National Evaluation of the National Institute of Justice Grants to Combat Violent Crimes Against Women on Campus Program, 2000-2002

Specifically, the process evaluation was to consist of a review of all grantees in the program through visits to each site. Prior to the evaluation's start, the research team established an advisory board to aid in designing the methodology. This board was composed of six individuals, including a researcher who had done work in the area of violence against women on campuses, a student, a university police chief, a sexual assault services coordinator from a university, and a director of student judicial services. Because of the large number of sites in the program, the research team was limited in the extent to which a thorough process evaluation could be conducted. At the request of NIJ, the research staff made only one trip to each site to collect administrative records data and conduct interviews relating to project activities. There were not enough funds to make subsequent trips to sites to judge their progress over time. Moreover, it was not possible to do follow-up telephone calls thereby maintaining contact with grantees on their implementation efforts. In short, the process evaluation depended on a snapshot view of the campuses at the time of the site visit. Each visit typically lasted two to three days, during which as many as a dozen interviews might take place. Interviewees usually included the project director, on-campus advocate, campus law enforcement, judicial affairs personnel, education coordinator, women's center, community partners, dean of students, representatives from student organizations, and project evaluator. Project directors frequently prepared large packets of information on their institutions and their project activities for the research staff. It was common for interviewees to provide documentation of their role in the project, or summary information on their office/organization. From the interviews, the research team typically collected copies of progress reports sent to VAWO, summary sheets of campus demographics, student handbooks, training manuals for advocates and disciplinary board members, and copies of all orientation materials as well as other educational curriculum materials, newspaper articles relating to the project, relevant police orders, crime statistics, and summary advocacy statistics. Other items collected across the campuses ranged from copies of all advertising materials (mailers, posters, mugs, t-shirts, magnets, buttons) to videos of major project presentations. To facilitate the visits, the research team developed several protocols to allow for structured interviews. The protocols provided for consistent data collection across the campuses. After conducting a visit, the research staff prepared a site report, usually 20 to 25 pages in length, which represented a process evaluation report for a particular grantee/site. These reports were sent to the project directors at the sites for their review. The research staff made appropriate changes to the reports as a result of these reviews and then submitted them to NIJ as a deliverable product from the evaluation. Part 1 data consist of basic information about each grantee's campus and the violence against women programs and services available at each site. Data for Part 2 were collected using a Partnership Survey, which was a supplement to the site visit observations. The purpose of the survey, which was administered to grant project staff, was to document perceptions of project participants about program collaboration. From the 35-item questionnaire, respondents were asked to indicate on a five-point scale the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with items grouped into three categories: those regarding the partnership, the project, and individual participation. Respondents were also invited to provide comments on any survey item. The survey questionnaire was made available for downloading to all project directors through the Institute of Law and Justice's Web site. Copies were also distributed at site visit interviews. Respondents were given the option of mailing or faxing their completed surveys. A total of 247 surveys were received, representing 33 of the 38 campuses.