Office of Judicial Affairs

Web Based Survey

Introduction/Methodology

"The Office of Judicial Affairs is only as good as the students perceive us to be fair" (Mike Way)

The Office of Judicial Affairs desired to get input on JMU student's perception of the following:

" Judicial services
" Community standards
" Judicial outreach efforts

Results from the survey were to be used to:

" Improve outreach efforts
" Improve training for hearing officers and judicial council
" Create benchmarks for judicial outreach efforts
" Make changes to judicial services to better meet the needs of the student body.

An assessment team of judicial staff members was formed with the above goals in mind. The team determined the most convient and comprehensive way to gather the data we desired was to conduct a web based survey of the entire JMU student body.

Survey Creation

A web based survey was created by an ongoing assessment team within the Office of Judicial Affairs. The team included: Josh Bacon, Anna Colby, Miranda Lantz, Carrie Tagye, and Gabe Slifka. The team met weekly and received consultation from the Center for Assessment and Research (C.A.R.S.). The survey questions were created and distributed to all judicial staff members for critique and feedback.

In an effort to keep the survey at an appropriate length questions were chosen that specifically could lead to one of the following:
1) Used to compare different populations of students (Year in school, gender, judicial experience*) and thus help the Office target the population most in needs of education, services, and outreach.
2) Information that could be used to educate the Office of Judicial Affairs and Judicial council on the general student body opinion of what the community standards are at JMU.
3) Information could be used to create benchmarks for the Office of Judicial Affairs services and outreach efforts.
4) Information could be used for the Office to determine misalignments with the Student Affairs values as determined by the student body.
5) Information could be used to improve the Office of Judicial Affairs educational mission.

*Judicial experience is defined has having been through the Office of Judicial Affairs for a policy violation or not.

Methodology

An e-mail asking students to complete the judicial web survey was sent out to all JMU students on November 16, 2004. A follow up e-mail was sent out on November 22, 2004 to remind any non-respondents about the survey. For a copy of the e-mails (see section #4, e-mail instructions).

The e-mail was sent to 16,000 JMU undergraduate and graduate students. Of the 16,000; 2,091 responded and completed the survey. The response rate was 13 percent.
To put this in perspective of the feedback this gave the Office of Judicial Affairs our outreach efforts to freshman during the beginning of the school year typically reaches 300 freshman students. Over 535 freshman responded to the web survey. Overall the Office of Judicial Affairs has 1,500 students go through the judicial process in a given academic year, compared with 2,091 students who completed the survey. The idea of using the survey as a possible outreach effort in its own right was discussed based on the large number of students who responded to the survey.

Results from the survey were distributed to the Office of Judicial Affairs staff. It was determined that it would be beneficial to cross tabulated certain factors on the web suvey to compare responses of different populations of students. The Center for Assessment and Research conducted the cross tabulations. The web survey was exported to SPSS and cross tabs were completed for: gender, year in school, and judicial experience. (see section #7 for crosstab results)

WEB BASED SURVEY QUESTIONS
Modified 10/13/04

1. Have you been through JMU's Office of Judicial Affairs process?
- Yes
- No

2. Male or female

3. Year in school
a) Freshman
b) Sophomore
c) Junior
d) Senior
e) Grad

3. If you committed a crime/policy violation, who would you be more afraid to tell about what you had done?
A. Your Professors
B. A Police Officer
C. A Judicial Affairs Staff member
D. Your Parents
E. Your Neighbors

4. Which of these violations can result in a strike through the judicial process? (Check all that apply)
- Vandalism
- Alcohol
- Responsibility for Guests
- Drugs
- Fire Code Violation

5. At what age (of the student) are parents no longer notified of their student's JMU policy violation(s)?
- 18
- 19
- 21
- 23
- 25

6. Should a student be suspended for having 2 DUI violations?
- Yes
- No

7. For the following violations, mark the sanction(s) which seem most appropriate.

Campus theft (value over 50 dollars)
- Attend an educational program
- A monetary fine (equal to amount of item(s) stolen)
- Suspension for at least one semester
- Expulsion from university forever
- Nothing

Pulling a fire alarm as a prank
- Attend an educational program
- A monetary fine
- Suspension for at least one semester
- Expulsion
- Nothing

Smoking marijuana in the residence hall
- Attend an educational program
- A monetary fine
- Suspension for at least one semester
- Expulsion
- Nothing

