HEDS Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey 2023

Fall 2023 Results – Key Findings

The HEDS Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey is a questionnaire for undergraduate students developed and administered by the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium, a membership organization of colleges and universities that share knowledge and expertise to advance undergraduate liberal arts education, inclusive excellence, and student success. The survey asks students about their perceptions of their institution’s climate for unwanted sexual contact and sexual assault; their perceptions of how their institution responds to sexual assaults; and whether and how often they have experienced unwanted sexual contact or sexual assault.

The survey was administered to students at St. Olaf in November 2023*, and students at 96 other institutions during either the 2021-22, 2022-23, or 2023-24 academic years. 350 St. Olaf students responded (9% of men, 11% of women, and 58% of nonbinary students), with an overall response rate of 11%. This is lower than the mean response rate of 18% for the other participating institutions and therefore results should be treated with caution, because neither response rate was high enough to know whether the findings are representative of the overall student population either at St. Olaf or at the comparison schools. Nevertheless, the results provide insight into the perceptions and experiences of many St. Olaf students and their counterparts at other colleges. This survey was also administered previously in spring 2020 with a response rate of 23% and spring 2017 with a response rate of 29%, and comparative insights to these survey years will be included below. 
*This timing was different than our usual survey administration timing due to a significant sexual harassment incident on campus in spring 2023. Given the likelihood that this would result in skewed survey results, we delayed the survey to the following fall

We also report key findings for St. Olaf respondents compared to those at other Baccalaureate colleges (a subset of the group of participating institutions). In many cases, the survey responses of participating St. Olaf students were similar to those of participating students at other Baccalaureate colleges, but there were also areas where these groups differed. Both similarities and differences with the comparison group are included in the highlights reported below. The survey reports also included comparison responses for men and women (and in some cases non-binary students) and key differences are referenced in this summary.

Overall Campus Climate

• Just over a third of St. Olaf Students reported an overall positive perception of the campus climate. The survey includes a series of questions about the extent to which students believe that faculty, staff, administrators, and other students respect what they think, are concerned about their welfare, and treat them fairly. The survey also asks whether students feel close to other people, valued in the classroom, safe on campus, and a sense of belonging in the college community. 36% of men and 35% of women agreed or strongly agreed to all eight statements (a decrease from 2017 and 2020, when closer to half of students agreed with these eight statements), compared to 39% of men and 33% of women at other colleges. The 2023 survey also reported on non-binary students; 21% agreed with these statements on the overall campus climate, similar to non-binary students at other institutions. Similar to prior years, students who experienced higher levels of unwanted sexual contact, who experienced an attempted sexual assault, and who have been sexually assaulted were less likely to agree with the general campus climate questions.
  
  
• St. Olaf students had a favorable view of the contributions of faculty, staff, and other students to a positive and supportive campus climate, however, favorability decreased compared to 2020, as did those of their counterparts at other schools.  85% of St. Olaf respondents saw faculty as making a positive contribution, 84% saw staff in this way, and 72% saw students in this way. 
  
  
• St. Olaf students viewed the contributions of the administration to a positive campus climate much less favorably than the contributions of other groups. 51% of students agreed that the administration contributed to a positive campus climate, similar to the 52% at comparison schools but down from 63% in 2020 and 56% in 2017. Similarly, 47% of St. Olaf respondents thought that campus officials handled incidents in a fair and responsible manner (up from 44% in 2017 and a slight increase from 46% in 2020), compared to 44% of students from the comparison group.
• The majority of St. Olaf students, 73%, believed that campus officials would take a report of sexual assault seriously. This was similar to 2020 and 2017, while this percentage decreased for students at other Baccalaureate institutions, from 74% in 2020 to 64% in 2023.
  • A majority of St. Olaf students, 55% (compared to 60% in 2020 and 52% in 2017), believed that campus officials would also conduct a careful investigation in order to determine what happened. This was similar to the 53% reported for other Baccalaureate colleges.
  • A little over a third (37%) of St. Olaf students believed that campus officials would take action against the offender(s). This percentage was slightly higher at comparison schools (43%), and was down from 49% of St. Olaf students in 2020 and 41% in 2017.
• St. Olaf students expressed greater awareness of the risks of sexual assault than did students at other Baccalaureate colleges, with women and non-binary students indicating greater awareness than men. 27% of students (41% of men, 20% of women, and 24% of non-binary students) did not believe that they or one of their friends was at risk for being sexually assaulted on or off campus (note that this indicates lower awareness). These numbers were generally higher for those at other Baccalaureate colleges (35% overall agreed; 52% of men, 29% of women, 17% of non-binary students). For St. Olaf respondents, these percentages decreased from 2020 (when 36% of St. Olaf students did not believe they or a friend were at risk), as well as 2017 (53%), indicating a continued increase in awareness of the risks of sexual assault.
  
