Ms. Leah Travis joined the ISPR team as research assistant in June of 2008. Leah’s initial activities involve analysis of existing datasets for the Project. In May of 2008, the team from ISPR began researching existing databases which may be of use for secondary analysis in answering questions about youth victimization and delinquency behaviors. Eight data sets were identified as potential sources of data, and the items available were catalogued both for future reference, as well as to aide in making initial decisions about which databases to consider first. Two databases were chosen, based on the variables available and the presence of a large American Indian/ Alaskan Native (AI/AN) subsample. These include the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS, collected by the Centers for Disease Control in 2007), and the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Preliminary analysis of the YRBSS data has begun, with a focus on comparing AI/AN populations with other racial and ethnic groups (e.g. White, Black, and Hispanic/Latino Youth).

In July of 2008, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Project Officer conducted a site visit at the PCAA office in Chicago, IL. The team presented an overview of the background and history of the project, as well as provided an update of the progress that has been made in the past months. The Project Officer provided feedback on the progress made, highlighting the benefits of the unique collaboration existing between NICWA, PCAA, and ISPR. While an official decision on extending OJJDP funding was not available at that time, the team is optimistic about the merits of this project in terms of renewed funding.

Dr. Pavkov gave a broad overview of the study process, detailing the steps taken to establish campus themes around which survey instrument questions were then fashioned. Addressing in particular the full-time staff component of the faculty-staff study, Dr. Pavkov noted what he considered to be an “excellent response [rate]” from full-time PUC employees. He also commented on the analysis, recommendation-formulization, and implementation processes by which the PUC Multi-Cultural Campus Council and Senior Leadership members will speak to issues arising from the survey data.

The complete Chronicle article can be viewed at the Chronicle’s website.

The present task of the Project Team is fairly straightforward — transforming raw response data into scientifically comprehensible and usable material appropriate for analysis. From this point, various cross-tabulations will be carried out in order to determine the presence of any observable and statistically significant trends. The survey study will culminate in a written report and a public presentations of the study findings. The date and location of these presentations will announced in conjunction with the sponsoring client, the PUC Multi-cultural Campus Council.

As has been stated repeatedly throughout this study, data will be reported out only in the aggregate and no individually identifiable response data will be described.

While concerns related to the confidentiality and anonymity of participant responses had to pass the stringent muster of the Institutional Review Board of Purdue University prior to the approval of the survey instrument, for several weeks beforehand the Campus Climate Assessment Project Team had strategized how best to alert potential participants to these safeguards. The purposeful wording of hard-copy letters delivered to each faculty and staff member, followed up by email to each of these potential participants, was aimed to emphasize the measures being taken to ensure response confidentiality and anonymity –

     1. the parameters of the VOXCO survey software as used in the Campus Climate Assessment Survey create randomized monitoring information of respondents to be practically untraceable to individual respondents;

    2. once obtained, the responses are handled only by the four Project Team members;

    3. upon completion of the final analysis of data, all responses will be irretrievably purged and destroyed;

    4. when information obtained from response data is analyzed and reported, it is done so only in the aggregate — that is, no individual responses are identified or singled out; data is reported out only in terms of gathered response data; and,

    5. should, for any reason, a group of responses be able to be attributed to an identifiable group (or form an identifiable group), data will only be reported if that group has at least 8 or more members. In other words, if fewer than 8 responses come from what might be regarded as an identifiable group, none of that data whatsoever will be reported out in order to prevent even the possibility of individual respondent identification.

Given the assurances and continuing attention by Project Team members to matters of confidentiality and anonymity throughout this study, it is hoped that every faculty and staff member will feel confident and uninhibited as they add their voices to this important project. To feel otherwise would itself be a significant finding that this Campus Climate Assessment Study would wish to document.

If you as a staff or faculty member have any concerns about participating in this survey for reasons related to confidentiality or anonymity, please contact the Project Team at 219-989-3145, by email at campusclimate@calumet.purdue.edu, or by contacting Dr. Thomas Pavkov (ext.2029) or Dr. Cathy Gillotti (ext. 2009) directly. Your voice needs to be heard.

A comprehensive summary of the study’s findings will be presented in public venues following the collating of focus group and survey responses. The Campus Climate Assessment study is being conducted by the ISPR Survey Research Center under the auspices of the PUC Multi-Cultural Campus Council (MCCC).

Initial piloting of the curriculum will take place in March of 2008 with resources for the support center being procured during that same time period.  The training program will incorporate distance learning technologies that include discussion boards, chat rooms, and other forms of media that have proven effective in training a variety of individuals.

Focus group findings will subsequently be used in the design of a campus-wide faculty and staff survey instrument to be fielded during the Spring of 2008.

The Campus Climate Assessment Focus Group summary is now available. Click to download the complete Focus Group Report.

The full extent of American Indian/Alaska Native youth victimization and its subsequent relationship to pathways of juvenile delinquency, anti-social behaviors, and self-destructive acts is not known. Producing knowledge about the victimization of tribal youth and its relationship to juvenile delinquency could become a cornerstone in achieving parity, safety, and well-being. 

“We are pleased that the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has awarded us this grant,” said PCA America President & CEO Jim Hmurovich. “We look forward to partnering with the National Indian Child Welfare Association and Purdue University Calumet on improving services to Native American children across the country.”

The project will include various approaches for this research, including culturally-appropriate surveys for American Indian/Alaska Native youth, adults, and tribal leaders. The results are intended to assist states and tribes in their strategic planning to reduce Native overrepresentation in youth victimization incidents. 

Tom Pavkov, Director of the Institute for Social and Policy Research at Purdue University Calumet, said “We are excited about collaborating on this project with the leading child welfare advocacy organizations in the country. Given the leadership of both Prevent Child Abuse America and the National Indian Child Welfare Association, the information gathered as part of this study will contribute significantly to the well-being of Native American youth across the United States.”

From this deposit of gathered anecdotal information, project team members hope to discern themes and issues that will provide a framework for the development of a survey instrument to be disseminated to PUC staff, faculty, and administrators during the Spring 2008 semester.

Information gleaned from both the focus groups and the survey instrument will eventually serve as talking points for a campus-wide discussion on ways to maintain and  improve the diverse academic and work climate of the PUC campus. Even at this early stage of data analysis, project researchers have confirmed what they already knew in theory — that campus climate is a complex composite of various localized environments that are continuously interacting, influencing, and recreating themselves. Thus, events and attitudes in one department, office, or school can significantly impact the other campus environments, while all the environments taken together form a recognizable and distinctive campus climate of the university.

The project team of the Campus Climate Assessment will be working with the study’s sponsor — the PUC Multicultural Campus Council (MCCC) — in creating venues for the discussion of its findings.