With finances already strained by the pandemic, local universities are teaming up to reduce costs of implementing Title IX, the new campus sexual misconduct policies, writes Sarah Brown for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

The most pressing change is the requirement for live hearings with a cross-examination that requires trained advisors.

To circumvent the need to hire an attorney when a student requires an adviser trained in doing a cross-examination, around fifteen colleges in the Philadelphia area have joined forces. This makes it possible for schools to tap a Title IX administrator at a different campus to fill that role.

The motto of the informal group of educational institutions is, “how can we help each other keep our heads above water?” said Robert Wood, Title IX coordinator at Gwynedd Mercy University.

Wood said that he usually receives between 20 and 30 reports of sexual misconduct a year, the minority of which go through a formal investigation. Now, he is worried that just the possibility of a hearing will intimidate students and stop them from coming forward at all.

Read more about Gwynedd Mercy University at The Chronicle of Higher Education by clicking here.

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