  
• Large majorities of St. Olaf students affirmed that the college has educated them about a variety of issues related to sexual assault, though at slightly lower rates than students from other Baccalaureate colleges. 86% of St. Olaf students said they had received information from the college about how to recognize sexual assault, 80% on how to report it, 87% on who the confidential resources on campus were and how to find them, and 77% how to prevent sexual assault. These percentages were generally similar to prior years, with the exception of a decrease in the percentage of students who received information on how to prevent sexual assault (from nearly 90% in 2017 and 2020 down to 77% in 2023).
  • The majority of St. Olaf students reported remembering most or all of the information they were taught (63%, down from 71% in 2020) and finding it helpful (67%).
    
    
• Students felt the least educated about the procedures for investigating sexual assault, with only 44% of students reporting knowledge of them. This percentage was lower than 2020 (53%) and more similar to 2017 (45%). It was also smaller than the percentage of students at Baccalaureate colleges in 2023 who reported receiving this information (53%).
  
  Compared to their peers in the comparison group, St. Olaf students reported fewer experiences of all types of in-person unwanted sexual contact (sexually-related behaviors other than sexual assault). The most frequent form of unwanted sexual contact reported by all respondents, both at St. Olaf and other Baccalaureate schools, was verbal, with 23% of St. Olaf respondents reporting that they sometimes or often experienced this behavior. For all of these unwanted behaviors, percentages were similar to prior years and higher for women than for men.

• % “Sometimes,” “Often,” or “Very Often” responses

The most frequent type of online harassment that students experienced was unwanted sexual SPAM, emails or messages. The 2023 survey asked for more detailed information about the kinds of unwanted sexual contact students had experienced online. Similar to the behaviors discussed above, St. Olaf students were less likely to experience these behaviors than students at other institutions, while women were more likely to experience these situations than men.

• % who experienced these situations at least once per year

• 91% of students who reported that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact indicated that the person responsible for this behavior (in at least one of their experiences) was another student from St. Olaf. 21% said that a student from another institution had been responsible for one of these behaviors while 14% said that a person or people from the local community were responsible. Collectively, 6% said that faculty or staff from St. Olaf or another institution were responsible. All of these percentages were nearly identical to those from 2020 and 2017. Students from other Baccalaureate schools were more likely to cite students from other institutions or people from the local community at 25% and 24%, respectively. 

Sexual Assault

• 12% of St. Olaf respondents reported they had been sexually assaulted during their time at St. Olaf, either on campus, off-campus at a St. Olaf event or program, or near campus at a party or other social activity. This was slightly higher than the percentage reported in both 2020 and 2017 (10%). 10% of respondents at other Baccalaureate schools in 2023 reported having been assaulted.
  • Among both St. Olaf respondents and those at other Baccalaureate schools, women were more likely than men to indicate they had been assaulted, with 15% of female respondents and 7% of male respondents saying they had experienced assault (these percentages were 13% and 4%, respectively, at other Baccalaureate schools). The percentage of women experiencing assault increased from 14% in 2020 and 12% in 2017.
  • 49% of sexual assaults occurred during the victim’s freshmen year, compared to 57% for the comparison group.

• Rates of sexual assault over students’ time at St. Olaf increased with class year overall, with Senior women reporting the highest rates. This does not necessarily reflect the year in which the assault occurred; as stated above, most assaults occurred during the victims’ first year of college

• For the results reported below, students who had been sexually assaulted were asked to consider one of their experiences when responding to questions that gathered further details about the assault. Because the majority of students who reported sexual assault (69%) had experienced more than one incident, the percentages below are only an estimation of the patterns related to sexual assaults at St. Olaf.
  
  
• Most sexual assaults happened on campus. Of the incidents further detailed by St. Olaf students, 83% occurred in a residence hall, honor house, or other non-residential campus location (up from 75% in 2020 and 78% in 2017). The majority of assaults reported by respondents at other Baccalaureate colleges in 2023 (84%) also occurred on campus, but students at other Baccalaureate schools were more likely than St. Olaf students to experience an assault at an apartment, restaurant, or bar near their campus.
  None of the incidents described by St. Olaf students occurred during study abroad or away programs. This represented a sizable decrease from 16% in 2020 and was more similar to the low rate of 3% in 2017. It was also a lower rate than reported by students at other Baccalaureate colleges (3%).
  • Reported incidents that occurred at another college or university, but not during study abroad, increased for St. Olaf students from 4% in 2017 and 1% in 2020 to 10% in 2023, higher than the 2% reported at off-campus locations by students at other schools.
    
    
• A majority of assaults involved alcohol. 68% of Oles who reported having been assaulted indicated that the perpetrator(s) had been drinking; 66% said that they themselves had been drinking, both similar to 2020. Similar proportions of assaulted respondents at other Baccalaureate colleges reported that the perpetrator(s) had been drinking (65%), but fewer reported that they themselves had been drinking (58%).
  
  
• Some assaults involved drug usage. 24% of Oles who reported having been assaulted indicated that the perpetrator(s) had used drugs (an increase compared to the 12% reported in 2020 and 2017); 16% said that they themselves voluntarily used drugs (up from around 5% in 2020 and 2017); 3% of said they were given a drug without their knowledge or consent (similar to 2020; no students reported this in 2017). The 2023 percentages were all fairly similar to respondents at other institutions.
  
