All schools in the University of Alaska system will participate in a Title IX survey that aims to determine how safe students feel on campus.

The anonymous survey, which will be emailed to half of all students and staff over the age of 18, will pool results together, so no results will be school-specific, according to thenorthernlight.org. It is also voluntary, and respondents are free to stop taking the survey if they begin to feel uncomfortable.

“It is a safety survey that gauges the appropriateness of our campus’s attitudes and responses to sexual assault,” says UAA Title IX director Marva Watson.

The survey will help the University of Alaska better understand the faculty and students’ perspectives on campus safety, education and services and outreach options. 

Carla Beam, University Relations Vice President, reinforced the importance of protecting respondent privacy. “It’s important we protect the privacy of the students taking the survey. In our rural campuses the size of the schools are very small and those students might feel uncomfortable knowing that the data compiled are on the individual campus,” Beam says.