REPORT: As Changes to Title IX Enforcement Loom, America’s top Universities Overwhelmingly Fail to Guarantee Fair Hearings
- 3 in 4 top universities do not guarantee presumption of innocence in campus proceedings.
- 9 in 10 top universities do not guarantee meaningful cross-examination in cases of alleged sexual misconduct.
- None of the surveyed institutions guarantee all the due process protections required under the new, proposed Title IX regulations.
- Polling shows students overwhelmingly want due process protections, but universities fail to deliver.
READ THE REPORT: SPOTLIGHT ON DUE PROCESS 2018 | AUDIO CLIPS FOR MEDIA USE
“Students accused of serious campus offenses routinely face life-altering punishment without a meaningful opportunity to defend themselves,” said FIRE’s Susan Kruth, lead author of the report. “Universities need to provide basic procedural protections that help ensure accurate outcomes, and right now they overwhelmingly do not.”
FIRE examined policies at the top 53 universities in the country to see how many of 10 fundamental procedural safeguards they guarantee students, including the presumption of innocence, the right to impartial fact-finders, and the right to appeal. Of the 53 universities studied, 47 receive a D or F grade, meaning that they guarantee no more than 4 of the 10 elements rated.
Most institutions maintain one set of policies for charges of sexual misconduct and another for all other non-academic misconduct, such as theft or physical assault. Notably, of the 15 institutions that received an F rating for their sexual misconduct policies, 11 have been sued by accused students over the lack of fair procedure.
