Looking at the data that I have so far, I've found that I'm still lacking some areas of research and analysis. However, I am in the process of getting new information that will hopefully allow me to further expand on my topic of Title IX trainings on Texas Lutheran Univeristy's campus for first year students, as well as students who hold a leadership position.
Last semester I sent out a survey to both first year students and student leaders to get their feedback. I considered that my trial survey because there were some flaws in it that didn't allow me to fully understand which students' responses were in which category. This semester (actually next week) I will be sending out an individual survey to the first year students, as well as an individual survey to send to the student leaders on campus. My hope that is that I will be able to get at least double the information for each category for me to work with for my final project work.
Even though I'm still figuring out how to achieve the best amount of data with the surveys, from what I have so far, I've been able to analyze and notice quite a few interesting aspects of the survey responses. Based off of what I was able to decipher between the first year students and the student leaders, the majority of the first year students who took the online training course said that what they took away the most was that "consent is important". Whereas with the student leader presentation that was done in August, the few student leaders who answered the survey all had more lengthy answers and were able to focus on the reporting aspect of Title IX at TLU, as opposed to the sexual assault side of it.
This sticks out as an important find because there are so many different parts the Think About It course that isn't just about consent, but that's what most people mentioned. I believe that they were able to remember this so well because it relates to them so much at this point in their lives. It's not secret that college students go to parties and drink alcohol and get curious. Through the course, they are able to see videos and scenarios that TLU students may at one point find themselves in, which makes them feel a connection to the scenario and what goes on.
As far as the student leader training goes, the students are held to a higher standard than the first year students when it comes to Title IX cases on campus. They are told that if they hear anything from anybody they need to report it to their supervisor immediately. It is also mentioned for several minutes during the presentation who is confidential on campus and who is not. That is also a key factor in the student leader's roles because if a student comes to them, they are also responsible for giving them that information, should they wish to share it in a confidential manner. Since this is so heavily focused on in the student leader training presentation, I think that is why the few students I was able to get answers from had similar answers. They resonated with the information more, therefore, they retained it better.
Over the next couple of weeks, with my survey, I plan on getting much clearer and specific answers to these questions on the students' training experience at TLU, and my hopes are that I can conclude similar responses. If not, I will work harder to look at things from a different angle and then go from there.
