2022 SAGR Survey Information Reference

2022 Service Academy Gender Relations Survey:

Information Reference

• Survey Background

The 2022 Service Academy Gender Relations (2020 SAGR) survey is an assessment conducted pursuant to the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, Section 532. The study is part of an assessment cycle at the Military Service Academies (MSA) that began in 2005 and focuses on gender relations, including sexual assault and sexual harassment. The cycle alternates between quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) assessments. The surveys provide an assessment of progress over time and better understanding of the dynamics surrounding sexual assault and gender relations, and the focus groups provide a more in-depth exploration of specific topics as well as an understanding of the climate at each Academy. These two efforts (surveys and focus groups) inform each other in an iterative manner. Combined, these assessments help Academy leaders and Service policy makers assess the effectiveness of programs and identify opportunities for improvement.

The Health and Resilience (H&R) Research Division of the Office of People Analytics (OPA),¹ has conducted this effort, tasked by the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD [P&R]), since 2005. Prior survey results are available on the following website: https://dmdc.osd.mil/appj/dwp/surveys.jsp.

Survey Requirement

Two key elements distinguish the 2022 SAGR survey from other survey efforts in the H&R Research portfolio: it is voluntary and anonymous. All procedures for conducting the 2022 SAGR are designed to uphold these central features of the data collection.

To assure statistical reliability of the survey results, the SAGR is a census of all cadets and midshipmen (with a few critical exceptions noted below), including those at the Preparatory Schools. All students are required to attend a short (approx. 5-10 minutes) presentation on the purpose of the survey. Completing the survey is voluntary. After the briefing is completed, at their own discretion, cadets and midshipmen can choose to stay and complete the survey or leave the session.

The survey is a paper and pen questionnaire administered in group sessions. While the same form is used for all cadets/midshipman across each Academy, separate sessions are scheduled for men and women.

Cadets and midshipmen are scheduled by their Academy for a session that is most convenient to their schedules (details below). Tracking attendance is required for accountability, but names are not associated with the survey materials in order to preserve the anonymity of the responses.

The following sections outline what OPA will need from Academy Points of Contacts (POCs) to successfully administer the 2022 SAGR survey.

• Points of Contact and Address Information

• OPA is required to provide our survey operations contractor with a working mailing address for the shipping of survey materials prior to the data collection. The survey materials will be delivered in boxes, and it is imperative that the address provided is allowed to receive packages. Location for mailing surveys must be secure with limited access to Academy personnel. Please ensure that this is a physical address and not a P.O. Box. Please provide a POC at the Academy with their phone number and email address, in addition to the physical address.

• Academy POC to review a handout of information regarding the survey and who they can contact at the Academy should they experience distress or want to talk to a provider after taking the survey. The handout will include contact information for various student support services provided by the Academy, and OPA requests the POC ensure the information is accurate and up-to-date.

• Session Dates, Times, and Locations

• POCs should allow a full week for the OPA team to be present on campus to administer the surveys in group settings of 100 students or less (150 maximum). OPA strongly recommends sessions be held during the work week (Monday through Friday) between the hours of 7am to 7pm.

• Each session should be scheduled for a full class period. This will allow for students to sign in, hear the mandatory introductory briefing, and complete the survey. Again, all students are required to attend the short briefing on the purpose of the survey effort, but they are free to choose whether they would like to stay and complete the survey. Students are free to leave at any time following the briefing.

• There should be no more than two male sessions and two female sessions scheduled simultaneously, with male and female sessions being in rooms preferably next to each other. This makes it easier to aid in check-in of students. However, male and female sessions preferably should be held in areas not directly next to each other. In the past, it has been helpful to make these locations the same throughout the week to reduce confusion for the students.

• If possible, having access to these locations for the entirety of the day would be ideal. If rooms are booked in between sessions, there is potential for the occupants to run over their time or to encroach upon students taking the survey.

Choosing Location(s) for the Survey

• The content of the survey includes questions about sensitive topics. Locations must be large enough to accommodate up to approximately 100 students (150 maximum) seated in every other seat at a minimum to ensure privacy while completing the survey.

• Because this is a paper and pen survey, students must have a flat surface for their materials, such as a desk top or chair with arm suitable to hold the survey.

• The rooms should be quiet and people should not be able to view into the room or loiter in the area so as to observe who is taking a survey or distract them.

• No one other than OPA proctors are allowed in the survey room while students are completing their surveys. All other individuals will be asked to leave before survey administration may begin. However, as the 2020 SAGR will ask students about sensitive topics, having a Sexual Assault Response Coordinator (SARC) or Victim Advocate (VA) “on call” outside the room or readily available is required. OPA personnel are not trained to assist students who might become upset during the survey session or who might want to follow up on an experience they have had.

• OPA also requests a dedicated private space for students to take the survey away from classmates if they are uncomfortable taking it in the larger administration space. This could be a table outside the room, or other inconspicuous spaces. It is a rare occurrence that a student will ask for this option, but if it is set up in advance, there is less chance of the student encountering unwanted attention.