Destructing campus property (valuing over 50 dollars)
- Attend an educational program
- A monetary fine
- Suspension for at least one semester
- Expulsion
- Nothing

Open container (student over 21 years old)
- Attend a class
- Placed on probation
- A monetary fine
- Suspension for at least one semester
- Nothing

Punching another JMU student in the face (Violence to persons)
- Attend an educational program
- A monetary fine
- Suspension for at least one semester
- Expulsion
- Nothing

10. Would you like to know how many students are found responsible for violations of JMU community standards and their corresponding sanctions?
- Yes
- No

11. If a friend of yours has two strikes but becomes sick from drinking too much, what would you do?
A. Take him or her to hospital even though they could potentially get a third strike and be suspended
B. Take him or her back to your place and watch them carefully
C. Let him or her get sick, they will be better once they get it out of their system
D. Leave him or her off with a roommate who you trust will take care of your friend.

12. If you already have two strikes and all of your friends go out to a party where you know there will be drinking and they will peer pressure you to drink what would you do?
A. Stay at home and have a quiet night, you do not want to risk getting a third strike
B. Go with them to the party but just don't drink
C. Go with them to the party and drink, but not drink a lot, you will be careful especially since you have two strikes
D. Go with them to the party, drink, and having two strikes does not influence your social life.

14. What do you think the purpose of JMU's Office of Judicial Affairs is?

15. How could the Office of Judicial Affairs improve its service?

16. For the next two questions base your answer on your knowledge of or experience with the Office of Judicial Affairs:

17. The Office of judicial affairs treats students:
a) With a high level of Respect
b) With a moderate level of Respect
c) With no respect
d) With a high level of disrespect

18. Members of the Judicial Affairs staff act with:
a) A high level of integrity
b) A moderate level of integrity
c) No integrity
d) With a lack of integrity

19. If you wanted more information on JMU's alcohol and drug strike policy where would you go?
A) Residence Hall staff (RA)
B) Friend
C) Judicial Office or web site
D) Other

20) How much alcohol on average do you drink in one night?
a) 1 drink
b) 2-3 drinks
c) 4-6 drinks
d) 7-10 drinks
e) 11 or more

21) If you have had any friends who went through the Office of Judicial Affairs for a community standard violation. How did the judicial process change their behavior?
a) They no longer violated the policy that got them there
b) They were much more careful about their behavior
c) They did NOT change at all
d) Their behavior actually became worse
e) I don't know anyone who has been through judicial affairs

22) How have you heard about the community standards at JMU (Check all that apply)
a) Orientation
b) Residence hall program
c) Student organizational night
d) Friends
e) Other (please list)

 

Quantitative Results in graph form

• Web Survey Results Graph
• Cross tabulation of Graphs Comparing Sanction Beliefs by Gender
  
• Cross tabulation of Graphs Comparing Sanction Beliefs by Academic Year
  

 

Actions

1) Create benchmarks for judicial outreach efforts
" Three strikes
" Parental notification

Goal: To be able to compare outreach efforts year to year and student's knowledge of judicial policy.

2) Educate university judicial council and hearing officers on the student's response to community standards for the following violations:
" Alcohol, driving under the influence (DUI)
" Theft, (over fifty dollars in value)
" Pulling a fire alarm
" Drugs, marijuana use
" Destruction of property (over fifty dollars in value)
" Alcohol, Open container in the City of Harrisonburg
" Violence to persons, punching another JMU student in the face

Goal: Another resource of community standards to include in hearing decision making process for judicial council and hearing officers.

3) Publish Judicial Affairs violation summary on the Judicial Affairs website. Consider publishing in the breeze.

Goal: Social norming for judicial policies and meet the needs of students.

4) Suggest to the Community Coalition on Alcohol to conduct their own web survey for the Harrisonburg and Rockingham county. Suggest the inclusion of questions related to the community's perception of community standards for certain violations.

Goal: Expand the community standards to include Harrisonburg and Rockingham community members.

5) Improve training of residence life staff on judicial affairs policy and process. Target training to freshman halls. Consider including a half hour training to hall staff prior to the freshman outreach program.

Goal: Increase knowledge of community standards and judicial process with the most used ambassadors of information.

6) Create visible displays in the Office of Judicial Affairs on the three strike and parental notification policies.

Goal: Increase knowledge of community standards.

Web Survey Changes

7) The next time conduct the web survey offer a prize to increase response rate.

8) Reword question on Hospitalization.

9) Consider using the web survey to distribute information on judicial community standards and process.