Hunter College, a campus of the City University of New York, has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, to address Title IX violations on sexual harassment and sexual assault. Hunter College enrolls about 16,500 undergraduate students and more than 6,000 graduate students. Women make up 65 percent of the undergraduate student body at the college.
The investigation was triggered by a student complaint of sexual harassment by a professor. That student also alleged that the college retaliated against her for reporting the harassment.
The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education found that Hunter College:
- Failed to address complaints in a prompt and equitable manner, although the college did take some important and appropriate steps to investigate and address the allegations.
- Failed to adopt and publish grievance procedures that complied with the requirements of Title IX.
- Failed to have an adequate notice of nondiscrimination. And,
- Failed to appropriately notify students and employees of the Title IX coordinators.
The investigation found no evidence that the college retaliated against the student for filing the complaint.
The Department of Education and Hunter College agreed on several steps to remedy the Title IX violations. A copy of the resolution agreement can be found here.