Collaborative Research: HNDS-I: Repository and Benchmarking Dashboard for Campus Climate Data on Sexual Misconduct

Campus climate surveys ask college students about their experiences on campus. Climate surveys also measure students’ perceptions of a college and knowledge of its policies and practices. Many campuses have used the same surveys to assess campus climate related to sexual misconduct.

Despite the potential for these surveys to improve understanding of the issues surrounding sexual misconduct, including national rates and the relationship between sexual misconduct and student experience, there is no public database of campus climate survey data. This project creates such a database, giving the opportunity for US colleges and universities to share, compile, and analyze climate survey data.

Access to these data permit researchers and campus staff to better assess the impact of their policies, programs, and procedures on student wellness and security, advancing work in the social sciences, higher education, and STEM and medical education.

This Human Networks and Data Science Infrastructure project creates a data repository and public benchmarking dashboard for campus climate data. This infrastructure makes it easy to store and analyze campus sexual misconduct climate data from US colleges and universities. Data from over 125 US institutions of higher education are linked in the repository to information about the institutions such as size and location.

An important component of the project is preparing the data for the dashboard in ways that maintain the privacy of each institution and its students. The self-sustaining web dashboard, developed with input from campus staff, researchers, and students, is accessible to a diverse national community of researchers, campus staff, and other citizens who are interested in advancing data-intensive research and campus evaluation.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.