Project: University human rights index: Developing and piloting a measure

University human rights index: Developing and piloting a measure

This study proposes the development and piloting of a measure that will allow for comparative analysis of university commitments to diverse political and civil rights. The index will integrate quantitative and qualitative approaches to measuring university policies, structures, and practices. One dimension of the index would aim to document curricula, including human rights-centered course offerings and capacity building-programs for future rights scholars and practitioners. Other dimensions would aim to better understand the subjective experiences and attitudes of students, staff, and faculty, such as perceptions of open dialogue within classes and opportunities to contribute to decision-making on campus. The long-term goal from this effort is to create a valid measure that can be adopted widely in order to evaluate human rights across universities and colleges, legitimizing campus climate as a standard measure to which universities would be held accountable.