Utah State University Gets Serious About Sexual Assault Awareness Training

Utah State University now requires all incoming students to take an online sexual assault awareness course. Those who do not complete the training during their first semester are not allowed to enroll in classes for their second semester.

More than 4,300 students completed the course, 96 percent of incoming students last fall. This is well above the average 87 percent completion rate nationwide for colleges and universities that require sexual assault awareness training. Schools don’t reach full participation due to dropouts, transfers, and other reasons.

James Morales, vice president for student affairs at Utah State, said that “a lot of effort went into making sure all students completed the course. Educating as many students as possible is an important part of ensuring the safety of our campus. We had a campus-wide commitment – from the president to each staff member – to getting all students through the course. With registration holds motivating the remaining students to complete the course, we expect to get to nearly 100 percent.”