When it investigated a complaint of a sexually hostile environment at Yale University, the U.S. Department of Education seemed to give the institution a break. The agency’s Office for Civil Rights said in 2012 that Yale had made some mistakes but praised it for "voluntarily and proactively" changing its ways to create a "culture that is safe for all students."
That was three years ago. Recent investigations of how institutions handle students’ reports of sexual assault haven’t been nearly as generous or hopeful. Last month the civil-rights office leveled its most grievous charge, finding that two universities had violated the gender-equity law known as Title IX. Michigan State University and the University of Virginia each had a "hostile environment," or the basis for one.
The latest settlements show that federal inquiries into how colleges handle sexual assault are growing longer, tougher, and more damning. While Michigan State and Virginia aren’t the first institutions found to have violated Title IX, campus officials and higher-education lawyers see those judgments as particularly harsh. With so much national attention on ending sexual violence, federal enforcers are pointing fingers at colleges.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/As-Federal-Investigations-of/233698