Good morning, and welcome to Thursday, January 11. Sarah Brown contributed today’s lead item, Julia Piper compiled Comings and Goings, and Rick Seltzer wrote the rest. Get in touch: dailybriefing@chronicle.com.
How to improve Title IX protections without waiting for the feds
You’ve heard this before, but it remains a pressing concern on campuses across the country:
Many students who experience sexual misconduct aren’t comfortable reporting it to their colleges. Over the past decade, as colleges dedicated more resources to raising awareness and investigating complaints, a key goal was to build trust with students who were harmed. More students have come forward with reports of sexual harassment or violence. But the trust-building? Not so much.
Students have repeatedly recounted stories of feeling mistreated by colleges’ Title IX offices, which handle cases of alleged sexual misconduct, as outlined by federal regulations. Some students have even said that the Title IX process was worse than the actual incident they were reporting.
What’s frustrating students who come forward?
- Investigations are bureaucratic and confusing.
- The Title IX office does not serve as a victim advocate, but a compliance unit.
- Punishment for students who are accused is rare. Even if they’re found responsible for sexual misconduct, victims often see the sanctions as inadequate.
Take the California State University system as an example. Last July, a damning report documented shortcomings there.
- Administrators failed to fully investigate and document some cases, and often didn’t hold perpetrators accountable, leading to a widespread lack of confidence in campus Title IX offices.
- “Reporting has never solved anything for myself or my peers,” one student in the Cal State system wrote in a survey response.
The Biden administration vowed to reform federal regulations interpreting Title IX and reverse changes put in place under the Trump administration that some criticized as harmful to victims. Among the Trump-era policies that have drawn fire:
- Requiring colleges to conduct live hearings and cross-examine students as part of investigations. While advocates for students accused of sexual misconduct praised the shift as necessary for a fair process, victim advocates argued that such hearings could be traumatizing.
- Raising the bar for what constitutes sexual harassment under Title IX. For example, a single instance of reported stalking might no longer be severe enough to be investigated under the federal gender-equity law (although the college could still handle it through another process).
But Biden’s new regulations have been delayed for months, further frustrating some students and victim-advocacy groups. At the end of 2023, the Education Department pushed the release to March. Colleges can’t do anything about that.
Still, higher ed can do more to fix the lack of trust.
- Update students and attempt to resolve cases as soon as possible.
- Consider what resources would help overwhelmed Title IX offices communicate promptly.
- Evaluate how to manage sexual-misconduct response. This week, for example, a Title IX consultant shared a new tool that aims to help colleges more easily track cases and allows students to see the status of their case.
How else might colleges rebuild trust in Title IX? Some experts encourage developing restorative-justice options, which, at their best, can more quickly help repair harm for students. Colleges have had additional flexibility to use alternative resolutions to the formal hearing process since the Trump-era changes took effect.