Academic and Workplace Behaviors and Environment Survey

The Academic and Workplace Behaviors and Environment Survey was the first universitywide survey of faculty, part-time lecturers, staff, postdoctoral fellows and associates, teaching assistants (TAs), and graduate assistants (GAs) designed to help the university assess, prevent, and effectively respond to harassment among employees. Led by Rutgers Associate Professor Sarah McMahon and her research team at the Center for Research on Ending Violence and sponsored by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, the survey launched on November 3, 2022, and was open for 6 weeks, until December 15.

The survey provided a confidential way for employees to share their experiences and for the university to demonstrate accountability and commitment to addressing the strengths and gaps revealed in the data.

The Academic and Workplace Behaviors and Environment Survey was based on the recommendations included in Rutgers University Committee on Sexual Harassment Prevention and Culture Change that Barbara Lee, former senior vice president for Academic Affairs, and Karen Stubaus, vice president for Academic Affairs, chaired. Much has been accomplished in Rutgers University’s long and successful history of responding to and preventing campus sexual violence, including sexual harassment. Since 2014, researchers from the Center for Research on Ending Violence have administered campus climate surveys across all Rutgers campuses at regular intervals, with over 22,000 student responses collected.

As the institution continues to develop as a leader in addressing these issues, there are areas where further work would help support the university’s commitment to creating a welcoming, safe, and inclusive climate for all members of the community. In the past, campus climate surveys were directed to students. This project is expanding to faculty and staff to better understand the experiences and perceptions of the larger campus community. The information will be used to help drive the university’s efforts and strategic initiatives to address harassment and workplace incivility and provide a robust model for implementation at other universities.

This confidential survey will be used to help inform and shape prevention programming, policy development, and resource allocation decisions on campus.

The survey team recognizes the sensitive nature of the survey, and as such, all survey responses are confidential. This means that the research team will not be able to determine the identity of a survey participant regardless of the platform they use to take the survey (computer, tablet, phone, or paper).

Survey participants were asked to enter their NetIDs to access the survey if taking it on an electronic device; however, this information was used only to link select demographic information to participants’ responses and enter participants into a raffle for one of many various incentives. The research team only received a de-identified dataset, meaning that there is no way to link participants’ identities with their responses on the survey. All the reports will include de-identified and aggregated data in order to protect participants’ identities.

Participation in the survey was entirely voluntary.

Rutgers University faculty, part-time lecturers, staff*, postdoctoral fellows and associates, teaching assistants (TAs), and graduate assistants (GAs) employed at the start of the Fall 2022 semester were invited to participate via email in the survey. Participation in the survey was entirely voluntary.

*Type three and four employees are not included in this survey.

Both undergraduate and graduate-level students at Rutgers University will continue to be surveyed about their experiences through other research efforts and at regular intervals. This workplace culture survey is specifically for faculty, part-time lecturers, staff, postdoctoral fellows and associates, teaching assistants (TAs), and graduate assistants (GAs).

Your contribution is critical to helping Rutgers assess, prevent, and effectively respond to harassment among employees and help strengthen the development of an inclusive, welcoming workplace culture. The more members of the Rutgers community who complete the survey, the more confident we can be in the accuracy and representativeness of the data. Your participation will help ensure the survey results and conclusions represent the views of all Rutgers faculty and staff.

Participants who take the survey during the first two weeks will be entered into a raffle to receive one of 100 gift cards at $50 value. One of 100 gift cards at $25 value will be raffled to those who complete the survey thereafter.

On average, the survey takes approximately 12–15 minutes to complete.

The survey is based on the validated Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3) Campus Climate Survey Instrument, consistent with recommendations from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2018 report on the sexual harassment of women, and on the best available science and validated measures.

The research team is committed to a collaborative, inclusive, and transparent process and has thus dedicated an entire year to preparing the survey tool. The research team engaged in a multi-phase, iterative review process that requested participation from various faculty and staff across Rutgers University to ensure a collaborative and comprehensive endeavor. Reviewer feedback helped tailor the tool to each of Rutgers University’s unique campus environments and ensure the relevancy and accuracy of survey items and response options.

The survey launched on November 3, 2022, and remained open until December 15, 2022.

Employees received an initial email invitation to the survey. Employees who had not taken the survey received at least two additional emails asking them to complete the survey.

The survey was available to participants online, accessed through a link they will receive in their email. The survey was available on a computer, tablet, or smartphone device.

There were paper versions of the survey available for those that were unable to access the survey online or who required the survey to be in Spanish or Portuguese.

Confidential resources are available. For those seeking support, the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NJCASA) is a state organization unaffiliated with Rutgers that operates a 24-hour victim assistance hotline 1-800-601-7200.

If you have difficulty accessing the survey, please email: rutgers-ir_surveys@irap.rutgers.edu