Dive Brief:
- A college or university student facing discipline from his or her school for a rape can avoid the punishment by transferring, without the new school or the police finding out.
- Experts and advocates are seeking to close that policy loophole, the Huffington Post reports.
- The Huffington Post cites several problematic examples including the University of Virginia sexual assault and abduction case, as well as cases at Providence College, the University of Oregon, Virginia Wesleyan College, Swathmore College, and Miami University in Ohio.
Dive Insight:
There are actually several loopholes illustrated in the above example: The rape won’t necessarily show up on a transcript, or if the student’s file does have a notation that he faced discipline, an administrator doesn’t have to include any details. Also, the school that the student transfers to is not required to check records from the previous school, and the previous school is not required to provide full disclosure. And schools aren’t required to notify the police.