Administrators' Perception of Supporting Factors and Barriers to Title IX Compliance on College Campuses When Addressing Sexual Misconduc

Since the April 4, 2011 Dear Colleague Letter issued by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), there has been an increase in suggested policies and procedures pertaining to the responsibilities of colleges and universities when responding to a Title IX violation, more specifically to sexual misconduct cases. Even with guidance issued by OCR, colleges and universities were finding themselves in court and on the list of investigations being conducted by OCR. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to evaluate college administrator's perception on the supporting factors and barriers to Title IX compliance on college campuses when addressing sexual misconduct. Data was collected through a questionnaire completed by administrators on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Arizona Campus which was manually coded. Eight themes were identified; four supporting factors and four barriers that contributed to administrators perceptions of Title IX compliance. The University's policy and procedures on sexual misconduct found on the University's website was used as well and analyzed using the ATIXA Checklist. A triangulation approach was used to compile the data together. The study's institutional theoretical framework suggested that experiences had within an organization by its' members can influence perceptions and attitudes. As such, the questionnaire addressed the organizational aspect of the Title IX compliance and the University's policies and procedures focused on external forces such as federal laws. The study found that supporting factors in Title IX compliance included administrators participating in trainings, knowing who or where to direct people for reporting concerns or questions about Title IX and administrators were able to provide supporting examples. Barriers to Title IX compliance discovered included lack of training, fear of retaliation, how upper-level administrators and the University handles Title IX issues and the need for Title IX as a whole to operate independently including reporting to the Chancellor or the President. Those potentially affected by the results of this study are the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University community directly. It is recommended that future research is done to include a larger sample size thus allowing for better generalization.