Campus Information Sharing Questionnaire

Cover page of the Questionnaire with Informed Consent Form in Survey Monkey:

Campus Information Sharing and Response (CISR) Project

Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to complete this questionnaire.

As part of a fellowship project in the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice, we are fielding a questionnaire to help inform how higher education institutions share, respond and coordinate information regarding individuals (students, faculty and staff) who have perpetrated sexual assault prior to and/or while associated with an institution. Campus information sharing involves obtaining or disclosing information, including, but not limited to, transcript notations, student conduct transcripts, dean's certification letters, transcript inserts and community notification of sex offenders.

Your institution’s perspective is important. Your institution is invited to fill out a brief online questionnaire to share how your institution responds to these complex issues and identify what is needed. This information will be used to inform a report to the field. Completing the questionnaire should take approximately 10-15 minutes, and you, on behalf of your institution, are welcome to spend more time sharing additional thoughts.

Participation in this project is voluntary. Your institution may choose not to participate, and your institution may stop the questionnaire at any time without any penalty to you. In addition, you may choose to skip any questions with which you are not comfortable.

CONFIDENTIALITY:
Responses to the questionnaire will not be linked to you personally or to your institution. Responses to the online questionnaire will be kept confidential and information will only be shared in a summary format. Findings from the questionnaire will be presented as a group. No individual answers to the questionnaire will be reported. You will be able to leave your contact information at the end of the questionnaire if you would like to share your institution’s policies or protocols. Any institutions that voluntarily share policies or protocols won’t be identified by institution name (and only general information would be shared) in any published report unless the institution agrees in writing. These institutional representatives who wish to share additional information and their contact information will be contacted by the visiting fellow and the visiting fellow will provide the institution with a consent form. If you voluntarily choose to provide your contact information, your contact information will not be matched with your online questionnaire data. After we have the data, the contact information will be removed from the data so that there is no way to match any contact information with the data.

The project team in the SMART Office is the only party that will be allowed to see the data. If a report of this project is published, or the results are presented at a professional conference, only group results will be stated. Questionnaire data will be kept for at least three years.

The list of subject’s names and contact information, which will be used only to provide a written consent to institutions that voluntarily share their policies and protocols, and kept separate from survey results, will be permanently destroyed no more than two months following the close of the survey.

Please advance to the next page to finish reading the informed consent prior to beginning this questionnaire.

RISKS:
There are no foreseeable risks to participation in this study, and there are not greater risks than those you face in normal everyday life. If you or someone close to you has been a victim of sexual assault, there is a chance that some of the questions may create feelings of anxiety or distress. If you wish to seek help with anxiety or distress brought on by participation in this project, you are encouraged to call RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) 24-hour victim assistance hotline at 1-800-656-4673, or visit https://www.rainn.org/.

BENEFITS:

Although you won’t directly receive any benefits from participation, your feedback will provide important information about current policies/protocols, challenges and promising practices regarding how institutions of higher education share, respond and coordinate information to prevent sexual assault perpetration. This information will inform a report to the field.

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If you have any questions about the project or project procedures, you may contact Joan Tabachnick, visiting fellow, at [email protected] or 202-353-5554.

If you have any questions about your rights as a project participant, you may contact the OJP IRB Chair:

Cheryl Crawford Watson, JD  

OJP IRB Chair

U.S. Department of Justice

[email protected]

202-514-6210

If you would like a copy of this form for you records, please print or PDF this page.

Please check the box below to indicate your consent to participate in this project.

I have read the above statement and agree to participate in this project.

I do not wish to participate in this project.

Click here to BEGIN QUESTIONNAIRE:

First page of the Questionnaire in Survey Monkey:

1. Are you employed by an institution of higher education?

   1. If yes, follow “IHE questions” skip pattern.

   2. If “no, follow “non IHE questions” skip pattern.

INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUESTIONS

Information Sharing Practices Regarding Individuals Found Responsible for Sexual Misconduct

2. To avoid duplicative responses, we ask that only one representative from each institution complete this questionnaire. Please select one of the following responses:

   1. To the best of my knowledge, the responses submitted for this questionnaire represent only one response from my institution.

