Princeton University reached an agreement with the Department of Education Wednesday to end a civil rights investigation into how the university handles cases of sexual assault on campus. Princeton was found to be in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the department said, for "failing to promptly and equitably" respond to complaints of sexual violence and for using a higher standard of proof than what is permitted by the department.
Princeton was the last Ivy League institution -- and a rare prominent institution -- to still use the "clear and convincing" standard instead of the "preponderance of evidence" standard in adjudicating sexual assault cases. Where the clear and convincing standard of proof requires a roughly 75 percent chance that the accused is responsible, preponderance of evidence, which is the standard used in civil cases, requires a 50.1 percent chance. In order to comply with Title IX, Princeton adopted the lower standard in September, appeasing the department's Office for Civil Rights and helping to end the investigation.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/11/06/princeton-title-ix-agreement-higher-standard-proof-sexual-assault-cases-last-legs