The Department of Education opened a new investigation on July 22 into the handling of sexual assault cases at the University.
According to the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights, the investigation was triggered by a complaint filed by a male University student who alleges he was treated unfairly in a Title IX investigation.
Title IX is a federal law prohibiting gender-based discrimination on the part of federally funded educational institutions. Allegations of sexual assault and harassment typically full under the jurisdiction of Title IX investigations.
The male student who filed the complaint claims to have been discriminated against on the basis of his gender and an unnamed disability. Neither the student’s name nor the details of the investigation leading to the complaint have been made public.
OCR’s investigation process is aimed at both investigating facts in given case and determining whether or not Title IX policies were properly applied.
A previous four-year investigation into the University's Title IX enforcement system concluded last September and resulted in an overhaul of the University’s sexual assault complaint and investigation procedure.
A DOE spokesperson said the new investigation covers facts not involved in the previous investigation.
The University joins a list of 201 other institutions under investigation by the department for alleged Title IX violations.
“The University is aware that a former male student has filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights,” University spokesperson Anthony de Bruyn said in an email statement. “The University will cooperate fully with OCR and its review of this specific case.”
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