NCHERM Assists the University of Virginia in Revising Sexual Misconduct Policies and Procedures

A landmark shift is happening with respect to college and university conduct policies and grievance procedures as a result of the OCR Title IX Dear Colleague Letter released in April, which finally clarifies a wide range of critical issues pertaining to campus sexual violence.

In the years to come, the issuance of this Dear Colleague Letter will come to be seen as a watershed moment in advancing victim’s rights on college campuses, and in recognizing the influence that Title IX wields in defining best practices for campus response to sexual violence.

Campuses including Yale and Stanford have recently announced changes in many areas; including policy, grievance procedures, standards of proof, and appeal rights for victims. For these campuses and many others, including the University of Virginia, revisions were underway before the issuance of the Dear Colleague Letter, which provided additional impetus for changes and clarity on what types of changes were needed.

NCHERM has had a long-standing relationship with the University of Virginia, providing annual training on sexual misconduct to the UVa Sexual Misconduct Board, investigators and advocates since 2005. Brett A. Sokolow, Esq., NCHERM’s Managing Partner has also had the opportunity to play a role in the revision of the UVa Sexual Misconduct Policy and Grievance Procedures released at the end of May.

This revision process engaged a wide range of stake holders in a thoughtful and informed dialogue about how to produce policies and procedures that were not only compliant with Title IX, but would create a roadmap of best practices as a model for the field of higher education. UVa invited and encouraged extensive public commentary on drafts before finalizing its revisions.

In addition to providing consultation during the revision process, NCHERM made public comments on the UVa policy and procedures in draft form. NCHERM has posted those comments on its website, and at this link: http://www.ncherm.org/documents/UVaSexualMisconductPolicyProcedures-PublicComment-5-25-11.pdf

By posting its edits and comments, NCHERM hopes not only to provoke thought on critical issues, but also to showcase the process by which NCHERM provides policy and procedural consulting services to college and university clients.

For more information on NCHERM’s policy and procedure revision services, please contact NCHERM Executive Director Cori Sokolow, M.Ed., at cori@ncherm.org or 610.993.0229.

From August 2^nd-5^th, 2011, NCHERM will be hosting the first-of-its-kind Campus Title IX Coordinator Training and Certification Course in St. Louis, MO. Featuring an exceptional faculty of eight nationally-recognized Title IX experts, this event is more than half full already. Register today at: http://www.ncherm.org/webinars.html#stlouis