Penn State Greater Allegheny's main hub is the Student Community Center (SCC). The SCC houses our Café Metro, on-campus radio station WMKP, a gaming room, student offices and the campus's bookstore.
MCKEESPORT, Pa. — Penn State Greater Allegheny released the results of a survey of students’ experiences with and attitudes about sexual misconduct today (April 12), including a finding that 81.7% of students responded “likely” or “very likely” to the University taking a sexual misconduct report seriously. The results are part of a comprehensive University-wide survey conducted in 2022.
The Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey is part of an ongoing broad-based initiative by Penn State to significantly curtail sexual misconduct on all its campuses, while at the same time expanding its efforts to provide an effective response to any cases. The survey asked students about their experiences, as well as about their attitudes, and awareness of the resources available for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct.
“The results of this survey are important in allowing Greater Allegheny to understand the current climate and to continue our battle against sexual misconduct. Providing a safe and secure environment for our students to live and learn is our priority across the commonwealth,” said Andrea Dowhower, interim vice president for Penn State Student Affairs.
“I want to thank all of the students who took the time to complete the survey,” said Megan Nagel, interim chancellor and chief academic officer, Penn State Greater Allegheny. “Understanding the experiences and perceptions of our students is critical as we work to create a campus community in which they feel safe and welcomed. Our leadership team will be reviewing our campus results. Our goal will be to respond with programming which increases awareness of the many forms of sexual misconduct and to help students understand the reporting process and bystander interventions. This educational programming will help us work to end sexual misconduct.”
At Penn State Greater Allegheny, 343 students received the survey, and the response rate was 20.7%. University-wide, a representative sample of 7,352 students completed the survey, including both undergraduates and graduate students. Completely anonymous, voluntary and completed electronically, the survey covered topics such as whether a student thinks the University would take a report of sexual misconduct seriously, whether the student is aware of resources available, and whether they would walk a friend home who had had too much to drink.
Summaries of the findings for each of the 23 Penn State campuses where students were surveyed, including Penn State Greater Allegheny, can be found online.
The survey itself was based on the Administration Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3) survey, which was created based on suggestions from the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. Penn State’s survey was administered by the Office of Student Affairs Research and Assessment, which partnered with DatStat, a data research company the University has worked with on other survey projects.
For more information about resources to prevent and respond to sexual misconduct at Penn State Greater Allegheny, contact Lorraine Craven, director of Student Services and Engagement, at 412-675-9034 or by email at [email protected].
