2023 Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey

In the spring of 2023, enrolled Pomona College students 18 years of age and older were invited to respond to the Sexual Assault and Campus Climate Survey (SACCS) developed by the Higher Education Data Sharing Consortium (HEDS). Students at the other undergraduate Claremont Colleges (Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, and Scripps College) were also invited to participate. This marks the third coordinated administration of this survey across The Claremont Colleges as part of our collective commitment to strengthen the campus climate for all consortium students.

The report can be accessed at the EmPower Center website, as well as a list of actions taken since the 2018 survey administration, and a set of FAQs.

Survey Background

The survey is designed to measure students' perceptions of campus climate, the prevalence and nature of unwanted sexual contact and sexual assault, perceptions of how the institution addresses and responds to sexual assault, and the specific details of the context and disclosure of sexual assault. Information about this initiative and a sample of the core survey instrument are available from the HEDS website.

While the survey findings are intended to provide insights that will improve the campus climate for all students, it is important to note that this information does not represent any generalizations about The Claremont Colleges community. The 2023 SACCS was administered at a time when The Colleges were regrouping after a period of great disruption in students’ academic experiences. Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – including a shift to remote learning for more than one full academic year - many students had not spent extensive time on campus by the time the SACCS was administered; as such, students’ experiences may be reflective of their time away from campus. This broader perspective may assist in framing not only the lower response rate but also the responses themselves.

For those who did respond, their answers may indicate their feelings of support and community while away from campus – affecting their perspective on the immediacy of support, availability of resources, and connection to The Claremont Colleges.

2023 SACCS Respondents

The Claremont Colleges are committed to the highest level of transparency in the publication of results, while protecting the anonymity of survey respondents. Care was taken by HEDS to prevent the identification of respondents, including removing some demographic variables and combining others to create larger response categories. As such, the categories listed in this report are not comprehensive, but are included to acknowledge observed differences in campus climate and sexual assault for various survey participant populations, using the categories provided in the survey data files. Additionally, categories with small numbers of survey participants (less than ten) are not presented.

Of the 6,010 students in The Claremont Colleges invited to participate, 1,017 completed the survey, yielding a response rate of 17%. Pomona College’s response rate was comparable; 1,617 Pomona students were invited to participate and 300 completed the survey for a response rate of 18%.

Below is a summary of the demographics of student participants from The Claremont Colleges:

Additional information about the survey, including its methodology and limitations, is provided in the FAQ. For information about the 2015 and 2018 survey administrations, please contact Liz Graham, Director of Institutional Research.