Federal education officials have opened an inquiry into whether the University of Washington properly handled the case of a student who reported an instance of sexual violence, according to a statement from the school.
The investigation adds UW to a list of more than 100 colleges nationally — including Washington State University and Whitman College — where the U.S. Department of Education is investigating compliance with federal laws protecting victims of sexual assault or harassment.
"The University takes this matter very seriously," UW interim president Ana Marie Cauce said in a statement, which also noted that federal officials' opening of an inquiry doesn't necessarily mean they think the school broke the law.
The federal gender equity law Title IX, which includes protections for sexual assault and harassment victims, has been on the books for decades. But greater awareness and scrutiny of the high rates of sexual assault on college campuses has prompted many schools, including UW, to revamp their policies.
"It's only within the last couple of years that universities have really taken a serious look at their policies and their practices," said Sandra Park, an attorney with the ACLU's Women's Rights Project.
Difficult To Say What Went Wrong
Federal officials' letter informing the UW of the investigation only says the student alleges school officials failed to "provide the student with a prompt and equitable grievance process" as Title IX requires. But that description doesn't offer many specific hints about what could have gone wrong.
"It could really be so many different things," Park said.
For one, Title IX requires colleges to open an impartial and reliable investigation, typically within 60 days of a student or staff member reporting an allegation of sexual assault or harassment. The law gives both the accuser and alleged perpetrator the right to present evidence.
For another, if the school rules the perpetrator did likely commit sexual assault, "the school has an obligation to eliminate the harassment and put in place remedies that do so," Park said. "What we've seen with some schools is that the remedies are lacking."
Federal officials gave the UW a 39-point list of information the school would need to provide by Friday as part of its investigation. Among them: copies of the university's student code of conduct, "all the universities' student handbooks, employee handbooks, and student athlete handbooks" for every academic year from 2012-13 to the present.
(The university provided federal officials' letter, from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, to KPLU with portions redacted to protect the confidentiality of the student who filed the complaint, a UW spokesman said.)
Expanded Training & 'Transformed' Process
University of Washington Police received seven reports of "rape and forcible fondling" from off-campus locations, and two reports from on-campus areas in 2013, department statistics show.
In 2013, a UW task force recommended the university expand sexual assault training for staff and students and "transform the investigation and disciplinary process for sexual assault."
Since then, the UW's statement says the school has "implemented many of the task force's recommendations," including hiring a Title IX investigator and training coordinator, launching a "comprehensive sexual assault website" and launching an anonomyous student survey.
