Students are invited to SHARE their voices and participate in the Sexual Harassment, Assault and Relationship Experiences (SHARE) Survey through April 10, 2021.
SHARE is a campus climate survey that is a “tool NIU uses to engage students who can provide insight into their attitudes, experiences and behaviors,” said Rose M. J. Henton, Director of Coordinated Education, Training and Outreach for Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ADEI). Campus climate surveys are conducted by many colleges and universities to better equip them to address specific campus concerns rather than relying on national or regional data.
“The SHARE survey has been planned and implemented by several offices working in partnership to make sure we hear the voices of diverse perspectives and stakeholders,” explains VP DEI Vernese Edghill-Walden. “Now we need to hear from students. Their voices are important and this is an important topic. I want to thank everyone for implementing this survey for the third time. The more we know and learn the more we can best support the NIU community.”
Monique Bernoudy, Assistant Vice President in ADEI, couldn’t agree more. “It is important to allow our students the opportunity to provide pertinent information in a confidential manner,” said Bernoudy. “Sexual misconduct is a very difficult situation, allowing students to provide their perceptions and experiences will help the university gain the student perspective.”
This is the third time NIU has conducted the survey. The survey is voluntary, takes about 15 minutes to complete and is much shorter than the last survey in 2018. “We are focusing on specific information that will help us improve our programming and ensure student success,” said Henton. “We are hoping streamlining and shortening the survey will improve participation,” she said.
Members from the Office of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity and Education, the Title IX office, and the Center for Governmental Studies reviewed and updated the survey. The Center for Governmental Studies is administering the survey. Dr. Mindy Schneiderman, Assistant Director at the Center states that “Student participation in the survey will help NIU to identify the issues it needs to address and determine the resources needed to address them.” She went on to say, “The results are confidential, and participants cannot be identified by their responses.”
Once a student completes the anonymous survey, they can sign up to participate in a drawing to win one of fifty NIU pom hats.
Since the survey launched on March 5, there have been more than 500 students complete the survey. However, there are many who have started the survey and not completed it. “Our goal is to have at least 2,000 students complete the survey to have a statistically valid sample,” said Henton. We are encouraging our faculty and staff across campus to inform students about this opportunity to share their voices and provide them with the survey link Sexual Harassment, Assault and Relationship Experiences (SHARE) Survey. The survey closes on April 10, 2021.
Faculty and staff who have questions about the SHARE survey can be directed to Rose M. J. Henton at rhenton@niu.edu. Students who have questions or concerns about the SHARE survey can reach out to Mindy Schneiderman, Ph.D., at schneiderman@niu.edu.
