Planning & Budgeting

May 2, 2014

55 Institutions Under Investigation for Possible Title IX Violations

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The U.S. Department of Education recently released a list of 55 colleges and universities that are being investigated for possible violations of Title IX, particularly in regards to their handling of sexual assault investigations. Title IX is a federal gender-equity law that applies to all institutions receiving federal funds. Recently, several universities have come under scrutiny for alleged mishandlings of sexual assault cases and investigations.

The list comes on the heels of the Obama administration’s recent unveiling of new, tougher guidelines for handling sexual assault on college campuses. The report encourages universities to:

  • create “climate surveys” designed to measure the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses;
  • better train college officials in responding to survivors of sexual assault;
  • change certain confidentiality provisions in order to facilitate reporting; and
  • amend campus disciplinary policies to be closer aligned to those put out by the Department of Education.

The administration has also signaled that it will step up its enforcement of Title IX provisions. Student activists seemed encouraged by the news, those some claimed the administration did not go far enough to ensure that colleges are punished for Title IX violations.  

To see the list of institutions facing Title IX investigations, click here. To read more analysis about the inquiry, check out this article in the New York Times.