Sexual-Assault Investigations May Be Delayed as Coronavirus Disrupts Colleges

Lexie thought this month that her Title IX case might finally be coming to a close.

Lexie, who asked to be identified only by her first name because the case is pending, filed a sexual-misconduct complaint against another student at her Midwestern public university in November. The investigation wrapped up in January, and a hearing was scheduled for March 11, when a panel would decide whether the student she had accused should be found responsible and, if so, what sanctions he should face.

Then, as the Covid-19 pandemic upended campus life across the country, her university suddenly extended spring break, moved classes online for the rest of the semester, and asked students to move out of campus housing. As a result, administrators postponed her Title IX hearing until in-person classes resume — summer, at the earliest.

But Lexie is graduating this spring. “I just want it to be done,” she said. “It feels like I wasted my last semester of college.”

Title IX hearing delays are just one consequence of the nationwide scramble to move college operations online at a moment’s notice. Officials must figure out what to do about their open sexual-assault investigations and ensure that students still have a way to report misconduct that occurs while they aren’t going to in-person classes, like online harassment.

At some colleges, the process of adjudicating sexual-assault complaints must include a live hearing with cross examination. That’s due to a 2018 court ruling that affected colleges in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. Live hearings and cross examinations could also be required at all colleges once the Education Department finalizes new Title IX regulations, an announcement that’s expected soon.

Title IX officials told The Chronicle that they already use technology platforms during many investigations and hearings, so moving the process fully online, while challenging, isn’t unprecedented. The accuser and accused often prefer to stay in separate rooms during a hearing, for instance, with just one of the students in the room while the other watches remotely.

Rebecca Veidlinger, a Title IX lawyer who runs investigations and hearings for colleges, said even “live” hearings can be conducted virtually.

Still, given the circumstances, the resolution of sexual-assault cases like Lexie’s — which can already take months, if not a year or more — could be delayed.

“We’ll have to show flexibility both for our students and for ourselves in terms of timing,” said Joseph Storch, an associate counsel in the State University of New York’s system office.

SUNY is holding a webinar on Monday covering remote Title IX and student-conduct issues. Storch said his staff is also putting together a model notification letter that institutions can send to students, explaining that their cases might take a little longer and that they still have rights and access to resources.

As students and others scatter far and wide, it might be hard to line them all up for a hearing, said Scott Schneider, a partner at the law firm Husch Blackwell who specializes in Title IX issues. “Even if we’re inclined to move quickly on these cases and be prompt, it’s going to complicate things,” Schneider said.

Students are worried about the impact of those delays, said Faith Ferber, a graduate student at Rutgers University and a student-engagement organizer with Know Your IX, a victim-advocacy group. Ferber said Know Your IX is hearing from students whose campuses have moved to online learning and remote services, and yet they haven’t gotten any communication from Title IX offices or other administrators about the status of their cases.

“Things are just kind of on pause,” she said.

‘Prolongs the Trauma’

Delaying the process “prolongs the trauma” for students who have already gone through a traumatic experience, Ferber said. It’s stressful to make appointments for investigative interviews, schedule hearings, and respond to emails from the Title IX office, she said, while also trying to keep up with classes. Every day that a Title IX case remains open, she said, increases the emotional toll.

She went through a Title IX investigation as an undergraduate. “I very much feel like if I knew it was going to take that long, I would never have reported it in the first place,” she said.

Ferber said she worries that colleges won’t take sexual assault as seriously now that many students aren’t on campus. “One of my concerns is that schools will think, because everyone is online and not really interacting with each other, that people aren’t really being impacted by the sexual assault or sexual harassment that they experienced,” she said.

Still, many college officials stress that their Title IX offices remain open for business. After tweets began circulating last week that Virginia Tech had decided to “cancel a rape investigation” due to the disruption of Covid-19, the university’s Twitter account fired off replies saying that the rumor wasn’t true.

Coronavirus Hits Campus

As colleges and universities have struggled to devise policies to respond to the quickly evolving situation, here are links to The Chronicle’s key coverage of how this worldwide health crisis is affecting campuses.

• Covid-19 Is Pushing University Hospitals to Their Limits
• Colleges Are Canceling Spring Break. In Its Place: ‘Wellness Days’
• The Real Covid-19 Enrollment Crisis: Fewer Low-Income Students Went Straight to College

At John Carroll University, in Ohio, “the Title IX office remains fully operational,” wrote Eric Butler, the Title IX coordinator, in an email. John Carroll officials announced this week that they would move all classes online through the end of the semester.

Much of Butler’s work is now done remotely, but he said his office would still do some in-person meetings on campus, “as requested or necessary.” He said he would also offer training to prevent sexual assault and other educational programs online.

Alison Kiss Dougherty, Title IX coordinator and associate vice president for human resources at Widener University in Pennsylvania, said her office would use videoconferencing for investigations and hearings, though she was concerned about making that setup fair to everyone. Some students might not have reliable internet service, for instance, or access to a computer or device that allows them to appear on video. For interviews, investigators often assess students’ body language and demeanor as well as their statements, and for hearings, students can’t just call in.

Storch is also concerned about equity in remote contexts. For Title IX interviews and hearings, he said, all students are entitled to one adviser. But if students are participating remotely, they might be able to conceal that they’re receiving additional help from lawyers or others.

All students involved in a case also must have access to the evidence, Storch said. What if the evidence is tangible? Even sharing text messages — which can be altered digitally — might get tricky.

Virtual Misconduct

Title IX offices might see a drop in sexual-misconduct reports while many students remain off campus, but they may see an uptick in virtual harassment issues. Those could include stalking, harassing comments on online-learning platforms, and nude photos.

Colleges could also face more challenges determining their jurisdiction over sexual assaults that happen off campus but involve two students, or a student and an employee. Interim Title IX guidance from the Education Department states that colleges are responsible only for off-campus misconduct that happens within an educational program or activity, but more campus activities are now remote.

Widener offered online classes before Covid-19, Kiss Dougherty wrote in an email, so she has worked with faculty members and students on complaints about virtual misconduct in the past.

At a time of heightened anxiety, Kiss Dougherty noted, it’s crucial to communicate with anyone involved in a sexual-misconduct case “to discuss the process and any disruptions that may have occurred.”

Lexie, the student with the active Title IX case, said she didn’t find out the hearing would be postponed until another complainant in her case asked for an update.

Lexie knows her university did the right thing by moving classes online, given the threat posed by Covid-19. For now, she said, she still has access to victim-advocacy resources on campus. Her university is closing its dorms soon, but she plans to stay in her off-campus apartment.

She hopes pursuing her Title IX complaint will be worthwhile. The student she accused isn’t graduating yet, so she sees a reason to proceed with the case. But she’ll have to come back to campus when she’s no longer a student to attend the hearing.

Ever since Lexie filed the complaint, last fall, she has been stressed about the investigation. She’s struggled with her grades. Now, as she prepares to graduate with her Title IX case still hanging over her, she can’t help but wonder: “Was it for nothing?”