The University of Delaware has revamped its sexual misconduct policies as the national spotlight has focused heavily on the issue in recent months.
“We developed a new, comprehensive sexual misconduct policy that pulls information together in a way that more clearly explains how we will respond to reports of misconduct and it makes it easier to find information such as our confidential resources on campus," said Sue Groff, UD’s Title IX coordinator.
Now, those campus resources are on one website.
Groff says an investigation process has replaced the hearing system that had been in place to address complaints.
“In the past, we used a model that relied on a hearing process for students in sexual misconduct cases, but moving forward we’re going to implement a procedure that’s less intimidating.”
Two new employees will conduct those investigations going forward.
Groff notes that the Department of Education placed the school under investigation in May 2014 for how it handled sexual misconduct complaints, though she says they started redesigning their policy before being placed on that list.
“We are deeply committed to maintaining a safe campus and a strong climate of awareness and empowerment,” said acting president Nancy Targett in a statement. “All forms of sexual misconduct are taken very seriously at UD and it is critical that everyone on our campus understands their rights and responsibilities, and where to go for help.”
All employees will also undergo 30 minutes of mandatory training this fall on the school's policies and Title IX compliance requirements.
A bill recently introduced in the General Assembly would mandate that those in the university community to report any instance of sexual assault not only to school administrators as required by policy, but also to law enforcement.
When it was unveiled in March, UD released a statement saying, "We look forward to reviewing the proposed bill, with the hopes that any enacted legislation will respect victims' wishes about reporting sexual assault incidents."
That proposal will have its first opportunity for a hearing when lawmakers reconvene in January.
University of Delaware conducted 34 sexual misconduct hearings from 2009 to fall of 2014. They resulted in five people being expelled and others being issued sanctions according to university officials.