  
• Incapacitation and physical force were common features of assaults, particularly at St. Olaf. 55% of assaulted St. Olaf students (up from 46% in 2020 and 40% in 2017) compared to 43% of assaulted students at other Baccalaureate schools indicated that they were unable to provide consent because they were asleep, drugged, drunk, or passed out. In addition, 62% of Oles (up from 42% in 2020 and 49% in 2017) but only 41% of the comparison group indicated that physical force had been used during their assault.
  
  
• A large majority of the incidents described in the survey involved people who knew each other but were not romantically involved. Of the assaults detailed by St. Olaf students, 88% were committed by a non-romantic friend or acquaintance, a casual date, or a hookup (up from 75% in 2020 and 71% in 2017). This was higher than the percentage of students in the comparison group (78%).
  
  
• Of those who reported a sexual assault, most confided in someone else about their experience. 95% told a close friend, 40% told a roommate, and 23% told a romantic partner. 3% indicated that they did not tell anyone (compared to 10% of assaulted students at other Baccalaureate colleges). These numbers reflect an increase in students sharing about their experiences with friends or others from 2020, where 85% told a close friend, 31% their roommate, 17% a romantic partner, and 8% told no one. 
  
  
• However, most survey respondents who reported having been sexually assaulted, whether at St. Olaf or other Baccalaureate colleges, chose not to use their college’s procedures to file a formal report. Only 33% of the students who responded to this question at St. Olaf and only 22% of students at other institutions indicated that they had used their school’s formal reporting process. Still, this does represent an increase in reporting at St. Olaf from 25% in 2020 and 17% in 2017, while increases have been more modest at comparison institutions.
  
  
• Students were less satisfied with the college’s reporting process in 2023 than in 2020. Only 38% of the St. Olaf students who filed a formal report with the college said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the college’s process, which is a sizable decrease from 75% in 2020 and more similar to the 31% who were satisfied in 2017. However, given the small number of students who actually utilized the reporting process in each of these years, small shifts in response patterns can have an outsized impact on percentages, making large fluctuations more likely. At comparison institutions in 2023, 30% of students indicated satisfaction with their colleges’ reporting processes.
  
  
• 8% of St. Olaf respondents reported that someone had attempted to, but not succeeded in, sexually assaulting them during their time at St. Olaf, and an additional 5% of Oles indicated that they suspected that someone had attempted to sexually assault them, but they were not certain. The reported rates of attempted or suspected attempts at sexual assault in 2023 were similar to 2020 and 2017, and similar to the comparison group of institutions that administered the survey (9% and 6%, respectively, in all cases).

Bystander Beliefs and Behaviors

• Though fewer than prior survey years, a majority of St. Olaf students believe that their peers would intervene if they witnessed a sexual assault. 54% of St. Olaf student respondents (down from 64% in 2020 and 59% in 2017) and 61% of student respondents at other Baccalaureate colleges agreed with this statement. For both populations, men were more likely than women to think that bystanders would intervene (66% of men compared to 47% of women at St. Olaf; 72% of men compared to 58% of women at other institutions).
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  Students who did not report that they themselves had been assaulted were asked about the kinds of situations they had observed and how they had responded, and the observations and behaviors of St. Olaf students as a whole were similar to those of students at other institutions.
  • 6% of St. Olaf respondents said they had observed an incident that they considered to be sexual assault (down from 9% in 2020 and 8% in 2017), and of those students, 59% said they intervened to stop the assault (similar to the 57% in 2020 but lower than 2017, when 69% of students reported intervening). For Baccalaureate schools, 7% of respondents said they had observed an assault and 65% said they intervened. 
  • 11% of St. Olaf students (down from 18% in 2020 and 22% in 2017) and 13% of students at other Baccalaureate schools said they had observed an incident they believed could have led to sexual assault. 
    
    
• Students who had experienced sexual assault or suspected sexual assault were also asked additional questions about bystander behavior.
  • Similar to students at other schools, the majority of St. Olaf students who said they had experienced a sexual assault did not receive help from bystanders, either because there were no bystanders present or because the bystander(s) did not intervene. Only 38% of St. Olaf students (down from 44% of students in 2020 and 39% in 2017) said that there were bystanders present at the time of the incident; at other Baccalaureate schools, 33% of students said that bystanders were present.
    • Of those at St. Olaf who stated that bystanders were present, only 20% said that the bystanders intervened (down from 26% in 2020 and 28% in 2017). At other Baccalaureate schools, 29% of students with bystanders present indicated that they intervened.
  • St. Olaf students who suspected they were sexually assaulted, experienced an attempted sexual assault, or suspected they experienced an attempted sexual assault, were similarly likely to sexually assaulted students and those at other Baccalaureate schools to report that a bystander was present, but more likely to report that a bystander had intervened. 38% of St. Olaf students indicated that there were bystanders during the suspected incident (down from 53% in 2017 and 44% in 2020), compared to 37% of students at other Baccalaureate schools. Of those with bystanders present, 60% indicated that they intervened (up from 36% in 2017 and 32% in 2020), compared to 43% of similarly situated students at the comparison institutions.