A study from It’s On Us surveyed 1,152 college men and found that 45% had not received sexual assault prevention training from their higher education institution, and up to a third were unprepared to identify and intervene in potentially violent encounters or relationships, according to The Hechinger Report. It’s On Us proposes several measures, including sexual assault prevention education, bystander training, and a uniform definition of consent developed by policymakers. Most colleges and universities do not offer comprehensive sex education based on the expectation that students received it prior to attending college, though only 24% of college men reported learning about “dating, sex, and relationships” in their K-12 education.
The US Department of Education has warned colleges that their duty to investigate Title IX complaints against faculty continues even if the accused professor resigns or transfers to another institution, The Chronicle reports. An agreement between the department’s Office for Civil Rights and Arcadia University found that the private institution violated its Title IX responsibilities when it failed to investigate years of complaints from students and faculty that an Arcadia professor had been sexually harassing female students, dropping its inquiry when the professor quit his position at the university. Arcadia University must now follow up on reports that the professor had retaliated against students who had complained by accusing them of cheating in his classes, in addition to engaging a third party to complete its formal complaint inquiry against the professor.