• Each survey room must have projection capabilities for the briefing. Audio support is also required if the room is large. OPA will require guest accounts on any systems that support projection or audio equipment. Otherwise, OPA can bring laptops to drive standalone projectors (provided by the Academy).

• If possible, it would be useful to allow for H&R Research team members to have temporary access to the buildings where the survey is administered. Allowing access would allow the team adequate time to set up the rooms before sessions, and substantially reduces the logistical burden on each Academy POC.

• Please also ensure clearance and visitor parking authorization for OPA personnel to access Academy grounds.

• A table and chairs should be positioned outside each location for at least two people to check in the students and direct them to the survey room. The check-in team will also provide “crowd control” to maintain order on the larger sessions. Locations should have limited access points or the ability to block certain doors for the week to prevent students from checking-in and then leaving before the required briefing. If possible, having these tables positioned near outlets or providing access to power-strips would be helpful.

• The OPA team will require a secure room for storing materials throughout the week such as the SARC office. Ideally, this room will be close to the survey room to minimize transporting boxes of surveys, laptops, materials, etc. This room will also be used to store completed surveys, and therefore needs to be very secure.

• OPA will also need assistance with signs directing students to the survey locations, marking entrance and exit doors, etc.

• Session Rosters

• To assist in final planning of the survey administration, Academy POCs are to provide OPA with rosters including the schedule of sessions, and the name, gender, and class year of the cadets/midshipmen at the Academy. This should be provided to OPA no later Thursday, February 03, 2022. This information is critical to ensure OPA provides adequate staffing and materials for the survey administration at each Academy.

• To ensure adequate processing of the survey results, OPA is required to produce final accountability data following the survey effort, including the number of cadets/midshipmen enrolled at the time of the survey, how many attended each session, how many had a valid excuse (leave, temporary duty [TDY], on exchange, etc.), and how many were not accounted for. Having the rosters by session in advance will allow OPA to develop data sheets to capture this information during the visit, as well as streamline the check in protocol as much as possible.

• OPA requests the additional information to supplement these rosters: scheduled survey date, scheduled survey time. This information will aid in the development of accountability data. Please provide this information no later than February 28, 2022.

• All Academy students should be asked to participate and assigned to one session only. Each session must be gender-specific; males and females cannot attend the same session.

• EXCEPTIONS: All students younger than 17 at the time of the survey, foreign exchange students/nationals, and students visiting from another Academy should NOT be included on the rosters; these students are not authorized to participate in the survey at your Academy, and should not be invited to participate. OPA relies on the Academy to assist in identifying cadets/midshipmen who are exempt, and ensure they are not given the impression they are required to attend.

• Because rosters contain personally identifiable information (PII), they must be transmitted to OPA via encrypted email or a secure file transfer protocol (FTP) site we can provide with instructions on how to access; all session rosters should be sent to Lisa Davis at no later than Thursday, February 03, 2022.

• Attendance is taken for accountability purposes described above. Students who miss their session must be rescheduled within the week OPA is at the Academy. OPA will need an Academy POC to coordinate with regularly throughout the week regarding students who have not shown up for their scheduled session. This can be done either following each session or at the end each day, depending on what is most efficient in rescheduling sessions before the end of the survey administration week. At the end of the week, OPA will need the Academy POC assistance in determining the reason for every cadet/midshipman that did not attend a session (e.g., excused or unexcused for various reasons).

• OPA does not retain any attendance sheets following the survey administration. They are returned to the Academy POC.

Recruitment Tips

• OPA acknowledges that each Academy is unique and has different methods for scheduling students. Students are typically notified of the requirement first by email, specifying the steps to select a time to attend a survey session. Reminder emails are often necessary, and OPA recommends reminding students twice before their scheduled session: one week before and one day before.

• Ms. Elizabeth (Lisa) Davis and Mr. William Xavier (Xav) Klauberg are available to work with you to tailor a message to prospective participants. OPA recommends using the following text when inviting students to participate:

• “The Department of Defense (DoD) conducts a survey every two years at the Service Academies on gender-related topics such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, and gender discrimination. The next survey is scheduled for the week of [specify the week]. Although all Services address issues regarding unwanted behaviors through various information collections, the 2022 SAGR survey administered by the Office of People Analytics (OPA) is the only survey conducted across the Military Service Academies (MSAs) to calculate statistical rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and therefore, is the only means of collecting this data DoD-wide. In addition, only the SAGR surveys can be used for historical analyses, as they are the only source of this information dating back to 2007. It is used by Academy, Service, and DoD leadership to understand the prevalence of unwanted behaviors at the Academy and to evaluate the effectiveness of programs dealing with these issues. Results are also provided to Congress and the White House. Numerous changes have occurred over the years in training and education as well as in prevention and response programs as a result of these important surveys.

