate of non-consensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent decreased for most categories of students:
    • It decreased by 3.4 percentage points for undergraduate women,
    • No change for graduate and professional women,
    • It decreased by 5.4 percentage points* for TGQN, and
    • It decreased by 1.6 percentage points* for undergraduate males.

*not considered statistically significant change in rate

How does this compare to the national aggregated results?

  • While most of the UO’s rates of non-consensual sexual contact decreased, the overall rates increased for the other schools that participated in both the 2015 and 2019 surveys in most categories of students:
    • It increased by 3 percentage points for undergraduate women.
    • It increased by 2.4 percentage points for graduate and professional women.
    • It increased by 1.4 percentage points for undergraduate men.
    • The change for TGQN students was not statistically significant.

Did the UO survey show any other changes from 2015?

  • The survey found significant increases from 2015 to 2019 in student reporting; they are very knowledgeable about school definitions and procedures related to sexual assault and other sexual misconduct (44.2%) and how to get help (41.5%).
  • The percent of student who believe that campus officials are very or extremely likely to take reports of sexual assault or misconduct seriously also increased to 65.1%.
  • The rate of students who reported sexual misconduct at the UO as very or extremely problematic decreased to 27.3%.

How did the results about the perceptions and knowledge about sexual assault and resources at the UO compare to the other universities?

  • The national survey showed improvements in all these areas among the 33 universities.
  • Among the universities who participated in both the 2015 and 2019 surveys, the UO saw a larger percent of increase in knowledge about definitions, where to get help, and how to report.

Are any groups particularly vulnerable?

  • Undergraduate women and undergraduate TGQN students reported much higher incidences of sexual assault than their male counterparts or their counterparts in graduate and professional schools.

Are students using campus resources when they have been victims of sexual assault or misconduct?

  • The short answer is, “Yes, but not often enough.”
  • For incidents involving women who reported nonconsensual penetration, 31.3 percent contacted a program or resource after being victimized.
  • For victims of all forms of sexual assault and misconduct who contacted university programs, they contacted the UO counseling center (59.4 percent) and health center (41.3 percent) most frequently.

Are students attending training on sexual assault and other misconduct?

  • Yes. 80.7 percent of incoming students and 75.2 percent of returning students reported completing at least one training since arriving at the school.

Why were various gender identities combined in this report?

  • Students who reported being transgender, non-binary, queer, gender questioning, or gender not listed (TGQN) were placed together in a group in the study to allow for meaningful statistical analysis.
  • A very small percentage (2.7 percent) of respondents to the survey selected a gender identity category other than “man” or “woman.”
  • Because this percentage is so small, publishing estimates for individual non-male/female gender categories (i.e., trans woman, trans man, non-binary or genderqueer, questioning, and not listed) and breaking down by affiliation status (i.e., undergraduate versus graduate/professional students) does not yield statistically stable results.

 How much did the survey cost overall?

  • The base cost for the survey was $47,500 per institution.
  • The UO also spent approximately $30,000 to add customized questions and $5,000 on incentives, as well as donated $3,377 to the Emergency Victims Fund to encourage participation.

Where can I learn more about what the UO has done to addresses sexual violence and assault?