The University of Michigan will review prevention, education and response programs related to sexual and gender-based misconduct following a new survey of faculty, staff and students during the 2023-24 academic year.
The survey results provide data on the prevalence of harassment, stalking, intimate partner violence and sexual violence.
“At the University of Michigan, we are absolutely committed to building a university culture as free as possible from sexual harassment, gender-based violence and other abuses of power,” President Santa J. Ono said. “Together, we can and must foster a diverse, safe, inclusive and respectful community, where everyone has the opportunity to learn, grow and achieve.”
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The ARC3 Campus Climate Survey Related to Sex and Gender — developed in 2014 by a coalition of researchers and higher education professionals and used widely by colleges and universities — was distributed in the spring to a representative sample of individuals on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint campuses and at Michigan Medicine.
Across all campuses, 66% of people contacted responded to the survey, with approximately 10,500 individuals participating. On the Ann Arbor campus, response rates were 74.8% for staff, 62.1% for faculty, and 50.2% for students, with more than 5,600 participating.
“Gathering data, making it public and continually working to improve our programs and services is a critical part of supporting a safe and equitable campus community,” said Tami Strickman, special adviser to the president and executive director of the university’s Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office. “We are carefully reviewing the survey findings, looking at our systems and, by the end of the winter term, we will announce recommendations for improvements.”
Key survey findings for the Ann Arbor campus include:
How to report
- For confidential advocacy and support, call SAPAC’s 24-hour Crisis Line at 734-936-3333 or go to sapac.umich.edu.
- Report sexual or gender-based misconduct to ECRT at 734-763-0235 or go to ecrt.umich.edu/file-a-report.
- Report safety issues to the Division of Public Safety and Security at 734-763-1131 or dpss-safety-security
@umich.edu.
- The majority of students, faculty and staff on the Ann Arbor campus reported feeling safe from sexual and gender-based harassment on or around campus, as well as confident to intervene to prevent or address harassment or misconduct.
- Sexual and gender-based harassment consisting of sexist or sexually offensive language was the most common type of sexual misconduct experienced by students, faculty and staff. Students who reported experiencing sexual harassment most often said the harassment came from fellow students.
- Across all surveyed audiences — students, faculty and staff — individuals identifying as women, nonbinary or transgender reported experiencing sexual misconduct and harassment more frequently than men.
- Of the populations surveyed, undergraduate women were at highest risk of rape, with 8% of undergraduate women reporting that they had been raped during the 2023-24 academic year.
- Employees were more likely to report harassment (30%) and sexual violence (12%) to the university than students (12% and 9%, respectively).
- The most common reasons students provided for not reporting their experiences to the university were that the incident “didn’t happen on campus,” “wasn’t perpetrated by someone affiliated with U-M,” was not “serious enough,” or they felt they “could handle it” themselves.
Rankin Climate, an external and independent campus climate assessment firm that has worked with hundreds of colleges and universities over three decades, administered the ARC3 survey, a peer-reviewed, scientific survey that assesses experiences of sex and gender-based harassment and misconduct in higher education.
Previously, the university conducted its own survey of students in 2015 and participated in national climate surveys of students’ experiences in 2019 and 2015.
While prior surveys asked students about experiences since they enrolled, the 2024 survey asked individuals about their experiences since the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year. The narrower time frame aimed to capture a more detailed picture of the current campus climate. Respondents could answer yes to multiple questions. Rankin will present the findings through several campus community presentations Dec. 3-4. Registration is required.
The university plans to conduct this type of assessment on a regular cadence.
Nationally, research finds that approximately 1 in 4 college women are sexually assaulted, and 1 in 2 working women are sexually harassed, according to Lilia Cortina, a nationally recognized expert on sexual harassment, U-M professor of psychology and women’s and gender studies, and a member of the collaborative that developed the ARC3 survey a decade ago.
“The incidence of harassment, assault and misconduct found through this survey at University of Michigan is dispiriting, but not atypical,” Cortina said after reviewing the results. She said the high survey response rate increases accuracy and indicates that people in the community care about this issue. “Shining a light on a problem with a survey like this is an important step.”
A university coalition — led by the Title IX coordinators on the Ann Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses and including representatives from the ARC3 Advisory Committee, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, the Prevention, Education, Assistance and Resources team, and the Coordinated Community Response Team — is reviewing the findings and developing recommendations.
The university has bolstered prevention, education and supportive services in recent years. Since 2019, U-M employees have been required to complete an online training, “Cultivating a Culture of Respect: Sexual Harassment and Misconduct Awareness.”
In 2022, the university created the PEAR team, which provides sexual and gender-based misconduct prevention education, training and resources. PEAR also consults with faculty and staff leaders, and supports the development of unit-level prevention plans. Its work compliments SAPAC, which focuses on providing prevention education to students, along with confidential advocacy and support for students, faculty and staff.
Equity specialists also have been hired in ECRT to provide information about reporting, resources and supportive measures. Civil rights investigation resolution specialists support cases where there might not be enough information for an investigation. Staff in these areas are trained to work with individuals who have experienced trauma.
