Elon University Updates Student Handbook With Title IX And Sexual Misconduct Policy Changes

As sexual abuse cases continue to be filed against colleges and universities nationwide, some schools have finally begun to enact policy changes surrounding Title IX and sexual misconduct. Elon University has updated its student handbook to reflect the new Title IX policies enacted in August of 2020. However, unlike many universities, Elon University has cast a wider net in protecting students, characterizing the federal Title IX regulations “as kind of a floor, not the ceiling.” In addition to the Title IX requirements, the University has created a secondary procedure to address sexual misconduct and gender-based violence that takes place off campus, a situation not currently covered under the federal regulations. According to Felicia Cenca, the school’s HR consultant for HR compliance and Title IX, Elon’s secondary procedure “creates a wider net of behaviors that the university can offer support to students who’ve experienced those things and respond to and offer accountability measures[.]”