{"id":2947,"date":"2026-08-03T14:16:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:16:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/?page_id=2947"},"modified":"2026-08-03T14:22:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T19:22:14","slug":"heds-sexual-assault-campus-climate-survey-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/heds-sexual-assault-campus-climate-survey-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"HEDS Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Spring 2026 Results \u2013 Key Findings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The HEDS Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey<\/a> is a questionnaire for undergraduate students developed and administered by the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The survey was administered to students at St. Olaf from mid-March to mid-April 2026, and students at 24 other colleges and universities during the 2025-26 academic year. 589 St. Olaf students responded, an overall response rate of 19% (response rates were 15% for men and 19% for women; the report received from HEDS does not include separate data for nonbinary students, though their responses are included when reporting on all students). St. Olaf\u2019s overall response rate was higher than the mean response rate of 12% for the other participating institutions; still, results should be treated with caution since St. Olaf\u2019s response rate is likely not high enough to know whether the findings are representative of the overall student population. Nevertheless, the results provide insight into the perceptions and experiences of many St. Olaf students and their counterparts at other colleges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This survey was also administered previously in 2023, 2020, and 2017. In addition to comparing results across years*, we also report key findings for St. Olaf respondents compared to those at other participating institutions. In many cases, the survey responses of St. Olaf students were similar to those of students at other institutions, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*The survey instrument changed for 2025-26, removing some questions and altering others, so comparison to prior years only includes questions that did not change.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall Campus Climate<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • St. Olaf students believed that the campus community is genuinely concerned about the welfare of students,<\/strong> and more so compared to prior survey years. 93% of St. Olaf respondents felt that faculty, staff, and administrators cared about students\u2019 welfare, and 87% felt the same about other students (these percentages were 87% and 73%, respectively, at other institutions).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    • The vast majority of students, 90%, felt safe on campus, <\/strong>and this was similarly true for men (94%) and women (91%).<\/em> (note that, as stated above, percentages for all students include those who identified as nonbinary or did not disclose their gender.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      • The majority of St. Olaf students, 85%, believed that campus officials would take a report of sexual assault seriously,<\/strong> about ten percentages points higher compared to previous survey years and higher than the 78% of students who said the same at other institutions.<\/em>\n
          \n
        • Fewer respondents (69%) believed that campus officials would also conduct a careful investigation<\/strong> in order to determine what happened, though this was still higher than the 50%-60% who believed the same in prior survey years, and similar to the 66% reported for other institutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • 59% of St. Olaf respondents believed that campus officials would take action against the offender(s)<\/strong>. Men were more likely (72%) than women (53%) to believe this, a pattern that was similar at other institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • About a third of St. Olaf respondents (31%) believed that they or a friend were at risk of being sexually assaulted on or off campus<\/strong>, similar to students at other institutions. Women (35%) were more likely to believe this than men (21%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Education on Sexual Assault<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
            \n
          • Large majorities of St. Olaf students affirmed that the college has educated them about a variety of issues related to sexual assault.<\/strong> 83% of St. Olaf respondents said they had received information from the college about how to recognize sexual assault, 83% on how to report it, 88% on who the confidential resources on campus were and how to find them, and 82% how to prevent sexual assault. These percentages were generally similar to prior years.\n
              \n
            • Respondents felt least educated about the procedures for investigating sexual assault<\/strong>, with only 44% of students (51% of men and 42% of women) reporting receiving this information. This was also the only topic where St. Olaf students were less likely than students at other institutions (51%) to say their college had provided this education.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • 69% of St. Olaf respondents found the education they\u2019d received on sexual assault helpful<\/strong>, and only 5% said that they remembered little or none of this information. Both of these were similar to students at other institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              Unwanted Sexual Contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                \n
              • St. Olaf students reported similar experiences of in-person unwanted sexual contact (sexually-related behaviors other than sexual assault) to peers at other institutions.<\/strong> The most frequent form of unwanted sexual contact was verbal, with 15% of St. Olaf respondents reporting that they sometimes or often experienced this behavior. For all of these unwanted behaviors, percentages were similar to or lower than prior years and higher for women than for men.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                % “Sometimes”, “Often”, or “Very Often”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t
                Type of unwanted sexual contact<\/th>St. Olaf respondents<\/th>Other institutions\u2019 respondents<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
                Verbal (sexual comments about your body; sexual advances or jokes)<\/td>15%<\/td>19%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                Nonverbal (showing sexually offensive pictures; making lewd gestures)<\/td>6%<\/td>8%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                Brief physical contact (brief groping, rubbing sexually against you or any other inappropriate or unwelcome touching)<\/td>9%<\/td>12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                • St. Olaf respondents generally reported low incidences of online harassment. <\/strong>Women were slightly more likely to experience these situations than men, with the exception of online rumors spread about their sexual behavior.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  % “Sometimes”, “Often”, or “Very Often”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
                  Type of unwanted online contact<\/th>St. Olaf respondents<\/th>Other institutions\u2019 respondents<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
                  People have sent me unwanted messages asking me to sext.<\/td>5%<\/td>7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  People have continued to have sexual discussions with me online even after I told them to stop.<\/td>4%<\/td>5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  People have spread rumors about my sexual behavior online.<\/td>6%<\/td>7%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                  People have shown me unwanted sexual images online.<\/td>4%<\/td>6%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
                    \n
                  • 87% of students who reported that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact indicated that the person responsible for this behavior was another student or students from St. Olaf. <\/strong>27% said that a student\/students from another institution were responsible, 15% indicated people from the local community, and 2% said faculty, staff, or administrators at St. Olaf.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                    Sexual Assault<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                      \n
