Dive Brief:
- Two Kansas State University students have sued the university, alleging that its administration was non-responsive to their individual charges of sexual assault alleged to have taken place off-campus.
- One student has been expelled from the university and is currently facing criminal charges, but the students say the university did not move swiftly or comprehensively enough in the protection of other students from similar assaults by launching a simple investigation.
- A campus climate survey completed at the school has produced similar sentiments of inaction from students, but administrators say the school takes comprehensive steps to protect students and to promote reporting of sexual assault.
Dive Insight:
There is great difficulty for campuses in figuring out how to report off-campus crime, thanks to conflicting guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and federal Clery Act guidelines for crime log reporting. To compound matters, some higher education experts believe that certain Title IX guidance could be rolled back by the incoming Trump Administration, which, if the GOP 2016 platform document provides any insight, will take away federal review of campus sexual assault processing and potentially leave it to full judicial review.
For college administrators, the formula remains to promote civility, personal responsibility, and resources in combating sexual assault and sexual assault climate.