Campus Climate Survey
Massachusetts law requires colleges to conduct a sexual misconduct climate survey of all students at the institution not less than once every 4 years. Under the law, the climate surveys must gather information on topics including:
- the number of reported and unreported incidents of sexual misconduct at the institution;
- when and where incidents of sexual misconduct occurred;
- student awareness of institutional policies and procedures related to campus sexual misconduct;
- whether a student reported the sexual misconduct and, if so, to which campus resource the report was made;
- whether a student was informed of or referred to local, state, campus or other resources or victim support services, including appropriate medical care and legal services;
- whether a student was provided with information about resources for protection from retaliation, access to school-based supportive measures and civil justice and criminal justice remedies;
- contextual factors, such as whether the incident of sexual misconduct involved force, incapacitation or coercion;
- demographic information that could be used to identify at-risk groups; and
- perceptions of campus safety among members of the campus community and confidence in the institution's ability to protect against and respond to incidents of sexual misconduct.