The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights has concluded a four-year investigation into Ohio State University, reaching an agreement with the university to ensure its compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Unlike many other Title IX investigations, this review was not initiated by a federal complaint, but rather was a proactive inquiry that broadly examined several areas where Ohio State could improve how it addresses sexual violence and harassment on campus. The department is still investigating 78 other institutions.
Such compliance reviews, even when settled amicably, as was the case here, provide an indication of the kinds of things OCR is looking for when examining colleges. The departmentreached a similar agreement with the State University of New York last year.
During the investigation, Ohio State established a "one-stop" Title IX webpage and office, formed a sexual violence consultation team that meets bi-weekly, and developed online training modules about bystander intervention. The university also made "substantial improvements" in how it documents sexual assault investigations, the department said. "The university will maintain comprehensive documentation of its receipt, investigation, and resolution of all oral and written complaints, reports or other notice of sexual harassment," according to the resolution agreement. Previously, the department had found that Ohio State had failed to keep clear and consistent records of cases of sexual violence, and the office had trouble even telling if some cases had been addressed or not.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/09/12/education-department-reaches-agreement-ohio-state-u-title-ix