2025 Climate Survey Results

Executive Summary

In March 2025, our campus began an online administration of the Sexual Violence Prevalence (SVP) Campus Climate Survey. This survey was administered to students and employees and is required to address, at minimum, student and employee knowledge about:

The Title IX Coordinator’s role;
Campus policies and procedures addressing sexual assault;
How and where to report sexual violence as a victim/survivor or witness;
The availability of resources on and off campus, such as counseling, health, academic assistance;
The prevalence of victimization and perpetration of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on and off campus during a set time period (for example, the last two years);
Bystander attitudes and behavior;
Whether victims/survivors reported to the College/University and/or police, and reasons why they did or did not report.
The general awareness of the difference, if any, between the institution’s policies and the penal law; and
The general awareness of the definition of affirmative consent.

In reviewing the results, we highlight that the survey:

Indicated that the number of students who experienced sexual harassment and/or sexual assault has gone down (5.3% percentage point reduction for sexual harassment and 4.7% percentage point reduction for sexual assault compared to 2023).
Indicated that more students are generally aware of how to report sexual assault, sexual harassment, dating/domestic violence, and stalking (increase from 69.9% to 74.4% of respondents).
Indicated that more students are generally more knowledgeable on how to report (12.2% percentage point increase for how to report sexual assault, 10.3% percentage point increase for how to report sexual harassment compared to 2023).
Indicated that more students know how to contact the Title IX Coordinator (8.5% percentage point increase compared to 2023).
Indicated that employees generally are aware of the policies and procedures and available resources.

Background

The SVP survey is administered every other year by all SUNY campuses, who work closely with SUNY System Administration to coordinate the survey administration itself. An effort is made to keep the questions from one administration to the next as consistent as possible to allow for reliable and meaningful longitudinal data. System-wide Institutional Review Board (IRB) review takes place for each survey administration.

Our campus administered the student survey and the employee survey in March of 2025. Excluded survey populations were individuals under 18 years of age, all incarcerated individuals regardless of age, and all students concurrently enrolled in high school regardless of age. The University did not offer incentives for the participation in the survey. Students and employees received information about the survey via email to their official albany.edu email address.

Participation Rate

The invitation to participate in the survey was sent to 16,108 students and 3,822 employees.

709 students responded to survey for a response rate of 4.4%. This represents a decrease from in the number of student respondees and response ratee from 2023 (6.5% response rate in 2023). Overall, the response rate for SUNY’s Research Universities declined by 1.6 percentage points from 5.7% in 2023 to 4.1% in 2025. UAlbany’s response rate of 4.4% therefore is comparable to the other SUNY Research Universities.

499 employees responded to survey for a response rate for employees was 13%. This response rate is lower than in 2023. Overall, the response rate for SUNY’s Research Universities declined by 10.2 percentage points between 2023 and 2025.

Student Survey

Awareness of Title IX Coordinator and Policies

The percentage of student respondents who indicated they knew how to contact the Title IX Coordinator increased by 8.5%, an improvement from 28.4% to 36.9%.

74.4% of students indicated that the campus has policies and procedures specifically addressing sexual assault, an increase of 4.5%, and .75.2% of student respondents to the survey know that they can file a formal complaint with the Title IX Coordinator.

There was an overall slight percentage improvement in student awareness of what the Title IX Coordinator can do. This increase corresponded to a decrease in students who indicated that they did not know. Students indicated they had received information on how to report a sexual assault (10,8% improvement from 39.8 to 50.6%) and the number of students indicating that they had not received such information decreased by 4.5%.

Reporting Sexual Misconduct

Student responses showed a significant increase in awareness of how to report sexual assault (12.2% difference to 2023) and sexual harassment (10.3% difference to 2023) to the University. There was also an increased awareness of how to report domestic or dating violence (8.2% difference to 2023 ) and talking (6.5% difference to 2023). And the number of students who indicated they did not know how to report any of the above decreased by 12.2% compared to 2023 survey responses.

Students continue to show awareness that they can report to the Title IX Coordinator (75.2%) and University Police Department (UPD) (87.3%) among other offices.

Resources

Students continue to report a very high awareness of UPD (83% of respondents) followed by Campus Health Services (73.4%) and Counseling Services (70.3%) as resources available to them. Only 4.5% of respondents to the survey indicated that they were not aware of any of the 12 resources listed in the survey).

Student Experience

Compared to 2023, fewer students indicated having experienced unwanted sexual comments or demeaning jokes in the past year (4.5% decrease).

More students indicated that they did not experience sexual acts without their consent. For example, 82.4% of respondents stated that they had not experienced fondling, kissing or physical contact without their consent (in 2023, 78.1% answered no).

And 94.7% of students indicated that they had not experienced sexual penetration without consent (92.3% in 2023) and 95.6% indicated that they had not experienced oral sex against their consent (93.6% in 2023).

87.4% of respondents indicated that they had not experienced stalking (an increase of 2.5% since 2023).

Affirmative Consent

73.4% of student respondents indicated that they had a general awareness of the definition of affirmative consent, which is unchanged from 2023 (0.3% improvement).

Employee Survey

Awareness of Title IX Coordinator and Policies

The percentage of student respondents who indicated they knew how to contact the Title IX Coordinator increased by 6%, an improvement from 72.5% to 78.5%.

94.6% of employees indicated awareness of campus policies addressing sexual assault and 85.1% of employees indicated that they received written or verbal information on how to report sexual assault.

Employees showed a high degree of awareness of the roles of the Title IX Coordinator and this awareness increased by 5-7% (receiving reports, coordinating campus response, training/education, supportive services).

Reporting Sexual Misconduct

85.1% of employees stated that they know how to report a sexual assault and 81.5% of employees indicated that they knew where to go to get help if sexually assaulted.

Employees had a very high degree of awareness that formal disclosure of sexual assault can be made to the Title IX Coordinator or to UPD (93.1 and 97.2% respectively).

More employees indicated that they reported the most recent disclosed incident made to them to the Title IX Coordinator, Campus Police/Public Safety, Student Affairs, or another office on campus (7% increase 2023 to 2025).

Employee Experience

93.8% of employee respondents indicated that they had not experienced unwanted sexual comments or demeaning jokes in the past year.

And 96% of employee survey respondents indicated that they had not received unwanted digital communications.