In October 2017, President Ensign established the Presidential Working Group on Sexual Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Title IX (PWG). Our charge is limited and focused:
- evaluate the college’s Sexual Misconduct Policy to be sure it is in compliance with the 2017 Q&A on Campus Sexual Misconduct Letter from Secretary DeVos;
- present policy revisions when the Department of Education releases new regulations.
The first charge is completed and reflected in the policy revisions prepared by the Title IX coordinator, reviewed by the PWG, approved by President Ensign, and communicated to the campus community in October 2019 which:
- ensures compliance with September 2017 DeVos Guidance and June 2019 PA Act 16 regulations; and
- communicates our commitment to a transparent and equitable policy for complainants and respondents.
Details of those changes can be found here.
Progress on the second charge has also occured and can be found here.
Because of the knowledge of the PWG members regarding Title IX regulations and our policy, in February 2020, Vice President Bretz convened the PWG to address the tasks in the Title IX agreement.
The PWG is meeting regularly to address the tasks in the Agreement, including to recommend a structure for a permanent entity functioning within our governance structure. Until that structure is approved and to have greater integration with our current governance structure, the PWG has expanded to include two faculty members and two students from the Enrollment and Student Life Committee (ESLC).
Updates on the College's compliance with the Title IX agreement can be found here.