   2. I am not able to determine if others from my institution have completed the questionnaire.

3. Does your institution have any information sharing policies or practices (internal or external to campus entities) regarding individuals found responsible for campus sexual misconduct policy violations in any of the following areas? (If you, on behalf of your institution, are willing to share them, please send them to [email protected].)

   1. Yes/No/Unsure grid with the following areas:

      1. Within your institution?

      2. To other institutions where a student seeks to transfer?

      3. To other institutions where an employee seeks to work?

      4. To community agencies such as local law enforcement or a local sexual assault response team?

      5. Other? (please specify)

4. Does your institution issue notations on an academic transcript for other policy violations other than sexual misconduct (e.g., academic, student conduct/disciplinary and/or other acts of violence)?

   1. Yes/No/Unsure

   1. Has your institution ever issued disciplinary notations on the academic transcript for sexual misconduct policy violations?

      1. Yes/No/Unsure

   2. If yes, please check all of the items you include on the notation:

      1. Suspended

      2. Separated (including expelled or dismissed)

      3. Investigation/adjudication pending

      4. Withdrawal while under investigation

      5. Dates

      6. Type of violation

      7. Other [write-in]

   3. If yes, are there processes for appealing and removing a transcript notation?

      1. Yes/No/Unsure

   4. If no, does your institution utilize any of these alternatives for sexual misconduct policy violations?

      1. Yes/No/Unsure matrix

         1. Student conduct transcript

         2. Dean’s certification letter

         3. Transcript insert

         4. Other [write-in]

5. Does your state, territory or tribe require any form of campus information sharing pertaining to violations of the sexual misconduct policy? Campus information sharing involves obtaining or disclosing information, including, but not limited to, transcript notations, student conduct transcripts, dean's certification letters, transcript inserts and community notification of sex offenders.

   1. Yes/No/Unsure

   2. If yes, check all that apply in your jurisdiction:

      1. Transcript notations

      2. Registered sex offenders on campus

      3. Other [write-in]
         
         

6. Does your institution ask applicants if they have been previously sanctioned for sexual misconduct in any of the following settings? For the purposes of this questionnaire, sexual misconduct is defined as findings of responsibility issued by an educational institution for violating the school or institution’s sexual misconduct policy.

   1. High school

   2. Other institution of higher education

   3. Employment

   4. Other [write-in]

      1. Yes/No/Unsure grid

7. Within the last five years has your institution accepted a student after information about prior sexual misconduct was shared with your institution? For the purposes of this questionnaire, sexual misconduct is defined as findings of responsibility issued by an educational institution for violating the school or institution’s sexual misconduct policy.

   1. Yes/No/Unsure

   1. Does your institution have a written policy about incoming students previously sanctioned for sexual misconduct policy violations?

      1. Yes/No/Unsure

   2. If yes, which department receives this information? [check all that apply]

      1. Admissions or Transfer Student Office

      2. Title IX Office

      3. Student Affairs

      4. Athletics (when student athletes are involved)

      5. Residence Life

      6. Campus Law Enforcement

      7. Other [write-in]

   3. If yes, what does your institution do with information obtained regarding incoming students previously sanctioned for sexual misconduct policy violations? [check all that apply]

      1. We ask additional questions to an eligible applicant

      2. We conduct a risk assessment with the individual

      3. We may not accept certain students who have violated sexual misconduct policies

      4. We do not accept any students who have violated sexual misconduct policies

      5. We identify and put in place protective measures for the campus and the individual previously found responsible and sanctioned

      6. We may require certain conditions to be met by the student prior to matriculation

      7. We develop an individual safety plan for students previously found responsible and sanctioned for sexual misconduct policy violations

      8. We meet with other campus representatives to coordinate (e.g., campus safety and Title IX coordinator) information sharing and to address any community safety planning

      9. We may accept the student but place restrictions and/or limitations on their enrollment or student status (e.g., may not live in residence halls or go into a campus childcare center)

      10. We may accept a student on a conditional or probationary admission status

      11. Unsure

      12. Other [write in]

8. Does your institution track, over time, any of the following? [Yes/No/Unsure matrix]. If yes, and you, on behalf of your institution, are willing to share your measures, please send to or contact [email protected] to discuss further.