                    • 15% 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. <\/strong>This was slightly higher than the percentages reported in prior years (10-12%).\n
                        \n
                      • Among both St. Olaf respondents and those at other institutions, women were more likely than men<\/strong> to indicate they had been assaulted, with 20% of women and 5% of men at St. Olaf saying they had experienced assault (these percentages were approximately 20% and 9%, respectively, at other institutions). The percentage of women at St. Olaf reporting sexual assault on this survey has increased each year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                        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 several students who reported sexual assault (34%) had experienced more than one incident, the percentages below are only an estimation of the patterns related to sexual assaults at St. Olaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \n
                        • 56% of victims were assaulted during their first year<\/strong>, compared to 51% for the comparison institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                            \n
                          • Most sexual assaults happened on campus.<\/strong> Of the incidents further detailed by St. Olaf students, 53% occurred in a residence hall and 7% in non-residential campus locations (slightly lower overall than prior years). The majority of assaults reported by respondents at other institutions in 2025-26 (68%) also occurred on campus, with the higher percentage mostly attributed to incidents reported in fraternity or sorority housing.\n
                              \n
                            • Sexual assaults that occurred at another college or university, but not during study abroad, had increased<\/strong> for St. Olaf students in 2023 (to 10%) and remained similar in 2026 (11%) and higher than other institutions (4%).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • Only 2% of the incidents described by St. Olaf students occurred during study abroad<\/strong> or away programs, <\/em>similar to most prior years and to students at other institutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                            • The remaining incidents (26% for both St. Olaf and other institutions) took place off-campus<\/strong> at an apartment, restaurant, bar, or other location.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                \n
                              • A majority of assaults involved alcohol.<\/strong> <\/em>61% of St. Olaf respondents who reported having been assaulted indicated that the perpetrator(s) had been drinking; 47% said that they themselves had been drinking, the latter a slight decrease compared to prior years though similar to other institutions\u2019 respondents in 2025-26.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                  \n
                                • Some assaults involved drug usage. <\/strong>18% of Oles who reported having been assaulted indicated that the perpetrator(s) had used drugs (generally in line with past years); 13% said that they themselves voluntarily used drugs (similar to 2023 survey results); 2% of said they were given a drug without their knowledge or consent (similar to prior years). The 2026 percentages were all fairly similar to respondents at other institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                    \n
                                  • Incapacitation and physical force were less commonly reported compared to prior years.<\/strong> 35% of assaulted St. Olaf students indicated that they were unable to provide consent because they were asleep, drugged, drunk, or passed out. In addition, 24% of Oles indicated that physical force had been used during their assault. Both percentages were the lowest out of all survey years, and similar to respondents at other institutions in 2025-26.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                      \n
                                    • The sexual assaults detailed by respondents in 2026 were more likely to be committed by someone unknown to the victim compared to 2023. <\/strong>24% of incidents described by students were committed by a stranger, compared to only 18% in 2023. However, the 2026 results were comparable to the other survey years, and to reports from respondents at other institutions in 2025-26.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                        \n
                                      • Of those who reported a sexual assault, most confided in someone else about their experience. <\/strong>82% told a friend or roommate, 25% told a romantic partner, 26% shared with a therapist, and 13% confided in a family member or guardian. 11% indicated that they did not tell anyone, which was higher than 2023 but comparable to the other survey years and slightly lower than other institutions, where 15% of respondents told no one about their assault.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                          \n
                                        • Most students reported their assault to someone in Title IX. <\/strong>79% of St. Olaf respondents reported the incident to the Title IX office, similar to the 84% who did so at other institutions. The phrasing of this question changed for the 2026 survey, so it is not possible to make a comparison to prior years.\n
                                            \n
                                          • The most common reasons students did not report to Title IX <\/strong>include not recognizing the incident as sexual assault at the time (54%), wanting to deal with it on their own (44%), and\/or wanting to forget it had happened (30%). These matched up with the top reasons respondents at other institutions shared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                            Bystander Beliefs and Behaviors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
                                              \n
                                            • A majority of St. Olaf students believed that their peers would intervene if they witnessed a sexual assault.<\/strong> 74% of St. Olaf respondents (the highest of any survey year), compared to 68% of student respondents at other institutions, agreed with this statement. For both populations, men were more likely than women to think that bystanders would intervene (81% of men compared to 72% of women at St. Olaf; 80% of men compared to 65% of women at other institutions).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                                \n
                                              • Students who had experienced sexual assault were asked additional questions about bystander behavior.\n
                                                  \n
                                                • Similar to students at other institutions, 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. <\/strong>Only 9% of St. Olaf students said that there were bystanders present at the time of the incident and <\/em>that they intervened to help, similar to prior survey years. 55% said there were no bystanders present (higher than prior survey years) and 26% said there were bystanders but they did not intervene.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                                    \n
                                                  • 3% of St. Olaf respondents who had not personally experienced sexual assault said they had observed an incident that they considered to be sexual assault<\/strong>, down from 6-9% in prior survey years, but similar to respondents at other institutions in 2025-26.\n
                                                      \n
                                                    • Of these students at St. Olaf, 85% said they intervened<\/strong> to stop the assault (though this is much higher than prior survey years and higher than the 61% at other institutions who intervened, it\u2019s difficult to draw strong conclusions about such a small group).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                                      Spring 2026 Results \u2013 Key Findings The HEDS Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey is a questionnaire for undergraduate students developed and administered by the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2679,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2947","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P7snCP-Lx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2679"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2947"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2991,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2947\/revisions\/2991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/title-ix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}