• You are required to attend a short briefing on the purpose of this survey; however, completing the survey is completely voluntary. Once you hear the briefing, you can make your decision to complete it or not. The survey is also anonymous. Because of the sensitive nature of some of the questions, the survey is presented to you in paper and pen form where no identifying information is collected. There is no way to associate someone’s identity with their responses. Once you select a session most convenient to your schedule by [give instructions for selecting a session], it is your responsibility to attend or reschedule by [give procedures for rescheduling]. You will receive a reminder notice before your session, but please mark your personal calendar as an additional reminder of this requirement. Thank you in advance for participating in this survey. The goal is to make the environment here at [name of Academy] the safest possible and the results of this survey are vitally important to that objective. Thank you in advance for your support.”

• While it is important to engage in other forms of communications, such as encouragement from the Superintendent or Commandant to participate in the survey, OPA asks that the voluntary nature of taking the survey be stressed; we would appreciate caution to not exert any influence on a student’s decision to take the survey. Therefore, please do not prepare messages from leadership that in any way infringe on the total voluntary nature of this survey. All communications must be objective and address only the logistics of scheduling sessions and any questions students might ask about the proceedings.

• Determine if Common Access Card (CAC) Will be Used at Check-In

• OPA works with each Academy to improve the check-in procedures with each survey administration. Because of the accountability requirements, we have found that the check-in process is much easier on the cadets/midshipmen, the survey team, and the Academy POC if students are required to bring their Common Access Cards (CACs) to their session. Barcode scanners can populate a pre-defined spreadsheet to record attendance, track changes to the session schedules in real time, and automate calculations for the reporting requirements following the survey administration. Otherwise OPA will require paper rosters of schedules to check off students as they arrive for their session and make changes for those who choose to reschedule, often requiring a heavy lift for the POC in communicating updates to the team and providing revised paper rosters each day.

• While OPA relies on the POC at each Academy to determine if it is reasonable to expect that all cadets would be expected to bring their CACs if asked to do so, it is strongly recommended as we have found it affords substantial savings in time/effort for everyone involved. OPA is also happy to discuss any additional recommendations for improvements to the check-in procedures, and welcome feedback.

• Survey Content

The information below provides more information about the content of the survey. For more information, please contact Dr. Ashlea Klahr, Ms. Davis, or Mr. Klauberg.

• The 2022 SAGR survey is a paper and pen survey administered in group settings, with separate sessions for men and women. The same survey is used for both men and women.

• The survey covers the Academic Program Year (APY) 2021-2022 that began in June 2021. While it is not possible to include a complete APY due to spring finals and graduation, the timing allows the greatest amount of time possible to capture unwanted experiences during the APY. The timing also allows the closest alignment with reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment filed during the APY.

The survey addresses the following major areas:

• Unwanted sexual contact. Experiences in the past APY (defined as June 2021 to the date of the survey administration). The same measure has been used since 2008.

• Sexual harassment and gender discrimination. This was first used by OPA on the 2015 Workplace and Gender Relations Survey of Reserve Component Members (2015 WGRR) and on subsequent gender relations surveys. It is similar to the previous measure of sexual harassment and sexist behavior, but more closely aligns with DoD Directives on workplace harassment and discrimination.

• Detailed questions about the circumstances of behaviors experienced. For both sexual harassment/gender discrimination and unwanted sexual contact, there are many questions asking about the “one situation” that had the greatest effect on those who indicated experiencing an incident. Questions ask about the characteristics of the alleged offender, the location and timing of, and alcohol/drug involvement in, the situation, other behaviors experienced in the incident, whether they reported, and reasons for reporting/not reporting the incident.

• Retaliation for reporting sexual assault. These items measure behaviors potentially experienced by someone who reported sexual assault. It is modified for use at the Academies but aligns with similar measures across OPA H&R surveys.

• Prior experiences of unwanted sexual contact. Includes a question of unwanted sexual contact experiences prior to the current APY.

• Bystander intervention. Asks if a cadet or midshipman witnessed a situation where they believed sexual assault was occurring or about to occur and their response/action. Includes questions about willingness to engage in confronting sexual assault and sexual harassment and trust in the Academy to protect one’s privacy, ensure their safety, and treat them with dignity and respect if they were to experience sexual assault in the future.

• Academy culture and climate.

• Office of People Analytics Contacts

Dr. Ashlea Klahr, Ph.D.

Director, Health & Resilience Research

Office of People Analytics

[email protected]

571-372-1789

Ms. Elizabeth (Lisa) Davis

Deputy Director, Health & Resilience Research

Office of People Analytics

[email protected]

571-372-1105

Mr. William Xavier (Xav) Klauberg

Research Analyst, Health & Resilience Research

Office of People Analytics

[email protected]

571-372-1727

1 Before 2016, the H&R Division resided within the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). In 2016, DHRA reorganized and moved H&R under the newly established Office of People Analytics (OPA).

1