   1. If students previously found responsible commit future sexual misconduct policy violations and/or criminal sex offenses

   2. If students previously found responsible remain in school or graduate

   3. If complainants/victims/survivors of sexual assault remain in school or graduate

   4. Other (please specify)

Information Sharing Practices Regarding Registered Sex Offenders

9. Within the last five years, has your institution received information about someone who is registered as a sex offender and either enrolled or employed by your institution?

   1. Yes/No/Unsure

   2. If yes:

   3. Who provided that information to your institution? [check all that apply]

      1. Local law enforcement

      2. Other institution of higher education

      3. Self-report of registered sex offender

      4. Victim or survivor

      5. Member of the institution (student, staff or faculty member)

      6. Outside community member (parent, alumni, other)

      7. Newspaper/media/publicly available information

      8. Other (please specify)

   4. How often is this information provided to your institution?

      1. On an annual basis

      2. As needed/when it becomes known

      3. No set schedule

      4. Unsure

      5. Other (Please specify)

   5. Who is responsible for receiving/tracking this information? [Please choose one].

      1. Campus law enforcement or campus security

      2. Local law enforcement

      3. Admissions

      4. Student conduct office

      5. Title IX coordinator

      6. Human resources

      7. Unsure

      8. Other [write-in]

6. Is information about someone who is registered as a sex offender and either enrolled or employed by your institution made available publicly to the campus? 

   1. Yes/No/Unsure

   2. If yes, where is the information made available publicly (check all that apply)?

      1. Annual security report

      2. Campus police or campus security website

      3. Student affairs website

      4. Other [write-in]

10. What does your institution do with information obtained about a registered sex offender who is ENROLLED on your campus? [check all that apply] (If you, on behalf of your institution, are willing to share your written policies or protocols for how this information is reviewed and handled, please send to or contact [email protected] to discuss further.)

We…

1. Provide information on where to obtain information concerning registered sex offenders

2. Notify the campus of any registered sex offenders on campus

3. Don’t admit students who are registered sex offenders

4. Take appropriate action based on the review of information

5. Meet with registered sex offenders and develop an individual safety plan

6. Utilize recommendations from the “Beyond the Box” initiative (https://www.ed.gov/beyondthebox)

7. Meet with stakeholders across the campus (e.g., campus safety and Title IX coordinator) to address any community safety planning

8. Terminate enrollment

9. Unsure/I don’t know

10. Other [write in]

11. What does your institution do with information obtained about a registered sex offender who is EMPLOYED on your campus? [check all that apply] (If you, on behalf of your institution, are willing to share your written policies or protocols for how this information is reviewed and handled, please send to or contact [email protected] to discuss further.)

We…

1. Provide information on where to obtain information concerning registered sex offenders

2. Notify the campus of any registered sex offenders on campus

3. Take appropriate action based on the review of information

4. Don’t employ faculty or staff who are registered sex offenders

5. Meet with registered sex offenders and develop an individual safety plan

6. Meet with stakeholders across the campus (e.g., campus safety and Title IX coordinator) to address any community safety planning

7. Terminate employment

8. Unsure/I don’t know

9. Other [write in]

General Information Sharing Practices

12. What are the challenges/barriers that your institution faces to campus information sharing across departments within your own institution? [write-in]

13. What are the challenges/barriers that your institution faces to campus information sharing with other institutions where a student is transferring from and/or seeks to enroll? [write-in]

14. What are the challenges/barriers that your institution faces to campus information sharing with your campus’ community partners (local law enforcement, victims’ services agencies, community sexual assault response teams, etc.)? [write-in]

15. If your institution does share information, what is working well and what are the benefits of campus information sharing? [write-in]

16. Is there an MOU between your local law enforcement and campus law enforcement/safety that addresses sexual assault response? (If yes and your institution is willing to share your MOU, please send to [email protected].)

