From reactive to proactive : a descriptive case study of organizational change to institutionalize a campus Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) at a large Mid-Atlantic state university

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive case study was to demonstrate how a large public university fully transformed its approach to campus sexual assault response through the development of a sexual assault response team (SART). The research addressed organizational and systemic elements at the case study institution in the development of a comprehensive, holistic, and campus-wide approach. Multiple stakeholders were interviewed to provide perspectives of key staff who were active agents in the institutional change. Their various perspectives, as well as a document review, contributed to an understanding of the institution's transformation in becoming a recognized model of campus sexual assault response. The data analysis, guided by the Burke-Litwin (1992) model of organizational change, led to the emergence of findings showing that supportive leadership, persistence through implementation, reliance on internal experts, and a proactive commitment to student responsiveness were key attributes of the best practice model. What also emerged from the data was the presence of institutional courage as the campus faced an increase in reports of campus sexual assault because of the University's increased responsiveness to students. Campus leadership accepted the vulnerability required to face the rise in reported cases and used open, transparent communication to effectively address stakeholder concerns. This study represented a paradigm shift from a reactive response to campus sexual assault to a proactive approach. An increase in reported cases was a measure of the initiative's success. Seventeen years after implementation, this University's SART remains a best practice model.