    1. Yes/No/Unsure

    2. If yes, does the MOU discuss information sharing regarding any of the following?

       1. Registered sex offenders enrolled at the institution

       2. Registered sex offenders employed at the institution

       3. Individuals found responsible for campus sexual misconduct policy violations

       4. Individuals within the surrounding community who are not affiliated with the institution

17. At your institution, what are the three most important topics or resources that would be helpful regarding information sharing/receipt of sexual misconduct information? [Please RANK ORDER with 1 being most important]

    1. Sample MOU between institution and local law enforcement (regarding registered sex offenders on campus and individuals found responsible for violating campus sexual misconduct policies)

    2. Sample MOU for collaboration with local sex offender clinicians/treatment providers

    3. Information about campus sexual assault perpetration and evidence-based interventions and prevention strategies for individuals accused, found responsible and/or at risk for committing sexual misconduct

    4. Athletic recruitment policies and/or procedures (regarding registered sex offenders on campus and individuals found responsible for violating campus sexual misconduct policies)

    5. Greek affiliation policies and/or procedures (regarding registered sex offenders on campus and individuals found responsible for violating campus sexual misconduct policies)

    6. Risk assessment of incoming students with a history of sexual assault perpetration

    7. Process for incorporating victim/survivor input into the development of policies and procedures

    8. Identifying protective measures for individuals with a history of sexual assault perpetration

    9. General campus safety planning and prevention strategies to prevent future sexual misconduct

    10. Tools for improving coordination among institutional departments on addressing sexual misconduct

    11. Model/sample policy on transcript notation

    12. Model/sample policy on disclosure of information

    13. Other [write-in]
        
        

18. While these questions have been focused on formal policies and procedures, does your institution have any informal practices regarding disclosure or acquisition of information pertaining to disciplinary and/or criminal records? If so, please explain below. [write-in]

19. Please include any additional comments that you, on behalf of your institution, would like this project to consider. [write-in]

Demographic Information

20. Which of these best describe your institution type? [check all that apply]

    1. Large (≥10,000)

    2. Medium (1,000 - 9,999)

    3. Small (<1,000)

    4. Public

    5. Private For-Profit

    6. Private Not-For-Profit

    7. Athletic Designation Division I

    8. Athletic Designation Division II

    9. Athletic Designation Division III

    10. Religious Affiliation

    11. Postsecondary Minority Institution

    12. Historically Black College or University (HBCU)

    13. Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI)

    14. Tribal College or University

    15. Military Service Academy

    16. Two-year

    17. Four-year or more

    18. Residential

    19. Non-residential

    20. Community College

    21. Rural-serving

    22. Suburban-serving

    23. Urban-serving

    24. Professional/Technical

    25. Other affiliation [fill-in box]

21. Which one of these BEST describes your current institution affiliation?

1. Admissions

2. Transfer office

3. Athletics

4. Registrar’s office

5. Residence life

6. Greek life

7. International student services

8. Cultural or gender specific office

9. Campus Title IX office

10. Student Conduct office

11. Other campus administration

12. Campus security

13. Campus law enforcement

14. Campus general counsel

15. Campus health center

16. Campus counseling center

17. Advocacy center (campus or community-based rape crisis center)

18. Faculty member

19. Student

20. Other (_______________________________________)

Please consider sharing your contact information below (or provide the contact information for someone else at your institution we should contact for more information), particularly if your institution has policies or procedures that other institutions could benefit from learning about. If you share your contact information, we may contact you to discuss this issue in more detail. Please share your contact information below or you can share additional information, independent of this questionnaire, by contacting Katie Hanna, visiting fellow, at [email protected] or 202-598-0453.

Name:

Title & Institution:

Email:

Contact phone:

[End Message: THANK YOU FOR COMPLETING THE QUESTIONNAIRE! Your feedback is appreciated.]

Questionnaire is open for 60 days. After closed, post message that states:

“Thank you for visiting this page, but the questionnaire on Campus Information Sharing and Response is now closed. Please contact [email protected] for more information.”